Daphne
Gul Dolen, Calculus AB 1993
Keystone
School, San Antonio, Texas
On the first day of Christmas, Newton gave to me an apple falling from a tree.1
On the second day of Christmas, Newton gave to me two refracting prisms2 and an apple falling from a tree.
On
the third day of Christmas, Newton gave to me Three Laws of Motion3, two refracting prisms and an apple
falling from a tree.
On
the fourth day of Christmas, Newton gave to me four flying comets4, Three Laws of Motion, two refracting
prisms and an apple falling from a tree.
On
the fifth day of Christmas, Newton gave to me five optic rings5, four flying comets, Three Laws of Motion,
two refracting prisms and an apple falling from a tree.
On
the sixth day of Christmas, Newton gave to me six reflecting telescopes6,
five optic rings, four flying comets,
Three Laws of Motion, two refracting prisms and an apple falling from a tree.
On
the seventh day of Christmas, Newton gave to me seven spectrum colors7,
six reflecting telescopes, five optic
rings, four flying comets, Three Laws of Motion, two refracting prisms and an apple falling from a tree.
On
the eighth day of Christmas, Newton gave to me eight tides of water8, seven spectrum colors, six reflecting
telescopes,
five optic rings, four flying comets, Three Laws of Motion, two refracting
prisms and an apple falling
from a tree.
On
the ninth day of Christmas, Newton gave to me nine orbiting planets9,
eight tides of water, seven spectrum
colors,
six reflecting telescopes, five optic rings, four flying comets, Three Laws of
Motion, two refracting prisms
and an apple falling from a tree.
On
the tenth day of Christmas, Newton gave to me ten feuds with Hooke10, nine orbiting planets, eight tides of
water,
seven spectrum colors, six reflecting telescopes, five optic rings, four flying
comets, Three Laws of
Motion, two refracting prisms and an apple falling from a tree.
On
the eleventh day of Christmas, Newton gave to me eleven differential equations11,
ten feuds with Hooke, nine
orbiting
planets, eight tides of water, seven spectrum colors, six reflecting telescopes,
five optic rings, four flying
comets, Three Laws of Motion, two refracting prisms and an apple falling from a tree.
On
the twelfth day of Christmas, Newton gave to me twelve homework problems, eleven
differential equations,
ten
feuds with Hooke, nine orbiting planets, eight tides of water, seven spectrum
colors, six reflecting telescopes,
five optic rings, four flying comets, Three Laws of Motion, two refracting prisms and an apple falling from a tree.
Notes:
1
Newton used the example of an
apple falling from a tree to explain his theory of gravitation.
2
Newton used two prisms to prove
that, by refracting light, white light is actually made up of a spectrum of
colors.
3
Newton formulated the Three Laws
of Motion, which were the basis of most of his other discoveries.
4
Newton, through his studies,
traced the path of a comet, which was once feared. Later the comet was named
Halley's Comet
after
one of Newton's friends.
5
Newton discovered patterns of
optical light, a phenomenon called Newton's rings.
6
Using a reflector, Newton
invented the first reflector telescope.
7
Through his study of light,
Newton discovered the spectrum of visible light (the colors of a rainbow).
8
Using his theories of
gravitation, Newton explained the mechanics of the tides of the shorelines of
the earth.
9
Newton explained how large
objects, like planets, could stay in orbit (his gravitational laws).
10
During his lifetime, Newton had
many petty tiffs and disagreements with Hooke that could have been avoided if
Newton
had
acted in a more mature and professional manner.
11
Newton invented integral calculus
which uses derivatives and antiderivatives to find areas of irregular shapes. He
called
derivatives
of dependent variables "fluxions."