Shapes in Space: convex polyhedra with regular faces by Peter Cromwell
<< An ATM publicationThis A4-sized 32 page liberally illustrated book on convex polyhedra, together with an A1 poster, offers a concise introduction to the sort of three dimensional shapes that school students could make for themselves. The book has been well designed visually and it has been produced on a good quality paper, so it is pleasant to feel and to look at.
The diagrams have been well thought-out, which should help students visualise the shape they’re aiming for. For example, the diagrams (the book’s 2D representations of the 3D shapes) are drawn as if they were of a translucent object, so you can see through to the shape’s faces that would have been hidden. Also each of the regular polygons is colour coded – squares are purple – so that interpreting representations of the 3D shapes is easier.
The author, Peter Cromwell, introduces terminology and some historical and theoretical ideas along with the more immediately appealing diagrammatic representations of the solids. There are also plenty of questions given that a teacher could use in developing students’ understanding of these shapes. As the text is well-spaced and straight-forward in style, the book could be used by an individual or small group of students for independent study or for enrichment.
The accompanying poster would be suitable for classroom display; I’d have preferred the classification not to have been drawn on the poster, as I think the representation of the solids alone would have given an opportunity to work on classification systems; we might have devised a different one! And, of course, limiting the exploration to solids with regular faces means that you miss out on one of my favourite solids the ever-stacking rhombic dodecahedron. Ah well, may be they’ll be a sequel!
Certainly worth getting (at least one) copy for any school maths resource.
Melissa Rodd
Institute of Education, London
Shapes in Space: convex polyhedra with regular faces
Peter Cromwell
ATM Publication
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