SMS scnews item created by Giles Gardam at Thu 4 Oct 2012 0959
Type: Seminar
Distribution: World
Expiry: 18 Oct 2012
Calendar1: 4 Oct 2012 1300-1400
CalLoc1: Carslaw 351
Auth: gilesg@bari.maths.usyd.edu.au

# SUMS: Hendriksen -- The Mathematics of Juggling

Juggling certainly seems like a non-mathematical activity.  It looks more like a test of
reflexes than anything really related to numbers.  But imagine a juggler juggling a
whole heap of balls, when suddenly he throws one really high.  In what ways can he throw
the rest of the balls so that he can be sure to have a free hand to catch the high one
when it comes back down?

If we make a few basic assumptions about how he is juggling - like that he only catches
one ball at a time and he’s not doing anything showy like juggling behind his back or
under his legs, it turns out we can quite neatly characterise his patterns using a
simple numbering system.  After introducing the system, we’ll show a nice result or two
about the number of balls in a pattern and the types of patterns that can be done,
before moving on to construct a map of all possible juggling patterns that can be done
for a given number of balls and a maximum throw height.  The maps have some really
interesting properties that can also be investigated.

There will definitely be practical demonstrations of the juggling involved.


If you are registered you may mark the scnews item as read.
School members may try to .