MathGloss/F/Fractal

A fractal is an object or quantity that displays self-similarity, in a somewhat technical sense, on all scales. The object need not exhibit exactly the same structure at all scales, but the same "type" of structures must appear on all scales. Fractal -- from Wolfram MathWorld

• Fractals - Wolfram Demonstrations Project

• Cool math - Fractals - Fractal art, lessons and generators Back in the 1960's, a French mathematician named Benoit Mandelbrot started thinking about simple pretty simple: How long is the coast of Britain? Sure, it seems easy enough... But, think about how you'd really measure it... In 1975, he made up the word "fractal" because he thought these figures would look fractured or broken up. It wasn't until he had a computer that he could SEE a picture of what he'd been thinking about!"

• Student Activity Sheet - Today scientists, mathematicians,and artists are embracing the idea of Fractals. Snowflakes are examples of fractals in nature. Fractals are patterns that are self similar within itself. The best way to understand Fractals is to actually create a fractal. Koch’s Snowflake Curve is an example of a fractal.

• Fractals: An Introductory Lesson

• Cynthia Lanius' Lessons: A Fractals Lesson - Introduction = A Fractals Unit for Elementary and Middle School Students

• also see... Fractal