Dimensions
(www.dimensions-math.org/Dim_E.htm)
Grades 7-12, with parental supervision
Created by three math enthusiasts (with terrific credentials) this site offers a free film on mathematics that references the work of renown mathematicians, scientists, artists, and others in a multi-media presentation that is sure to amaze and (hopefully) make the subject matter understandable.
When you get to the site, click on “Tour/Guide” to get an overview of the course. Then click on “Watch Online” and choose “American English” to start the video in English. Of course, if you prefer, you can watch it in German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Arabic.
Back on the main page, click on “Details” so you can follow along by chapter:
- Chapter 1, Dimension Two – Learn or review what meridians and parallels are.
- Chapter 2, Dimension Three – Mixes “elementary” math with imagination and philosophical elements.
- Chapters 3 and 4, Fourth Dimension – Contains more difficult mathematical concepts. However, the viewer is encouraged to pause the film and consult a reference page for additional information. As the creators explain, “you can always sit back and enjoy the pictures!”
- Chapters 5 and 6 – Contains an introduction to complex numbers that could also be used as a refresher course. As the designers explain, “If you know nothing about complex numbers, you should push the pause button as often as you like, and try to understand using the references that we propose. These chapters are the most ‘school-like’ of the film. To thank you for your efforts, chapter 6 ends with an amazing deep zoom scene.”
- Chapters 7 and 8 – Get an introduction to the Hopf fibration. Again the film creators explain that even though it’s not beginner’s stuff, “it is quite pretty and deserves to be understood.”
- Chapter 9 – Shows the proof of a theorem of geometry that is relatively “elementary.” As the designers explain, “Without proofs for theorems mathematics would not exist, and we wanted to make this very clear at the end of a film that is essentially about mathematical objects.”
Each lesson or “chapter” of the film is almost 14 minutes long. Watch it in segments or sit down and watch the whole thing in one sitting. You are encouraged to use it in a way that works for you “based on your interest, your prior knowledge on the subject, or simply on your mood of the moment!”
