By Jack Schroeder, Math Teacher
Math class can be a series of equations, or it can be a place where math meets imagination via the design process. Enter Desmos: an online graphing software program utilized by high schoolers and beyond as today’s standard graphing resource. This program is not intended for animation, illustration, or programming; yet, there is a community of intrepid artists/mathematicians that embrace this limitation to create art and animation using only mathematical equations. All FBRA 8th graders take part in this artistic expression by creating drawings using only linear equations. Typically these designs are simple 2D creations without any animation or user interface. Imagine a cat drawn entirely out of straight lines.
Two of our advanced placement Math 2 students decided to take this project to a far more advanced level. FBRA 8th graders Jackson Dunlap and Cedar Martin were inspired by this expression of mathematical mastery and artistic visionary to create and program their own version of the classic 1980’s Asteroids. Their creation named Star Blast utilizes no standard programming language. Instead this fully interactive game is created entirely with equations such as y>x(3x+5), polygon creations, and inequality shading. This is a painstaking process requiring meticulous attention to detail that circumvents the shortcuts of modern programming language and is more akin to the early stages of programming in the 70’s. The illusion of movement is created through either toggling on and off individual equations or by having variables within equations automatically adjust in real time to match the players actions.
Jackson and Cedar plan to enter their creation into the 2025 Desmos Art Expo Competition where creators of various age categories compete for the $250 prize and public display on the Desmos Studios website. We are rooting for you, boys! Way to take math and design to the next level!