A few years ago, one of our local elementary schools had a 50th anniversary celebration. The principal of the school contacted me regarding an anniversary photo the school wished to take with students and staff. The principal asked our Math Theory & Problem Solving class to come up with the "most aesthetically" pleasing dimensions for the photo. Our class was tasked with using mathematical methods to systematically design the dimensions of both digits.
Here's a quote from the newspaper article about the photo before it was taken:
Browning, who has taught at the school since 1976, starting as a music instructor and then principal in 1998, said Friday would begin with the weekly assembly in the gym.
“Each class will perform a song from each decade, starting with the 1960s,” she said. Browning added the day-long celebration for students would also include special drawings for prizes, carnival games and the group photograph – if it’s not raining. The students and staff will form a “5-0” and have their picture taken by Downey’s Photography from the Scottsbluff Fire Department’s aerial ladder truck.
The principal emailed some information about how many students and staff would be involved in the photo, the approximate height of the aerial ladder, and that the photo would be taken in a field adjacent to the elementary school.
Our class used mathematics to figure out the size of the viewing field of the camera (based on conservative estimates regarding the camera lens viewing angle). The students did some research and found information on the Golden Ratio, a number that appears over and over again in artwork.
The students wrote instructions for the staff members to utilize when organizing the photograph. We discussed the challenge of keeping that many students organized and engaged for a sufficient period of time in which the photographer could take the photo.
Below is a screenshot of the photo taken to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Westmoor Elementary.
(photo by Downey Photography)
After the photo was taken, I asked my students, "If we compute the ratio of the width of each number to the height of each number, how close is the actual value to our recommendation of the golden ratio (approximately 1.618)?"
Below are screenshots from the Geogebra worksheet examining how close the dimensions are to the target value of 1.618.
Screenshot with the initial question. Students can use measurement tools to judge whether or not the 5 and 0 in the photo meet the desired dimensions.
Clicking on the checkbox in the Geogebra sheet (Show / Hide Measurements and Ratios) reveals the details in evaluating how close the ratio of height to width for each digit is to the Golden Ratio.
Here are the details to the Geogebra sheet. If you would like to download the Geogebra sheet and mess with the values to see what happens, you can find the Geogebra sheet here.