PAPER MATH

Interesting Paper Activities

all with an A4 Sized Sheet!

CENTER FOR CREATIVE LEARNING

IIT GANDHINAGAR
Table of Contents
1. A4 Sheet Ratio of Sides ........................... 1
2. Who feels colder, Baby or Adult? ........................... 3
3. Square Roots in A4 ........................... 5
4. Root Spiral, √1, √2, √3,… ........................... 6
5. Cutting a Newspaper and getting Isosceles Triangle ........................... 7
6. Equilateral Triangle from A4 Sheet ........................... 9
7. Largest Equilateral Triangle from A4 Sheet ........................... 11
8. Largest Equilateral Triangle from a Square. ........................... 12
9. Going to the Moon ........................... 13
10. Convert A4 Sheet to Square Using all the Paper ........................... 15
11. A4 Sheet to Rectangle of Given Size ........................... 17
12. Beautiful Paper Folding Knot Technique ........................... 19
13. Fold A4 Sheet Once to get Shapes ........................... 21
14. Triangle to Square of Same Area ........................... 23
15. Circle to Cone ........................... 25
16. Largest Cones from Same Circle ........................... 27
17. Regular Polygon Using a Cone ........................... 29
18. Geometric Series ........................... 31
19. Knot Magic ........................... 33
20. Regular Pentagon from Paper Folding ........................... 35
21. Hexagon from Paper Folding ........................... 37
22. Dividing a Line in Equal Number of Parts ........................... 39
23. Get Hexagon, Triangle, Pentagon from Single Cuts ........................... 41
24. Triangle with Single Cut ........................... 43
25. Möbius Strip ........................... 45
26. Single Möbius Strip Cut in 1/3 ........................... 47
27. Double Möbius with Perpendicular Axis ........................... 49
28. Double Möbius with Parallel Axis ........................... 51
29. Area of Triangle ........................... 53
30. Largest Box from A4 ........................... 55
31. Cylinder and Sphere have Same Area ........................... 57
32. Cut Isosceles Triangle get 2 Isosceles Triangles ........................... 59
33. Golden Ratio in Rectangle ........................... 61
34. Golden Ratio in Triangle and Pentagon ........................... 63
35. Polygons from Cube ........................... 65
36. Volume of Pyramid is 1/3 of Prism ........................... 67
37. Volume of a Cube = 3 Equal Square Pyramids ........................... 69
38. Volume of a Cube = 6 Half Square Pyramids ........................... 71
39. Volume of a Cube = 6 Triangular Pyramids ........................... 73
40. Buffon's Needle ........................... 75
 1

1 A4 Sheet
Ratio of Sides

We see and use A4 sheets almost daily. We all know that it is a

rectangle. But is there something special about this rectangle?

When we keep two

A4 sheets side by side,
We get an A3 sheet.
With two A3 sheets,
we get A2 and so on.

Similarly, if we go in other direction

and halve the A4 sheet, we get an
A5 sheet.

The speciality of this A-series is that the ratio or proportion of length and
breadtth of all the sheets (A0, A1, A2, A3, A4,...) is exactly the same.
 2

This same ratio implies that the photo or the text to be printed on the paper
doesn’t get stretched or squeezed, no matter the paper we choose for printing
(A3, A4, A5,....). So if we want to change the type of paper, we don’t have to
adjust the aspect ratio. It is as if the same sheet has been zoomed!

Using this information, let’s find this ratio.

Let’s assume that the initial ratio of length
to breadth is r:1. When the length is halved
by folding the length, the longer side
becomes 1 and the smaller side is r/2.
So the ratio is 1
So r = 1
(r/2).
1 (r/2)
And we are saying that these two ratios are equal.
Solving it gives, r= √2
We can also find the ratio without using the
equations.
Area of a rectangular sheet = length x breadth
If we double it’s dimensions the area becomes 4 times.

When we join two A5 sheets we get an A4 sheet. And the area becomes double
in the process. And to increase the area by 2 times, we have to increase the
length and breadth by √2 or 1.414 times (1.414x1.414 =2). Actually this is the
definition of √2, the number which multiplied by itself gives the number 2.

For example, the area of A4 sheet is double that

of A5. Therefore, the length and breadth of an
A4 sheet is √2 times the length and breadth of
an A5 sheet respectively. And if we look closely,
the breadth of the A4 sheet is the length of the
A5 sheet. So when we say that the ratio of length
of A4 to length of A5 is √2, it also means that the
ratio of length and breadth of A4 sheet is also √2.
 3

2
who needs
more woolens?

