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Quiz about The Mbius strip and Other Impossible Figures

The Möbius strip and Other Impossible Figures Quiz

The Möbius strip is a famous example of a figure that doesn't comply with everyday geometry. What do you know about it and other, similar objects and how they're featured in art?

A multiple-choice quiz by mountainmage. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
mountainmage

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
256,414

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
2289

Question 1 of 10

1. The term Möbius strip comes from the person who discovered it. What was his name?
Hint

Ferdinand Mobius

Alfred Mobius

Johann Mobius

Carl Mobius

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Question 2 of 10

2. The Möbius strip has the property of being non-orientable, meaning that it can be moved around the surface and back to where it started so that it looks like a mirror image of itself. Which of these figures is also non-orientable? Hint

Torus

Klein Bottle

Golden Triangle

Rhombitruncated Icosidodecahedron

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Question 3 of 10

3. A famous artist was fascinated with the Möbius strip as well as other impossibilities. He put them in many pieces of his art. Who was he? Hint

Pablo Picasso

M. C. Escher

Alois Senefelder

Gottfried Mind

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Question 4 of 10

4. In 1969 and early 1970, an art contest was held to determine what a particular logo would look like. Gary Anderson, a college student, designed the winning logo, which was a Möbius strip made up of three arrows. It is still widely used today internationally. What does this logo represent? Hint

The water purification process

Recycling

The creation of nuclear energy

Trickle-down effect

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Question 5 of 10

5. In one-dimensional geometry, what quantity of sides would be impossible?

Answer: (A number)

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Question 6 of 10

6. Which impossible shape was created by artist Oscar Reutersvärd? Hint

Penrose triangle

Penrose Hexagram

Penrose Rhombus

Penrose Cylinder

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Question 7 of 10

7. Which of these is not another name for the Devil's pitchfork? Hint

Poiuyt

Blivet

Ambiguous trident

3-Pronged Impossibility

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Question 8 of 10

8. Many impossible figures are only impossible at the perspective they're shown at. In fact, perspective plays an important role in artwork with impossible designs. Which piece of art has the following quote underneath it: "Whoever makes a DESIGN without the Knowledge of PERSPECTIVE will be liable to such Absurdities as are shewn in this Frontiſpiece." Hint

Ye Olde Madhouse

A Lesson in Perspective

False Perspective

Ambiguous Perception

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Question 9 of 10

9. The impossible cube (shown at the lower left-hand corner of M.C. Escher's "Belvedere") is based off of a wire-frame 2D cube first published in 1832. Which of these is the correct name for it? Hint

Necker Cube

Dubbelzinnig Blokje

Johnson's Cube

Doppeldeutig Wurfel

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Question 10 of 10

10. This Hungarian artist (and animated film director) also dealt with ambiguous/impossible scenes, and is often held in the same esteem as Escher. His works include "Corner House" and a Möbius Strip of hands flipping pages called "Books". Who is he? Hint

Galantai Gyorgy

Edmund Tull

Tibor Kalman

Istvan Orosz

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The term Möbius strip comes from the person who discovered it. What was his name?

Answer: Ferdinand Mobius

Johann Benedict Listing was the partner of Ferdinand Möbius, but they named it after Ferdinand. It was discovered in 1858. A Möbius strip is an infinite loop, and is impossible to make naturally in reality (although, you can make one by making a paper loop, cutting through a segment, twisting it, and stapling the result).

Answer: Klein Bottle

The Klein bottle has no distinction between inside and outside surfaces. A torus is simply a bicycle tire-shaped 3D figure, the golden triangle is an isosceles triangle with two longer sides that have equal lengths and in which the ratio of this length to that of the third, and a Rhombitruncated Icosidodecahedron is a 3D figure with 122 faces.

3. A famous artist was fascinated with the Möbius strip as well as other impossibilities. He put them in many pieces of his art. Who was he?

Answer: M. C. Escher

M.C. Escher made a multitude of lithographs and woodcuts, including pieces on the Möbius strip. His most well-known pieces include "Waterfall" and "Relativity".

Answer: Recycling

The recycling symbol represents the never ending usage we can get out of materials if we reuse them. It is one of the most widely recognized logos in the world.

5. In one-dimensional geometry, what quantity of sides would be impossible?

Answer: 1

A one-sided shape would just be a line, and therefore isn't a shape at all. I don't think I need to explain why there can't be a shape with zero sides!

6. Which impossible shape was created by artist Oscar Reutersvärd?

Answer: Penrose triangle

Though Oscar created it, Roger Penrose brought the shape popularity. There is an actual Penrose triangle located in Perth, Western Australia. However, the sculpture only looks like a Penrose triangle from certain angles, as it is truly impossible to create one in reality. Also, M.C. Escher featured the Penrose triangle in his lithograph, "Waterfall", which shows an apparently never ending waterfall being implemented by a waterwheel.

7. Which of these is not another name for the Devil's pitchfork?

Answer: 3-Pronged Impossibility

Although Poiuyt makes no sense (it's the last 6 letters of the top row on a keyboard back-wards), it is accepted as an alternative title thanks to "Mad Magazine" who named it thusly in one of their issues. The devil's pitchfork appears to have a prong ambiguously lost in the middle.

Answer: False Perspective

An engraving done by William Hogarth in 1754, it purposely skews the perspective of the objects, people, and environment in the scene. It parodies misplaced perspective in art.

9. The impossible cube (shown at the lower left-hand corner of M.C. Escher's "Belvedere") is based off of a wire-frame 2D cube first published in 1832. Which of these is the correct name for it?

Answer: Necker Cube

The Necker cube was named after the man who published it, Louis Albert Necker. Because a Necker Cube is a 2D representation of a 3D object, it is drawn ambiguously, allowing for two different perspectives of it to appear to the human eye. There is no figure known as "Johnson's Cube" and the other two choices are "Ambiguous Cube" in Dutch and German, respectively.

Answer: Istvan Orosz

István Orosz, born October 24, 1951 in Kecskemét, Hungary, has an immense collection of etchings and illustrations that contain anamorphoses and optical illusions. He has also directed seven films, the most recent being "Time Sights" in 2004.

Source: Author mountainmage

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