Sphere with one great circle and one regular (non-great) circle
Mobius Strip with a circle 1/5 units away from the surface
Plot of flowers made from polar curves
Calling All Math Lovers!
I have exciting news to share today — my first college math project is officially complete:) Overall, this was a very interesting but ultimately a very beneficial experience to my educational journey. In high school I had been exposed to group projects, but all relating directly to topics we were covering in the class or that I worked with previously. Working in groups is often uncomfortable — be it the lack of division of work or simply the awkwardness of interacting with others — but my previous experiences with groups have all been relatively smooth. Transitioning to college, I was prepared for the worst when it came to group projects. I’d heard too much horror about things gone wrong, miscommunications, and ultimately a dissatisfactory overall experience. Needless to say, I was a bit spooked when we were assigned a group project. Not only was it in my hardest class, calculus III, but the groups were selected randomly! I was nervous, anxious, excited, stressed … basically any emotion you can think of, I was feeling. On top of all of these emotions was the fact that I was lost in how to complete the project — I was stuck, confused, and worried that I would not be able to pull my weight.
The project, while focused on what we were working on in class (parameterization), also included a component of programming and writing code that I was unfamiliar with. Each group was tasked with writing code in a programming system developed at OSU, Buckeye VR, to display 6 different curve/surface combinations:
- Intersecting planes
- A sphere with a great circle and non-great circle
- An intersecting sphere and plane
- A torus (donut) with two circles
- A mobius strip and circular curve
- Any creative combination of curves/surfaces
Left only with pictures of the goals and little instruction, we were expected to…
- Parametrize all of these curves and surfaces
- Figure out how Buckeye VR works
- Learn how to code the shapes
- Make adjustments to match the given picture
Our group divided up the work and worked individually before coming together to compare work. I ended up working on and completing the sphere with circles, mobius strip, and creative option — I chose flowers:) Though we did finish and successfully complete the project, this experience was definitely a stressful one from which I learned a lot. Initially, I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to hold my ground in a group of students who were so intelligent; I assumed I would be so far behind, not pull my weight, and ultimately disappoint the group. However, I worked very hard, researched, sought help, and was able to complete my part! This project taught me a lot about how I best learn something that is foreign to me (this being the programming), how to collaborate and share my ideas with a group, and most importantly how to be confident in my work!
There were parts to the project that came easily, for examples the mathematics behind the parameterizations, but I also struggled very much, specifically with the programming. Though this can be scary to not know how to do something important to an assignment, there are so many resources out there to contribute to your success! Not only did I get help from the internet and friends, but also the tutoring center and even my professor. I was scared of this project at the beginning — it was a group project, I didn’t know what I was doing, and I didn’t want to disappoint. From learning to code parameterized versions of curves and surfaces to seeing the value in getting help from others (and their willingness to help!), I can say that I truly learned so much from this experience. By the end, I was even having fun messing around with different parameterizations trying to make different, fun shapes appear. Maybe I would even enjoy another project for the class:)
Peace and Blessings,
CG
P.S. What a great feeling it is to work so hard to understand something and it finally works! Check out the pics of my final product above:)