Who Feels Colder,

Baby or Adult?

If we have two identical persons, one the size of

a baby and the other one the size of an adult,
which one would feel more cold- the baby or the adult?

Let’s find out. We feel cold when the skin is warmer than the
surroundings. And the more skin we have in contact with the
surroundings, the colder we feel. So it seems that the baby
will feel less cold because the area of his skin is lesser than the
adult. Right? Not quite.
D0 you Know??? The size of cells of an adult and a child is same!
So when we grow up, the number of cells in our body increases but the size
of individual cells remains same.

We have to take into account one more process- the production

of heat. A biger body is made up of more cells,/and these cells
will generate more heat. As the cell are present in our whole
body and not just in the skin(or the surface), the amount of cells
is proportional to the volume of the body, not the surface area.

When all the sides of an object are doubled, the area becomes
4 times. And this is true for any shape, not just the square or
the rectangle. This means that the skin through which heat
loss takes place becomes 4 times.

Let’s asuume that all the dimensions of the adult are twice
of the baby. The length, breadth and height all are double.

Now let’s see what happens to the volume when the

dimensions are doubled. The volume becomes 8 times
in this process, and with that, the ability to generate
heat also becomes 8 times.

So although an adult loses more heat to the surrounding, his heat-generation

capacity has also increased. The increase in heat production is more than the
increase in heat-loss. That’s why a child is dressed more heavily.
4
 5

3 Square Roots
in A4

A4 sheets are extremely special. Or for that matter any series of A paper
or B paper or C paper. As we saw earlier that the sides are in ratio of √2.

What this means is that we can see three basic square roots in any sheet.
For instance, an A4 sheet has the dimensions 297x 210 mm.

The ratio of the sides: 297/210 = √2

If we assume the width of A4 sheet to be 1 unit, the length is √2 which

we have just shown. Now if we fold the paper along the diagonal,
and find the length of this diagonal using pythagoras rule, it would be
√(12 + (√2)2)
which comes out to be √3.

So the first three square roots are there in the most-used sheet of paper.
How interesting!
 6

4 Root Spiral
√1, √2, √3,..

We can construct a spiral of square roots, starting with an

isosceles right triangle of unit length. If the perpendicular
and base are of unit length, the length of hypotenuse comes
out to be √(12+ 12) = √2. (by pythagoras theorem)

Now if we draw another line of unit length perpendicular

to this hypotenuse, length of the new hypotenuse
obtained is √(12 + (√2)2).
We can continue like this and
get sides of length equal to the
square roots of subsequent numbers.
 7

5 Isosceles Triangle
from a Newspaper

Take a newspaper and

fold it into half along the length.

Cut a piece of paper from

the folded side at any angle,
but in a straight line.

Unfold this piece...you get an isosceles triangle.

Why did you get so? Because when we folded the paper it gave us the
perpendicular bisector for the triangle. As we had cut the two sides
of the triangle by the same cut we get the sides equal.

Now, what will happen if we fold it along the width and also not even
from the middle? The result will be same, because we had folded paper
perpendicularly only.
 8

What will happen if we fold

the paper obliquely?

We can still get an isosceles triangle, but

we will have to make one more fold,
folding the folded edge exactly upon itself.

Cut the paper on this fold.

Now cut a piece of paper
from the folded side by
making an oblique cut.
We get an
isosceles triangle.
 wow! 9

6
equilateral
triangle!!
Equilateral Triangle
from A4 Sheet

An equilateral triangle is a triangle in which all three

sides are equal. We will try to make an equilateral triangle by folding an
A4 sheet and that too without using a scale or compass. Before going any
further, try it yourself and fold an A4 sheet to make a triangle.

How can we ensure that the triangle we get

after folding the sheet is an equilateral triangle?
Just put one side on top of another
to check whether they are equal.

One of the ways is to use the fact that all angles of an

equilateral triangle are 600. We can fold angles of 600 by
dividing the angle of 900 in 3 equal parts and then
taking two of those parts.

But how do we divide an angle in three equal parts?

Just fold the angle such that the remaining part of the angle
completely covers the initial fold. Doing this for two
corners of A4 sheet gives us the equilateral triangle.

But this method of trisecting the

angle is approximate because we
can’t exactly divide an angle in
three equal parts the process of
trisecting an angle always involve
some trial and error.

One more way is to first fold the width of

the paper in half. The crease that we get
would divide it in two equal parts.

