A Mathematical Look at Snowflakes

The next time it snows take a few minutes to admire the individual snowflakes. Their intricate crystalline structures and patterns are beautiful and fascinating. Nature is full of math and snowflakes are just one example.

Cool Math Facts about Snowflakes

• Snowflakes have six points and are hexagonal.
• Snowflakes have from 180 billion to 10 quintillion (10¹⁹) molecules of water.
• They fall at a rate of 3.1 miles per hour.
• Snowflakes have 6 basic types based on their 3 dimensional shape: flat, column, stars, dendrite, lacy, needle, and capped column.
• The temperature of the air and the humidity where the snowflake forms determines the type of snowflake that will form. Dendrites form when the air temperature is between -8 degrees Fahrenheit to 14 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Snowflakes do not have perfect symmetry.
• A branch of geometry called fractal geometry helps explain the figures of snowflakes. A mathematician, Helge von Koch, created the Koch snowflake based on the Koch fractal curve. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_snowflake

Isn’t Math Beautiful?

At Mathnasium of Cottage Grove, we love sharing the wondrous world of math with kids. Every kid should experience the fun and joy of exploring and identifying math all around them. Come see us and don’t forget to keep math fun and incorporate it into your daily life. For more ideas about incorporating math into daily life read

• 10 Fun (and Sneaky) Ways to Incorporate Math into the Winter Holidays
• Winter Break is a Great Time to Try Mathnasium
• Mathnasium of Cottage Grove’S Gift Giving Guide to Delight Children and Support Math Skills

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