Mathematics and Modulo Art
Mathematics and Modulo Art
School of Curriculum
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Email: [email protected]
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School of Curriculum
QUT Faculty of Education
S Block, Room S404, Victoria Park Road
Kelvin Grove Qld 4059
Phone: +61 7 3138 0035
Fax: + 61 7 3138 3985
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://ydc.qut.edu.au
CRICOS No. 00213J
Queensland University of Technology
CONTENTS
PAGE
Any pair of integers is said to be congruent modulo 5 if they differ by a multiple of 5. For
example, 3 and 18 are congruent, modulo 5, because 3 and 18 differ by 15, which is a
multiple of 5. We write this as:
3 18 (mod 5)
’ ’ ’ ’
i. 11, 1 YES / NO
ii. 0, 19 YES / NO
iii. -12, 13 YES / NO
iv. 6, 6 YES / NO
Circle YES or NO in each case, and check your answers at the end of this sheet.
3. In general, two integers a and b are said to be congruent modulo an integer n, if and
only if the difference between a and b is a multiple of n. This is written as:
a b (mod n)
i. 7 (mod 4)
ii. -8 (mod 6)
iii. 0 (mod 29)
(Check your answers with your teacher.)
6. Find two integers modulo to which the following pairs of integers are congruent:
i. 1, 11
ii. -7, 26
iii. 16, 128
(Check your answers with your teacher.)
7. The most important congruence for our purposes is the congruence (mod n) between
a number and its remainder after division by n. For example:
21 3 (mod 6)
Using this congruence we can construct modular addition tables and modular
multiplication tables.
+ 0 1 2 3 x 0 1 2 3 x 1 2 3
0 0 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 3
1 1 2 3 0 1 0 1 2 3 2 2 0 2
2 2 3 0 1 2 0 2 0 2 3 3 2 1
3 3 0 1 2 3 0 3 2 1
In these illustrations, the integer 1 appears in the fourth row of the grid of the addition
(mod 4) table because:
3 + 2 = 5 1 (mod 4)
The integer 0 appears in the second row of the grid of the multiplication (mod 4)
without zero table because:
2 x 2 = 4 0 (mod 4)
Note: The grid of the tables is the part within the lines.
1 2 3
That is, for the multiplication (mod 4) 2 0 2
Table without zero, the grid is shown
on the right. This is called a 3 x 3 grid. 3 2 1
+ 0 1 2 3 4 x 0 1 2 3 4 x 1 2 3 4
0 0 1
1 1 2
2 2 3
3 3 4
4 4
In general, modular tables (mod n) are constructed from the addition or multiplication of
the integers 0, 1, 2, …, n-1 followed by finding the remainder after division by n.
Multiplication tables (mod n) may be constructed without the zero.
i.
ii.
iii.
10. i. Shade or colour all the squares containing a 1 in each of the above tables.
iii. Using a different colour, shade all the squares containing a 0 in the above tables.
iv. Construct a larger table and repeat steps i. and ii. with your larger table.
(a) the shading for all the addition tables and the multiplication (mod 5 and mod 19)
tables without zero; and
(b) the shading for the tables other than those above?
ii. Would this difference be the same if we only shaded the squares containing a 1 ?
iv. Can you generalise a property for all numbers that distinguishes:
(a) the addition tables and the multiplication (mod 5 and 19) tables without zero, from
(b) the rest?
v. Are there any other differences between (a) and (b) above?
2. i. YES
ii. NO
iii. YES
iv. NO
3. i. FALSE
ii. TRUE
iii. TRUE
iv. FALSE
GENERATING PATTERNS
1. Here is a 4 x 4 grid.
Try to place 0, 1, 2 and 3
in the grid so that each row
and each column has just one
0, one 1, one 2, and one 3.
There are many ways in which this can be done. Grids like this are called Latin Squares.
(You may even find that your Latin Square is also a magic square – or nearly.)
2. Is this the difference you found between tables of type (a) and (b) in question 9?
(on worksheet 1).
3. These Latin Squares can be used to make mathematical poster designs. This is how:
(ii) By using different colourings or shading different parts we can let this design represent the
numbers 0, 1, 2 and 3. For example:
(iii) Now simply replace the numbers in our Latin square with their corresponding designs.