Now lift the width of the paper and put

one of its corners on the crease as shown
in the image. This is the third vertex of the
triangle and the triangle we’ve got is
surely an equilateral triangle.
Can you prove why?
 10
Let’s see. We will use an interesting property of perpendicular
bisector that all the points on it are equidistant from
the corners. And the first crease we got by folding the width
in half was indeed the perpendicular bisector of the width.

All the triangles we get with these 3 points- 2 corners of the sheet and
1 point on the perpendicular bisector are at least isosceles.
Now all we have to do is find a point on the perpendicular
bisector line so that theI two lines drawn from it are equal to
the base. Isosceles triangle would then become equilateral.

To do this, we lift the width of the paper and put it

on the perpendicular bisector such that the fold line
passes through the other corner. This ensures that the
two lines we draw from vertex on the perpendicular
bisector are equal to the base. Now we have made
sure that all the sides are equal in length. Hence,
our triangle is an equilateral triangle.
 11

7 Largest Equilateral
Triangle from A4 Sheet

To fold the largest triangle, fold the

perpendicular bisector of the width.
Then lift the width of the paper and
put it on the perpendicular bisector,
such that the fold line passes through
the other corner.
We have followed the steps of the
previous activity till now.

Now fold the remaining paper as shown below.

and we will get the largest equilateral triangle

possible in an A4 sheet.
 12

8 Largest Equilateral
Triangle from a Square
Making an equilateral triangle from a square is simpler because we
already have 4 equal sides. The triangle formed by taking any three
sides of the square will surely be equilateral.

To do this, first fold Now put the two adjacent

the square from the vertices of the square on the
middle such that we perpendicular bisector such that
get the perpendicular the fold lines pass through the
bisector of the side. other two vertices of the square.
Now the triangle at the center is an
equilateral triangle because it is formed
by taking 3 sides of the square which
are equal.

One more way is to proceed exactly like

we did for an A4 sheet.
For making largest
equilateral triangle
from a square, fold
the sides of square
in half which would
divide the square in four equal parts.
Then lift the side
of square and put
the corner on the
crease as shown.
Now take another side perpendicular to the side taken in the previous
step and put this on the second crease as shown.
Fold the remaining paper and the triangle obtained
like this is the largest equilateral triangle in a square
and has sides bigger than the square and has sides
bigger than the square.

If we start with a unit square, sides of this largest triangle are 1.03527 units.
 13

9
CHANDRAYAAN

Going to
the moon
How many times can we fold a sheet of paper onto itself?
Take an A4 sheet and try for yourself. You would probably be able to fold
it six or seven times. But what if we take a really huge paper and keep
folding it. Can we reach the moon by folding this paper onto itself?

We don’t even know the thickness of a single sheet of

paper so let’s find out that first. Well, it’s difficult to
guess but we have seen a ream of 500 sheets which is
around 5 cm thick. So the thickness of a single sheet is
around 5/500 = 0.01 cm.

Now the distance of the moon from the earth

is 3,84,400 km or
(3,84,400 km/0.01 cm)= 3,844,000,000,000 pages.
So it seems that we would need a lot of folds to go
to the moon.
Let’s find out.

Now if we fold this sheet once, it becomes 2-pages

thick- 0.02 cm. Now, when we fold this sheet, the
thickness becomes 0.04 cm. 3rd time, 0.08 cm. 4th time,
0.16 cm…10th time, 10.2 cm. Before going further, pick a number which
you think is the closest to the number of folds required to go to the moon.
A. 40 B) 400 C) 4,000 D) 40,000

For every fold, the thickness is doubling. The increase in thickness is

exponential and not linear. So rate of increase of thickness also picks up
pace after some time. We can also write a formula for the thickness after
n
n folds: 0.01 x 2

In 27 folds, the stack

becomes 13.4 km
high, higher than the
Mt. Everest.
 14
In 41 folds,
we would be halfway to the moon.
And all the way to
the moon in
42 folds!

Of course there would

be some logistical issues.
As the area of the sheet
is also decreasing exponentially,
getting halved in every fold, you'd probably need to start
with a sheet roughly the size of the milky way.

And at that point, the paper would most likely have

more mass than the Earth, which means it
would be compressing the Earth,
not the other way around.

And good luck folding the

paper more than 8-10 times
in reality.

They started
MythBusters, with a sheet
a TV program the size of a
wanted to fold football field
the paper and they
maximum were able
number to fold it
of times. 12 times and
used a
BULLDOZER
to assist them
in folding!
 15

10 Convert A4 Sheet to
Square Using All the Paper

Method A
As we saw earlier,the width of an A4 sheet is
210mm and the length is 297mm.
Therefore, area = 210 x 297 = 62,370mm2.

