Goff, Christopher. (2020). A Problem Fit for a Princess: Apollonian Gaskets in History. In S. Kohli (Ed.), Math Circle Activity Database. American Institute of Mathematics. https://mathcircles.org/activity/a-problem-fit-for-a-princess-apollonian-gaskets-in-history
A Problem Fit for a Princess: Apollonian Gaskets in History
Contributor(s): Christopher Goff
Math Circles: MTC Network
The examination of an MTC logo takes us on a journey starting over 2,000 years ago in ancient Greece, passing through seventeenth century Bohemia, moving through twentieth century fractals, and ultimately forming the focus of this problem-solving session. Explore the Circles of Apollonius, the question posed by Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia to René Descartes, and Apollonian Gaskets.
This session is also suitable for a high school math circle or classroom.
Activity Handouts
Click on a handout to open in Google Drive or use the buttons below to download all handouts
Activity Guide
This guide looks at the activity in detail and goes into the history of the math.