For example:
0 1 2 3
1 2 3 0
This becomes
2 3 0 1
3 0 1 2
Note: The grid that we used here was the addition (mod 4) table. Did you recognise
it? Using modular tables is one method of obtaining Latin Squares. In fact, all
addition (mod n ) tables are Latin Squares. Also all multiplication (mod p)
tables without zero, where p is a prime number, are Latin Squares.
4. Use your own colours on the same Latin Square grid on the same design to make your own pattern
from a 4 x 4 grid:
The patterns obtained in the above way may be repeated, rotated or reflected to form an attractive
poster design. For example, see what happens to Pattern 1 when it is
Pattern
repeat
1
(i) repeated:
repeat repeat
rotated
Pattern
1
Pattern reflect
1
(iii) reflected
reflect reflect
5. Notice in the above example that reflection and rotation give the same poster. Repeat, rotate and
reflect your pattern:
Pattern repeat
Repeat repeat
Pattern rotate
Rotate rotate
Pattern reflect
Reflect reflect
PATTERN VARIATION
1. Suppose we use the same design for 0, 1, 2 and 3 as we did for pattern 1, but change the Latin
Square. This is what happens:
0 1 2 3
0 2
3 2 1 0
2 3 0 1
1 3
1 0 3 2
Design Latin Square Pattern
reflecting:
rotating:
3. Experiment with designs of your own. Some grids are given below. You might like to try one of the
following design forms:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(i) repeat
0 1
2 3
(ii) rotate
0 1
2 3
(iii) reflect
0 1
2 3
4. Of course grids and Latin Squares need not only be 4 x 4. They can be 8 x 8 or 5 x 5, or any size
you wish (as long as each number in the square appears once and only once in each row and column).
Using the design for the numbers 0 to 6 and the Latin square given below, complete the pattern on
the 6 x 6 standard grid. (This Latin square is the addition (mod 7) table.) (Try using different colours).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 0
0 1 2
2 3 4 5 6 0 1
3 4 5 6 0 1 2
3 4 5 4 5 6 0 1 2 3
5 6 0 1 2 3 4
6 0 1 2 3 4 5
6
5. Using the design for the numbers 0 to 4 and the Latin Square given below, complete the
reflected pattern.
0 1 2 3 4
3 4 0 1 2
1 2 3 4 0
0 1 2 3 4 4 0 1 2 3
2 3 4 0 1
6. The designs need not be ones in which sections are coloured in. They can be anything your
imagination can think up. And the patterns can be rotated on a corner.
Using the design and Latin square below, complete the repeated pattern.
0 1 2 3
3 0 1 2
0 1 2 3
2 3 0 1
1 2 3 0
7. Using the design and Latin Square given below, complete the repeated pattern which has been
turned on one corner.
0 1 2 3
1 3 0 2
2 0 3 1
3 2 1 0
Of course a grid may be repeated (or rotated or reflected) more than 3 times. In the above
example a 4 x 4 grid is repeated to get the 8 x 8 pattern which in turn is rotated to get the
16 x 16 pattern.
9. Make a large poster of your own design using these methods. (Do a small example first to see if
you like the pattern.) A design made by us follows.
Here is a Lift Out mathematics poster for the classroom wall, drawn from the following Modulo
Art design.
1
1 2 3 4
2
3 4 1 2 3
4
3 4 1 2
2 3 4 1
X 0 1 2 3
1
2
x 1 2 3 4 5
3. Construct the multiplication table (mod 6) with zero, replace the numbers with designs of your choice and
reflect to make a larger pattern.
4. Construct the addition table (mod 4) without zero, replace the numbers with designs of your choice and
repeat to make a larger pattern.
Interesting effects can be achieved with variations from a non-standard grid. (The standard grids have all cells
equal in area.) The converging segment grid, as its name implies, consists of cells whose areas converge.
