|
|
|
The Euler Number (Geometry and the Imagination)
Library Home ||
Full Table of Contents ||
Suggest a Link ||
Library Help
| http://geom.math.uiuc.edu/docs/education/institute91/handouts/node29.html | |
|
|
|
| Conway, Doyle, Gilman, Thurston; The Geometry Center | |
| If we have a polyhedron, we can compute its Euler number, x=V-E+F. In fact, we computed Euler numbers ad delectam. Why did we do this? One reason is that they are is easy to compute. But that is not obviously a compelling reason for doing anything in mathematics. The real reason is that it is an invariant of the surface (it does not depend upon what map one puts on the surface) and because it is connected to a whole array of other properties a surface might have that one might notice while trying to describe it. One easy example of this is Descartes' formula... | |
|
|
|
| Levels: | High School (9-12), College |
| Languages: | English |
| Resource Types: | Lesson Plans and Activities |
| Math Topics: | e, Differential Geometry |
[Privacy Policy] [Terms of Use]
© 1994-2013 Drexel University. All rights reserved.
http://mathforum.org/
The Math Forum is a research and educational enterprise of the Drexel University School of Education.