Now, we have to convert the sheet into

a square using all the paper. It means
that the area of that square would
also be 62,370mm2
Side of the square = 62,370 = 249.74mm

First mark this length from point A to the

opposite edge so that the length of line AB
is 25 cm. Cut the paper along the line AB.

Shift this piece across to the other side.

Now mark another line from point D such

that the length of DE is also 25cm.
You would see that this line is
automatically perpendicular to line AB.

Shift this part also

to the other side Now all the sides
across the paper. are 25cm and
we would get a square.
 16
Method B
We know that the area of A4 sheet is 210 x 210√2
S0 the side of the square with same area will be
√(210 x 210√2) or 210√(√2) or approx 250mm

So make an
oblique cut Slide the upper cut portion
as shown. on the oblique line till the
base of the lower cut portion.

Cut the extra triangle of

lower part protruding
above the upper part
and place it in the
space above base.
The shape now obtained
is a square of side 25cm.
 17

11 A4 Sheet to Rectangle
of Given Size
In the previous activity, we made a square from A4 sheet.
This time we will convert the sheet into a rectangle of given dimensions.
Let’s make a rectangle of length 23cm.

First mark a point on edge opposite point A

so that the length of line AB is 23 cm.
Cut the paper along the line AB.

Shift this piece across to the other side.

Now mark another line from point D such that it is

perpendicular to line AB and cut the paper along
that line.

We get a rectangle with

Shift this
one side 23cm or 230mm.
part also
We can also predict the
to the other
other side as we know its
side across
area from the previous
the paper.
activity(62,370mm2.)

When we make an oblique cut, as we did earlier, we will always get side
greater than the width of the paper(21cm). So we can make a rectangle
of side 15cm using this method directly because 15 cm is less than 23cm.
For this we need to cut the paper in half so that its side becomes less than
15cm. We can cut along the width as shown below.
 18

This rectangle would have one side equal to 15cm.

Can you find out the other side without measuring it?
 19

12 Beautiful Paper Folding

Knot Technique

Take a paper strip and make a knot as shown.

Pull the two ends neatly

to make a pentagon.

To make a 7-sided polygon,

make a knot of pentagon
but do not tighten it.

You get four loops. Pull ends

Bring the
Insert the end A A and B to
top end A
through these loops make a knot.
down from
front. with 2 on each side.
 20
To make a nonagon take the knot of heptagon without tightening it.
Bring the top end A down from front. You get 6 loops.
Insert the end A through these loops with 3 on each side.

To make 11-sided polygon take the knot of nonagon without tightening it.
Bring the top end A down from front. You get 8 loops.
Insert the end A through these loops with 4 on each side.
 21

13 Fold A4 Sheet Once

to Get Shapes
22
 23

14
same
area??
Triangle to Square
of Same Area
We will convert a triangle into a square of same area.
And that too, with just paper folding and without any measurements.
Draw a triangle
in the left hand
bottom corner
of the paper.
Now enclose
this triangle in
a rectangle.

Area of triangle = ½ base x height

= ab
Area of rectangle = base x height
= 2ab
Now if we fold the rectangle into
half, we get a rectangle having
same area as the triangle.
i,e; a x b

Mark the height

of rectangle on
both sides of
point P (R & S).
Draw vertical
lines at R & S

Fold the length TS on

vertical line at point R.
Mark that point as X.
Now in triangle TXU,
using pythagoras theorem
(a+b)2-(a-b)2 = 4ab
or TU = 4ab
The square formed using TU
as a side will have area 4ab
 24
Now make the square.

Divide this square in 4 parts

 25

15
I scream...!!
Circle to
Cone

Take a hard paper and

cut a circle out of it.

Now cut a sector

from this circle.

Join the edges AB and BC

with a tape.

Your cone is ready.

What will happen if you cut a bigger sector?

Will the height increase or decrease?

Will the radius of cone increase or decrease?
Cut different size of sectors and observe.
26
 27

16
I scream...!!
Largest Cone
from Same Circle

Take hard paper and

cut a circle out of it.

Now make cones by cutting out sectors of differnt angles, as made earlier.
 28

We can observe as we move from cone 1 to 11, the area of the base decreases
gradually and the height increases. So which cone has the maximum volume?
In other words, which cone would hold the maximum sand?

Take sand in a mug and fill cones one by one. Find out which cone holds the
maximum sand.
 29

17 Regular Polygons
Using a Cone

Take a hard paper and

cut a circle out of it(circle A).
In the same manner
cut a circle of same size
with a simple paper(circle B).

