The stars that twinkle in the sky at night are tremendously far away. Even the closest one, called Proxima Centauri suh muh sen eye), is some twenty-five million million miles (forty million...
Costs, profits, losses
Suppose that one hot summer afternoon you decide to go into business selling glasses of cool lemonade to thirsty people. It would be fun, of course, but you would probably also hope to make some...
Atoms, electrons, forces
> Scientists called physicists use a lot of mathematics in their work. > As you can see, they use letters and symbols more often than numbers. On a desert in New Mexico, a large number of people...
Solving problems
Mathematicians used computers to help plan and launch this space shuttle. Far, far above the blue and white globe of the Earth, a strange machine, shaped much like a windmill, rushes out into the...
People who work with numbers and shapes
The astronomer scans the depths of space To find an unknown star. But how will he know its distance? Mathematics soon tells him how far! The engineer plans a gleaming bridge, To span a broad, blue...
Pyramids and other solid shapes
What's this? It looks like a design made out of triangles. Well, it is---but it's also something that you can make into something else! Trace the design on a piece of paper and then cut it out. If...
The Roads of Math
Take a line, a straight line, And divide it into three. Make the three lines form three angles, And a triangle have we. Now take this little triangle And twirl it about in space. Twirl the...
The circle of stones
> Stonehenge, a large circle of tall stones, was made by ancient people > of England. About four thousand years ago, a group of men gathered together on a broad, green plain in what is now southern...
A thousand and one hexagons
Have you ever looked into a kaleidoscope (kuh duh skohp) ? A kaleidoscope is a toy that makes beautiful designs---thousands and thousands of different designs. You can make a kaleidoscope for...
Snowflakes and honeybees
Snowflakes are a beautiful sight as they come out of the sky on a gray winter clay. But they are even more beautiful when you see them close up through a microscope. Then they look like the work of...