NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ988540
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Nov
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0746-8342
EISSN: N/A
Better than Optimal by Taking a Limit?
Betounes, David
College Mathematics Journal, v43 n5 p379-386 Nov 2012
Designing an optimal Norman window is a standard calculus exercise. How much more difficult (or interesting) is its generalization to deploying multiple semicircles along the head (or along head and sill, or head and jambs)? What if we use shapes beside semi-circles? As the number of copies of the shape increases and the optimal Norman windows approach a rectangular shape, what proportions arise? How does the perimeter of the limiting rectangle compare to the limit of the perimeters? These questions provide challenging optimization problems for students and the graphical depiction of the geometry of these window sequences illustrates more vividly than sequences of numbers, the concept of limit.
Mathematical Association of America. 1529 Eighteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-741-9415; Tel: 202-387-5200; Fax: 202-387-1208; e-mail: maahq@maa.org; Web site: http://www.maa.org/pubs/cmj.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A