Pythagoras and the Ratios: A Math Adventure (Charlesbridge Math Adventures)

by Julie Ellis (Author) Phyllis Hornung Peacock (Illustrator)

Pythagoras and the Ratios: A Math Adventure (Charlesbridge Math Adventures)
Julie Ellis and Phyllis Hornung Peacock team up once again to explore Pythagorean ratios in this humorous sequel to WHAT'S YOUR ANGLE, PYTHAGORAS? Pythagoras and his cousins want to win a music contest, but first they must figure out how to play their instruments in tune, something that's never been done before.While trying to fix the problem, Pythagoras makes an important discovery--notes that sound pleasant together have a certain mathematical relationship. When Pythagoras applies this ratio to his cousins' pipes and lyres, the result is music to the ears.
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School Library Journal

Gr 47This picture-book introduction to ratio and proportion also explains the connection between math and music through a story featuring young Pythagoras and his family. Preoccupied by mathematical problems, the protagonist is constantly in trouble with his parents for neglecting his chores. When his cousin Octavius offends everyone's ears with the dissonant pipes he is practicing for an upcoming music contest, the young mathematician hears a challenge. He measures his own set of melodious pipes, calculating the ratio of each pipe to the shortest one, and discovers that Octavius's pipes need to be shortened. Later, he tunes other cousins' lyres by attaching rocks to the strings to adjust the tension. With all the instruments finally ready, the cousins play together at the contest. Unfinished chores and a broken set of pipes leave Pythagoras out of the performance, but the end result is the first "rock" group, which is a big success. The story is amusing and offers a glimpse into life in ancient Greece. Acrylic and colored pencil cartoons depict the clothing and lifestyle of the period in a pleasing palette. A historical note and an experiment in which readers are challenged to use Pythagorean ratios to create a musical instrument with six glasses of water in varying amounts are appended."Barbara Auerbach, PS 217, Brooklyn, NY" Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Julie Ellis
Julie Ellis is the author of many books for children, including PYTHAGORAS AND THE RATIOS. She wrote WHAT'S YOUR ANGLE, PYTHAGORAS? to show her daughter the uses of the Pythagorean Theorem. Julie lives in New Zealand.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781570917769
Lexile Measure
740
Guided Reading Level
O
Publisher
Charlesbridge Publishing
Publication date
February 01, 2010
Series
Charlesbridge Math Adventures
BISAC categories
JNF025020 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | Ancient
JNF035050 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Mathematics | Geometry
JNF036090 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Music | Instruments
Library of Congress categories
Ratio and proportion
Pythagorean theorem

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