What does it mean to be Golden??

Welcome to the wonderful world where everything is Golden!!

presented to you by Pete

Welcome! I am currently enrolled in a college course at the University of Illinois called The History of the
Calculus and I thought for one of my course projects it would be very helpful for my fellow scholars to
have a webpage that would help explain what it means to be "Golden" (that is in the mathematical
sense). The topic of Golden is one of the more exciting topics in mathematics and one people should be
familiar with. The goal of this annotated webpage is to list some very helpful websites that will give an
overview of Golden with examples and some sites that contain some superb activities and lesson plans
involving the concept of Golden for teachers.

A quick description of the Golden Ratio:

The Golden Ratio is often represented by Phi. Its approximate value it 1.61803... but more accurately is
represented by (sqrt.of 5 + 1) / 2. As you notice Phi is an irrational number and has some very
interesting properties and is often seen in the real world. To find out more about Phi please look at
some of the intriguing webpages below.

Links on the Golden Ratio:

Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Section- by Dr. Ron Knott. This is a very detailed webpage with a lot
of information on the Golden section and Fibonacci Sequence but on numerous pages. Be ready to
maneuver yourself through this page to find what you are looking for, but don't worry it is probably
there. There is an overview on what Golden is; there are examples of the Golden section in nature, art,
architecture, and music; Golden section occurring in Geometry and Trigonometry; constructions; you
name it.
The Golden Ratio and The Fibonacci Numbers- by Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D. This webpage contains
information on the Golden ratio with a lot of mathematical calculations and connections to Fibonacci
numbers.

The Golden Ratio- by Steve Blacker, Jeanette Polanski, and Marc Schwach. This is a student project that
contains information on the Fibonacci Sequence and Golden ratio. It includes a calculator investigation
and some worksheets.

The Golden Mean- by Brian Joseph Snyder. This is a website with very detailed explanations of how to
make the constructions of the Golden ratio, rectangle, spiral, etc. It also has many examples of the
Golden ratio in nature and a proof of the Golden Mean.

Golden Ratio- by jyce3@yahoo.com. This page contains a slight overview of the Golden ratio but has
many excellent examples of where the Golden ratio can be seen in biology, art, ancient, and
mathematics. It also contains some other good links and books.

"Unified Field" Physics- by Alex Kaivarainen. This webpage is essentially a student paper that includes
basic information about why Golden Mean Wave ratios create mathematical model of gravitation. It is
an interesting paper dealing with the Golden mean in other areas of sciences, in particular Physics.

First 10,000 Digits of the Golden Ratio- by stephan@cc.wwu.edu. This webpage is just a list of the first
10,000 digits of the Golden Ratio and a formula on how he found all the digits.

Some interesting lesson plans incorporating the Golden Ratio:

Golden Ratio- by Cynthia Lanius. This webpage gives a quick overview of the Golden ratio and then it has
a lab sheet which is used by the students to measure different objects and rank which object is closest
to the Golden ratio. There is also another page in which you attempt to build a Golden rectangle.

Is Your Body in "Golden" Shape- by Patricia Winkler. This is an excellent site in which students are asked
to measure different students and different body measurements to see who is "Golden." Within the
lesson there is a list of procedures and as a whole is very well written out with objectives and all.
A Golden Ratio Activity and Resource par excellence!- by Mark Wahl. This is another lesson plan but
which focus on measuring the dimensions of one's face. This lesson uses a particular Golden Greek face,
do you know whose it is?

Investigating the Golden Ratio Project- by Mr. Frank. This webpage is a worksheet that focuses on
measuring ancient architecture and also a seashell with a list of questions for the students to answer.