for Teachers for Schools for Enterprise
for Teachers for Schools for Enterprise
Copyright
Course Navigator
Uriel in A Wrinkle in TimeNext Lesson 

What is a Tesseract in A Wrinkle in Time?

Chapter 2 /  Lesson 2   Transcript
Try it risk-free for 30 days

An error occurred trying to load this video.

Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support.

Coming up next: Uriel in A Wrinkle in Time

You're on a roll. Keep up the good work!

Take Quiz Watch Next Lesson
 Replay
Your next lesson will play in 10 seconds
  • 0:04 Lost in Space
  • 2:05 Basic Geometry
  • 3:02 Tesseract
  • 4:23 Lesson Summary
Add to Add to Add to

Want to watch this again later?

Log in or sign up to add this lesson to a Custom Course.

Login or Sign up

Timeline
Autoplay
Autoplay
Speed

Recommended Lessons and Courses for You

Lesson Transcript
Instructor: Christina Boggs

Chrissy has taught secondary English and history and writes online curriculum. She has an M.S.Ed. in Social Studies Education.

If you've ever studied geometry, you may know the tesseract as a cube in the fourth dimension. This lesson explains author Madeleine L'Engle's concept of the tesseract, from her novel ''A Wrinkle in Time.''

Lost in Space

Imagine that a member of your family is working on a top-secret government project. Over time, letters and notes from that person become less and less frequent. Without warning, communication drops off completely. The government assures you that everything is fine. Where did your loved one go?

This is the reality for the Murry family in A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L'Engle. Mrs. Murry and her children, Meg and Charles Wallace, are left wondering and worrying about the missing Mr. Murry. Meg and Charles Wallace learn from two mysterious women, Mrs. Which and Mrs. Whatsit, that their physicist dad was working on a special type of space-and-time travel. While experimenting with traveling from Earth to Mars, Mr. Murry was captured. To make matters worse, he was imprisoned somewhere across the universe behind 'the darkness.' If you've ever watched the Discovery Channel or science-fiction movies, you may think of 'the darkness' as dark matter, or maybe even a black hole.

So, how exactly do they save Mr. Murry when he's hidden somewhere in the vastness of space? As you may know, space travel can take quite a long time. In our solar system, the planet Mars is considered relatively close to Earth, but it's still over 34 million miles away! Traveling at about 36,000 miles per hour, it can take about 39 days to get from Earth to Mars if the planets are at their closest points. The same journey can take over 280 days if the planets are at their furthest points. From Earth to Pluto, the furthest planet in our solar system, it can take over 10 years to travel over 4 billion miles. So how could Meg and Charles Wallace possibly save their father, especially if he's not even in the same solar system? According to Mrs. Which and Mrs. Whatsit, the answer is simple. All they need is a tesseract, something they describe as a 'wrinkle in time,' which is where the book gets its name.

Basic Geometry

Before you learn about the tesseract in A Wrinkle in Time, it's helpful to understand some basic geometry. You're probably familiar with the term 'three-dimensional,' but what are the three dimensions?

The first dimension is very simple; it's just a straight line. The second dimension can be thought of as a flat shape, like a square. The third dimension includes all shapes that have depth, like a cube. If you haven't figured it out yet, the world we live in is three-dimensional. You, your teacher, and the computer or smartphone you're using to watch this lesson are three-dimensional.

In standard geometry, the tesseract is a cube in the fourth dimension. The scientist Albert Einstein described it as time. As you can probably imagine, drawing what time looks like is pretty tricky! It's not something you can necessarily see. In A Wrinkle in Time, the concept of a tesseract is explained a bit differently.

To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account

Register to view this lesson

Are you a student or a teacher?

Unlock Your Education

See for yourself why 30 million people use Study.com

Become a Study.com member and start learning now.
Become a Member  Back
What teachers are saying about Study.com
Try it risk-free for 30 days
Description

Earning College Credit

Did you know… We have over 160 college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. You can test out of the first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. Anyone can earn credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level.

To learn more, visit our Earning Credit Page

Transferring credit to the school of your choice

Not sure what college you want to attend yet? Study.com has thousands of articles about every imaginable degree, area of study and career path that can help you find the school that's right for you.

Research Schools, Degrees & Careers

Get the unbiased info you need to find the right school.

Browse Articles By Category

Browse an area of study or degree level.

Recommended Articles
You are viewing lesson Lesson 2 in chapter 2 of the course:

 Back To Course

A Wrinkle in Time Study Guide

4 chapters | 40 lessons | 2 flashcard sets

Ch 2. A Wrinkle in Time Setting
Ch 3. A Wrinkle in Time...

What is a Tesseract in A Wrinkle in Time? Related Study Materials

Create an account to start this course today
Try it risk-free for 30 days!
Create An Account

Explore our library of over 75,000 lessons

Browse by subject
Support