Fold the circle B thrice.

Open the paper, you
will see that it is divided
in 8 equal parts.

Place the circle B on A Now cut

and mark 8 points on the sector PQR
circumference of circle A. from this
circle.

Join the edges PQ and QR with a tape. Your cone is ready.

It has 7 markings.

Now Place this cone on a paper Join the 7 points to make a

and mark all 7 points. heptagon (7 sided polygon)
 30

Using the same method, We can make any polygon

we want. For example, for making a hexagon, we
have to cut two parts from the circle and then make
a cone.

For making polygons with more number of sides, we have to divide

the circle in more number of parts. This can be easily done by folding
the circle further.
 31

18 Geometric Series

Make a square
from an A4 paper

Divide it into 4 parts.

Again divide 1 out of

these 4 into 4 parts.
Divide the white square
into 4 parts. It means we
have divided 1/4 into
4 equal parts again so Again divide the white
one part equals 1/4 x 1/4. square into 4 parts

Keep dividing the

white square into
4 parts till infinity giving a Geometric Series.
 32

We can now see that the big square

is divided into 3 equal parts denoted
by black, checkered and lined parts.

Therefore, if we consider the whole

square to be 1, one part becomes 1/3.

Carbon dating used by archeologist and

paleontologists is a geometrical series!!
 33

19 knot Magic

Take an A4 sheet
and cut along the
dotted line.

Ask your friend to hold the paper as shown.

The trick is to bring the paper resting on

top of his hand to the bottom without
taking the paper out of his hand.

Ask your friend to

close eyes.
Now you fold
the paper
as shown.

Now twist the two hand cuff style rings

inside out. Left one anti clockwise and
right one clockwise.

Wow! paper handcuffs

have gone down!
 34

Twisting of loops inside out

Paper handcuffs unfurls.

Paper strip is
dangling downwards.
 35

20 Regular Pentagon
from Paper Folding
Take a square paper.

Fold
the
square
paper Fold along the
at the diagonal of
center the rectangle

Mark the half side of

the square(O) on this Fold at B
diagonal by placing such that A
the side of square on it. lies on the edge
Mark this point as A. of the square

Trace line AB

Fold along mid line Fold the other side

Fold along also along AB
line AB
 36

Bring B to A

cut along
this line
Fold like a ribbon.

Unfold to get
a pentagon
 37

21 Hexagon From
Paper folding

Take a square paper and fold it into Fold it on the other side to mark
half and make a line AD on the fold. the midpoint O of the line.

Fold the
paper on
point B,
parallel
to the
line AD.

Place point A on
Also mark the the quarter line and
quarter line . mark the point B.

Mark the intersection

Divide OD in half of quarter line and
to get the other fold line passing Join A and B, second side
quarter line. through B as C. join C and D , 3rd side of
Join BC. This is the hexagon.
1st side of hexagon
 38

fold paper on lines

AB, BC and CD.
fold along the
line AD and
superimpose
the lines from the
folded portion
to get the
remaining 3 sides.
 39

22 Dividing a Line in
Equal Number of Parts

Take a square paper and

fold it into half. mark the
point as 1/2.

Now bring left

corner of the
paper on this Divide the 2/3 part
1/2 point and in half to get 1/3.
fold the paper.
The edge cuts
the right side of
paper at a point.
Mark this point as 2/3.

In the same manner Divide it into half

bring left corner of to get 1/4 and 3/4
the paper on this on opposite sides.
1/3 point and fold the
paper. The edge cuts
the right side of paper
at the bottom side.
Mark the point as 2/4.
 40

And this way we can go on and on and

divide a line in any number of parts.
 41

23 Get Hexagon, Triangle,

Pentagon from Single Cuts

Fold the paper

in half. Get the
mid point by folding
in other direction.

Now fold the paper

so as to divide it in
3 equal parts.
We get a triangle.

Cut along the line

as shown.

Unfold it to get
a hexagon.

How can we get

a pentagon
using this method?
 42

Cut along the fold line

Fold the hexagon back

into triangle. Fold it into
half as shown.

Unfold to get an equilateral triangle.

Unfold it
Fold the triangle to get a 3
back. Fold it into pointed star.
Cut it at the fold
half as shown. If you lok closely,
line so obtained.
it is also a hexagon.
We are geting a triangle if we cut perpendicular to the edge.
For all other cases we get a hexagon.
 43

24
but triangle

Triangle With a
has 3 sides???

