Conic and cubic nomograms
Résumé
Conic and cubic nomograms were created in the first years of the 20th century by the civil engineer C. E. Wolff and the mathematician J. Clark, who were professors at the Cairo Polytechnic School. After a historical introduction, I will present the theory of these particular graphical tables and the participants of the workshop will experiment how to construct and use them, both on paper and with geometry software. These nomograms, which have many applications in mathematics and other domains, can be fruitfully exploited in the last years of secondary schools and first years or universities in an interdisciplinary context. Some activities involving them will be presented, as I could test them with students and future teachers. Such activities mix geometry, algebra and calculus, and so they permit constant interplay between frameworks.