34. Maths Stars


General Description

This program produces various mathematical stars within a circle, starting with three points on the circle and increasing the number. It is possible to stop the demonstration by pressing any key, and to stop the program using the ESC key. The program runs in Mode 5 on a Model A, but could be enhanced for the Model B.

Detailed Description

   Lines 10-300 This is the main structure of the program. See the user manual (page 77) for the disabling of the cursor in line 160. Colours are activated here.
   310-390 This procedure saves the points on the edge of the circle for the current number of points (N).
   410-520 Draws the lines to the plotted points, calling a routine to allow you to freeze the display.
   530-end This stops the display for a short while, calling the start/stop procedure.

Educational Note

Drawing these 'roses' is a favourite end of term pastime, and as such it is now possible to add a little spice to this. Many children can cope with drawing the simple roses but find the ones with several points very difficult to master. Usually their patience runs out before the pencil lead does. This will at least show them quickly what it was intended that they achieve.