Single Cut
We will draw a triangle on an A4 sheet and then cut it out with a single cut.

Draw a scalene triangle

(all 3 sides unequal)
on a paper.
step 1

step 2

Place one side

of triangle on
the other
(AB on BC)
to get an
angle bisector.

Now put BC on
AC and get 2nd
angle bisector.

Next put AB on
AC to get 3rd
angle bisector.
 44

Fold along the

angle bisectors

Fold in such a manner that

the bases meet.

Cut along the base to cut the

whole triangle in one cut.

Unfold to get the

drawn triangle
 45

25
medal ribbon
a mobius band
wow!

Möbius Strip

Let’s suppose we have an ordinary band of paper.

What would happen if we cut it in half?
Sure enough, the two parts would fall apart.

Now, let’s make a Möbius strip. We can make a Möbius strip by taking a
strip of paper and giving it one turn before joining the two ends.

The special thing about this strip is that it has

only one boundary, i.e. if we trace the edge of
the strip, we would cover the entire boundary.
This is unlike the normal strip where we have
two separate disjoint edges.

What would happen if we cut this strip in half? Would we get two parts
that would fall apart? Or would we get two entangled pieces?
Let’s try.
 46
If we cut the Möbius strip with a single twist in half, we get a single
Möbius strip with double length. Now count the number of twists this
strip has.

To do this accurately, you can hold the strip in such a way that the all
the twists are in the upper half and the lower half has no twists. Now cut
the lower half and slowly untwist the upper half.

You would find out that the strip has 4 twists.

Neck ribbon configured

as Möbius strip allows it
to fit comfortably around
the neck while the medal
lies flat on the chest.
 47

26
yummy!!
potato twister
Single Möbius Strip
(Half Twist) Cut in 1/3

In the last activity, we had cut the Möbius strip in half.

What happens when we cut the strip in 1/3rd. Let’s try.

When we cut the strip in half, we end up at

the same point when we complete one turn.

But when the cut is 1/3rd (or any other value

than half), we end up on the different side
after a complete trip of the strip. And in order
to separate the part we are cutting from the
original strip, we have to take one more trip.

When we complete these two trips,

we get two strips which are entangled.
One is our original strip with a single twist.
The other one is twice in length because we went
around twice while cutting it and with 4 twists, just like
when we had cut it in half!!

Let’s say that the distance of the cut is d from both sides.
The value of d can vary from 0 to ½.
When d is zero, we would just brush past the paper
without cutting anything, and obviously, we would
have the original strip in the end.

When d is ½ (which we had seen in the last activity), the

middle part becomes zero and we get a single strip twice
the length of the original strip.
 48

You can try with a value of d closer to zero and one

closer to ½ to see the effect on the resulting strips.
When d is close to 0, the strip having 4 turns is narrow
and the strip with 1 twist is wide. And when d is closer to ½,
the strip having 1 turn is narrow and the strip with 4 turns is wide.

Now, why are they entangled?

Let’s trace the side part and see where it is in relation to the middle part.

If initially it runs left of the

middle part, after one round
it comes to the right side of
the middle strip.
So we can say that it has
crossed once over the strip.
Now again, by the time
we cover our second trip,
it comes back to the left
side of the middle strip.

Thus the narrower strip has crossed the middle strip twice and entangled
itself around the middle one.
 49

27
I have
twisted legs
Double Möbius with
Axis Perpendicular
We have learned to make Möbius bands in the previous activity.
Now we will join two bands together and then see what happens
when we cut them.

Join two bands with no twist to each other

such that their axes are perpendicular.

Mark the half cut line

on both the bands.

After second cut,

First cut one band. the strips make a
The band will split square shape with
into 2, each having all sides having
width half the previous. same width.
They will be joined with
a strip(cut 2nd band)

Now join a normal band (no twists) and

a Möbius strip with their axes perpendicular.
Mark the half cut line on both the bands

First cut the After second cut,

normal the strips make a
band. square shape with
The band all sides having
will split again into two, but same width.
one ring will be above the strip
and the other one below.
 50

Now join two Möbius bands with no twist to each

other such that their axes are perpendicular.

Mark the half cut

line on both the bands.

The bands will split into two parts,

each having width half the previous.
Both are identical hearts.

In this case, what direction did you twist the strips? If we twist both the
Mobius strips in opposite direction, we get two separate hearts. But if
they are twisted in the same direction, we get two entangled hearts!
 abra ka 51

28
dabra... gili gili
chhuuu!
Double Möbius
with Parallel Axis

First join two bands with no twist to each

other such that their axes are parallel.