1. A common variation is achieved by doubling the width of each row and column from the first square.
8a
4a
2a
a
8a 4a 2a a
2. A variation based on the divine proportion principle is shown below. The original square of side ‘a’ has a
diagonal of 2a, which forms the width of the second row and column. The diagonal of the square now
formed is used to create the third column and row, etc.
a 2a new diagonal
a for width of
fourth column
diagonal 2a new diagonal for
width of third colum
5. Try rotating the following 5 x 5 converging segment grid using the given design and Latin Square.
0 1
2 3
0 1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4 0
2 3 4 0 1
3 4 0 1 2
4 0 1 2 3
Solution to Exercise 4:
The kaleidoscopic grid produces a very effective pattern when rotated and reflected. Two examples appear
below:
a a a
Fitting the patterns from a square into the cells of a kaleidoscopic grid can present some problems. To shade in the
quadrilaterals a method similar to the method for the square cells is used; however, the triangles are more difficult.
It is made somewhat easier by considering the triangle as half a square.
For example:
is
represented as
on , i.e.
and is
represented on as , i.e.
To illustrate this we can use the Latin Square from Worksheet 5, question 3, on a kaleidoscopic grid.
What would have been the result if the design had been rotated instead of reflected? Try it and see.
1. Construct a multiplication table (mod 5) without zero. Select your pattern designs for the digits and
complete the first quadrant of the kaleidoscopic grid below. Then rotate and reflect the designs to
complete the whole poster. Before you complete the whole poster check the solution at the end of
this worksheet to make sure that you allocated the correct digit to each cell.
Solution for allocation of digits to question 1 of the worksheet using multiplication and mod 5
without zero on a kaleidoscopic grid:
To construct circular modulo patterns we return to our modular tables. As an example, consider the
ninth row of the multiplication table (mod 19) without zero. For this row:
The final number reached is called the residue of the respective multiple of 9.
x 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
residue
(mod 9 18 8
19)
Join 1 to 9
2 to 18
3 to 8
and so on, as in the table above.
3. The chords now divide the circle into sections. Complete the pattern by colouring in alternate
areas – in this case the triangular areas. See the end of this worksheet for the solution.
In general (n, m) residue designs are constructed by dividing the circumference of a circle into
n-1 equal arcs, labelling the points of division 1, 2, . . ., n-1
Drawing a chord from each point to its m-multiple (mod n), and shading in alternate areas
produces the residue design.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
x 10 10 20 30 40 200
residue 11
(mod 10 20 9
21)
(c) Shade alternate areas (in this example shade the triangles.)
6. Use the circle below to construct another residue design, modulo 21:
x 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
residue
(mod 9 18 8 17 7 16 6 15 5 14 4 13 3 12 2 11 1 10
19)
Solution to Question 5:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
x 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36
residue
(mod 19) 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17
1. Complete the following residue designs. Try using more than one colour.
(a) (7, 3) - divide the circle into 6 parts using a compass of arc equal to the length
of the radius.
(b) (13, 5) - divide the circle into 12 parts using a compass of arc equal to half the
length of the radius.
(c) (19, 18) - divide the circle into 18 parts using a compass of arc equal to one-third
the length of the radius.
As the number of equal arcs increases so does the complexity of practically constructing the
design. The necessity of colouring alternate areas to produce a pleasing pattern is no longer
necessary. For example, consider the following ( 65, 2 ) residue designs:
To overcome practical problems, it is best to decide to divide the circle into 32 or 64 parts; or
48 or 96 parts. Dividing into 32 or 64 parts can be achieved by dividing the circle into 2
parts (with a diameter), then halving each arc (4 parts), halving again (8 parts), having again
(16 parts) halving again (32 parts) and halving again (64 parts). Dividing into 48 or 96 parts
can be achieved by dividing the circle into 6 parts (using the radius), halving each arc (12
parts), halving again (24 parts), halving again (48 parts) and halving again (96 parts).
If you are using a large number or arcs you can produce a large poster on wood by putting nails
at each point of division and using string for the arcs. (A form of string sculpture will result.)
4. Some very beautiful patterns have been produced by rotating, reflecting or repeating circular
patterns (not necessary a 90° rotation each time) or by changing the circle to a quadrant and
then rotating the quadrant. Try one of these.
You now have the mathematical bases – the only limit is your own imagination!
REFERENCES
Forseth, S. and Troutman, A., “Using Mathematical Structures to Generate Artistic designs”, The
Mathematics Teacher, May 1974, pp. 393-397.
Locke, P., “Residue Designs”, The Mathematics Teacher, March 1972, pp. 260-263.
What is the difference between method and device? A method is a device which you can use twice.
G. Polya