THE TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS

THE TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS
Three manifestations of Morse theory in two dimensions
Vladimir N. Grujić

Abstract

In this article we present main notions and ideas of Morse theory in two dimensions, adjusted to school teachers and their talented students. We count numbers of critical points of different types and obtain interesting results about plane curves, mountainous landscapes and planets. We also derive the Euler formula for polyhedra.

Creative Commons License

Keywords: Critical point; Morse function; polyhedron.

Pages:  137$-$145     

Volume  XIV ,  Issue  2 ,  2011