Mark the half cut line on both the bands

and cut them along the line.

The bands will split into two, each

having width half the previous.

What will happen if we cut the bands at 1/3rd width?

In this case, nothing intersting happened. Let’s try other combinations.
Now join a normal band (no twists) and a Möbius band, such that their
axes are parallel. Mark the half cut line on both the bands and cut them
along the line.

The bands will split into three parts, each

having width half of the original bands.
The smaller ones will be without twist and the
larger one is just like a single mobius split into half.

Try cutting the the bands

at 1/3rd width?
 52

Let’s join now two Möbius bands, again keeping

their axes parallel. Mark the half cut line on both
the bands and cut them along the line.

The bands will split into two parts, each

having width half the original bands.
Both are identical and placed one
above the other. They are just like a single mobius split into half.

Try cutting the the bands at 1/3rd width?

They will be just like two single mobius cut
at 1/3rd but sticked to each othjer.
 53

29 Area of a Triangle

The different triangles having same base and height will have same area.

Triangle 1 and 2 have same area although they look so different.

Take a few pencils and cut them

in various sizes.
Align them in a triangular manner
on a wooden scale.
with a small scale push all these
pencils to one side but keeping the
scale fixed at the lower part.

With the same pencils and its stubs

you can get these triangles.
 54

Do you think a rectangle and a parallelogram with same base and

height will have same areas? Find out in the same manner.
 55

30 Largest Box
from A4

Fold a sheet of A4 paper

twice to get 1/4th its size.

Cut a small square from this folded sheet such that squares are
cut from all the four corners.
Can you cut all
the four squares
with a single cut?

Fold it to make a box

In the same manner make

other boxes, increasing the
size of square successively.
Stick the sides with the tape.

We would see that gradually the

area of the base decreases and
the height of the box increases as
we increase of the cut square.

Which of these boxes has the maximum volume?

 56

Fill the boxes with sand and find out which box can take maximum amount
of sand. And we can say that this box has the maximum volume.

The size of such box comes out to be maximum when a square of

approximately 4 cm length is cut in case of an A4 sheet.
 57

31 Cylinder and Sphere

Have Same Areas

Take a paper and and make a

cylinder around a ball. The height of
cylinder must be equal to the height
of ball and cylinder should touch
sphere at its equator.

Remove the cylinder

from the ball and cut
it longitudinally.

We get a rectangular shape of paper.

Now cut this paper in very thin strips
whose width must be along the height
of cylinder.

Stick all these strips on ball without overlaping. you will see that the strips
cover the sphere completely. This shows that the curved surface of cylinder
is equal to the surface area of sphere.
 58
There will be some surface of sphere which wont be covered.
This happens because the paper gets crumpled when we stick
it on sphere which gets wasted otherwise it could have been
used for the left out space. The problem can be solved if we
cut the strips of width nearing to zero.
 59

32 Cut Isosceles Triangle

Get 2 Isosceles Triangles
Can we cut an Isosceles triangle in 2 parts and get
2 isosceles triangles? Well we can do this in
some special cases. Lets find them.

In the triangle ABC, let’s assume angle B

and angle BAD as Ɂ. So the exterior
angle ADC of triangle ABD becomes 2Ɂ

Triangle ABD is isosceles.

To make triangles ABC and

ACD isosceles we need to make
either angle C as Ɂ or 2Ɂ
 60

To make triangles ABC and ACD isosceles

we need to make either angle C as Ɂ or 3Ɂ
 61

33 Golden Ratio
in Rectangle

Two quantities are said to be in golden ratio in their ratio is the same as
ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities.

So if a and b are in golden ratio

(and a is the larger of the two quantities),
it means that a/b = (a+b)/a
Let’s try and solve this. If we denote replace a/b by r,
the above equation becomes:
r=1 + 1/r or r2 = r+1
Solving this, we get r= (1+√5) = 1.618
2
This ratio is denoted by the the greek alphabet ɍ.

As we had seen in the first activity, the ratio of sides of an A4 sheet is √2

which is equal to 1.414. If we want to convert it into a golden rectangle,
the ratio of its sides should be 1.618. If we keep the length unchanged at
297 mm, we have to reduce the breadth to increase the ratio of sides from
√2 (1.414) to ɍ (1.618). The new breadth should be 297/1.618 = 183.56

Lets make a golden rectangle.

Mark the
Fold the Mark a square midpoint
A4 paper by folding paper on the line
into half. diagonally. of square.
 62

Taking the distance from one side of the square to an opposite

corner as radius, draw an arc.

