Cynthia Lanius

Making a Fractal:

Table of Contents Introduction   Why study fractals?     What's so hot about     fractals, anyway?   Making fractals     Sierpinski Triangle          Using Java          Math questions          Sierpinski Meets Pascal     Jurassic Park Fractal          Using JAVA          It grows complex          Real first iteration          Encoding the fractal          World's Largest     Koch Snowflake          Using Java          Infinite perimeter          Finite area          Anti-Snowflake             Using Java   Fractal Properties     Self-similarity     Fractional dimension     Formation by iteration   For Teachers     Teachers' Notes     Teacher-to-Teacher   Comments     My fractals mail     Send fractals mail   Fractals on the Web     The Math Forum   Other Math Lessons     by Cynthia Lanius   Awards     This Site has received

Let's make a famous fractal called the Sierpinski Triangle. *You may print and use this triangular gridpaper. Step One Draw an equilateral triangle with sides of 2 triangle lengths each. Connect the midpoints of each side. How many equilateral triangles do you now have? Shade out the triangle in the center. Think of this as cutting a hole in the triangle. Step Two Draw another equilateral triangle with sides of 4 triangle lengths each. Connect the midpoints of the sides and shade the triangle in the center as before. Notice the three small triangles that also need to be shaded out in each of the three triangles on each corner - three more holes.

Step Three

Draw an equilateral triangle with sides of 8 triangle lengths each. Follow the same procedure as before, making sure to follow the shading pattern. You will have 1 large, 3 medium, and 9 small triangles shaded.

Step Four

How about doing this one on a poster board? Follow the above pattern and complete the Sierpinski Triangle. Use your artistic creativity and shade the triangles in interesting color patterns. Does your figure look like this one? Then you are correct!

• Answer some Math Questions on the Sierpinski Triangle.

• Check out Sierpinski Meets Pascal (Huh?)

• These students used Technology to draw the Sierpinski Triangle.

Copyright 1996-2007 Cynthia Lanius

URL http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/fractals/