The Math and Fractals section of this workshop is designed to further students' understandings of fractals by introducing the terms involved with the geometry of fractals. Students should understand the terms dimension, scale factor, and number of copies by the end of this section.
In The Chaos Game , students explore how a seemingly random and chaotic process done over and over can result in an orderly pattern. Surprisingly, fractals are involved in this relationship between chaos and order, but how they are related is up to the student to find out.
The Fractional Dimension Activity is designed to introduce students to the idea of dimension. The formula for the dimension of a fractal involves scale factor and number of copies. To solve the equation, students will need a working knowledge of logarithms.
In the Fractured Picture Activity , students explore other terms associated with fractals: side length, number of sides, scale factor, and depth. Students are able to adjust each of these to see how they affect the fractal they create. Students should experiment with this activity until they are familiar with these geometric properties of fractals.