This gives the length of

the golden rectangle.

A whole book has been written

on this number by Mario Livio
(The Golden Ratio:
The Story of Phi, the World's
Most Astonishing Number)
“The fascination with the
Golden Ratio is not confined
just to mathematicians.
Biologists, artists, musicians,
historians, architects,
psychologists, and even mystics
have pondered and debated
the basis of its ubiquity
and appeal.”
 Delhi 63

34
Agra

Golden Ratio in Jaipur

Triangle & Pentagon

The triangle of a pentagram is a golden triangle.

Subsequent bisection of the angle

made by bisector will keep
bisect one
giving golden triangles.
bigger
angle
Subsequent bisection of the angle other
than the one made by bisector will also
keep giving golden triangles,
but the smaller side of triangle
gives a spiral shape.

Make a regular pentagon

using the method discussed
in the earlier activity. If we
join the diagonals of the In the pentagon ABCDE,
pentagon, we get a star all the diagonals are in
shaped structure inside golden ratio with the
which is called a pentagram. sides of the pentagon.

AB and AD are in golden ratio In the same manner, AB and BE are

also in golden ratio. Can you identify other sides in golden ratios?
 64

In a golden pentagon the

golden ratio is in triangles
formed inside pentagon.

a/b or diagonal/ side is in golden ratio.

3 shaded triangles So a pentagon with diagonal as
are golden triangles previous pentagon’s side will
next pentagon.
 65

35 Polygons from Cube

Take a potato and cut it in the

form of a cube.

A number of
such cubes will be required.

Let us cut a simple

vertical section Cut a diagonal
section now.

We get a
square section. We get a
rectangular section.
What will happen if we incline
the diagonal plane somewhat
outward so that bottom part of
section cuts the two front faces Now incline the diagonal plane
in middle? such that the diagonally opposite
vertices of the plane lie midway
on the edge.

We get a
trapezoidal section!
We get a
rhombus section.
 66

What will happen if the diagonally opposite

vertices of the plane does not lie midway but
say at 1/3rd of edge? (parallelogram)

Cut diagonally such that the What will we get if the sectional plane
sectional plane touches 3 touches the 6 edges at midpoint?
vertices only.

We get a We get a
triangle. hexagon.

How can we get

a pentagon?
 67

36 Volume of Pyramid
is 1/3 of Prism
We will make a square prism(a cuboid) and a square pyramid
and then compare the volume of the two.

pyramid
cutting line prism
fold line
Fill the
pyramid Empty the Box will not
with sand. pyramid fill completely.
in the box.

Repeat the filling Again fill the pyramid

and emptying. and empty it in the box.
It is completely filled the
third time.

So volume of prism = 3 times volume of pyramid

or volume of pyramid = 1/3 volume of prism
 68

cutting line
fold line
 69

37 Volume of a Cube =
3 Equal Square Pyramid

Make three identical pyramids with the help of blue print given here.

Fold along
the dotted lines
and stick the
grey part on You get 3 equal
the faces. pyramids

Join the 3 pyramids

to get a cube
 70

cutting line
fold line
 71

38 Volume of a Cube =
6 Half Square Pyramid

Make six identical pyramids with the help of blue print given.

Fold along the dotted lines

and stick the grey part on
the faces

You get 6 equal

pyramids

Join the 6 pyramids

to get a cube
 72

cutting line
fold line
 73

39
again??
Volume of a Cube =
6 Triangular Pyramid
Make six identical pyramids with the help of blue print given.
Fold along the dotted lines
and stick the grey part on
the faces
You get
6 equal
triangular
pyramids

Join the 6 pyramids

to get a cube
 74

cutting line
fold line
 75

40 Buffon’s Needle

Make parallel lines on a sheet of paper.

The spacing(x) of lines must be less than
the length of the matchstick(L).

Place the paper on a level

ground. Drop a matchstick
from an approximate height
of 5cm on the paper.

Observe the position of sticks. It will either touch a line or fall in between
two lines without touching any line. Discard the ones which drop out of
paper. Drop 20 such sticks.

Make a table

Stick Tally propor

total
position -tion
on How many sticks fell on line?
line Calculate the proportion(p)
between Now calculate the value of pi
lines from the formula

Total
 76

Experiment with different number of sticks, or different spacing or

different length of sticks. Make sure that the length of stick is always
less than the spacing of lines. Observe.
CENTER FOR CREATIVE LEARNING
IIT GANDHINAGAR