For our final project, we modeled a paper airplane moving through space. We graphed various planes and polygons to make up the figure of the paper airplane, as well as different parametric equations to create spheres to model planets surrounding the plane. We also created step-by-step instructions on how to create a paper airplane by using a combination of lines and multiple planes to mimic the look of folded paper. We utilized our knowledge of forming planes from various points on the XYZ space to create the polygons, as well as used our knowledge of ⲣ,ɸ, and θ to create the variously sized spheres. We learned how to add together various polygons within a region using the Show [] command. We also learned more about the language of Mathematica and how to visualize various points within the xyz space. We then used more code to create the texture and colors of the planets.
For our airplane model, we concluded that the Polygon [] command would best accomplish the planes. We then made a physical model of a paper airplane and measured the placement of different folds and fold points using a ruler, then converted 1 inch = 1 unit in Mathematica. We then used our coordinates and created the different steps of making the airplane shown on our poster, and combined all the polygons together using the Show[] function. After forming the overall shape of the airplane that we desired, we wanted to add more elements of multivariable calculus within our visuals, so we surrounded our plane with various planets coded with spherical coordinates to create the illusion that the plane was flying through space. We began to experiment with different textures to create various environments for our planets, and applied the same technique to our final airplane to mimic lined paper, resulting in the final picture.
