science

Trilon

Trilon is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Trilon rather than just read about it. In short: A trilon is a three-faceted prism-shaped object. A trilon can be made to rotate on an axle to show different text or images which may be applied to any of its three facets.

Key takeaways

Trilon belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Trilon to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Trilon from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A trilon is a three-faceted prism-shaped object. A trilon can be made to rotate on an axle to show different text or images which may be applied to any of its three facets. Trilons have been used on billboards, variable-message signs. and in game shows.

Signage Trilons have been used in roadside billboards and variable-message signs. Particularly in billboards, many long, thin trilons are placed side-by-side in the frame and periodically rotate simultaneously to cycle the billboard through three separate signs, although many have been replaced by dot-matrix signs capable of displaying a much wider range of messages.

Game shows The game board on the original Concentration may have been the first use of trilons on a game show. The game combined the card game with a rebus puzzle. The original game board consisted of 30 motorized trilons. One facet of each trilon had an identifying number. A description of a prize or other game element was on a second facet, and a portion of a rebus was on the third facet. The rebus was gradually revealed as the game progressed. Puzzle pieces were kept under high security and were attached to the trilons only as needed. Trilons became a common element on many other game (and reality) shows including:

Three on a Match, which used a board with three columns of four trilons each, but unlike Concentration, these trilons rotated vertically rather than horizontally. Several incarnations of the Pyramid series (exceptions were the main game board in 1990 and all boards in the 2002 and 2012 versions). The main game in the game show Whew! The first season of Street Smarts. The spaces on the letter board in Wheel of Fortune were trilons until 1997. The entire game board on the original Family Feud was one large trilon through 1994. The board used in the Hidden Pictures rounds on the syndicated version of the Nickelodeon game show Finders Keepers. The "Jailtime Challenge" round of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? used a game board with 15 trilons that, like those on Three on a Match, rotated vertically. The game show Debt had a game board with thirty trilons during its first season. Several pricing games featured in The Price Is Right, such as Bargain Game, Hot Seat and One Away. The live competitions on the American version of Big Brother. Mechanically speaking, trilons had a penchant for being temperamental, labor-intensive, and very noisy. They were largely replaced by on-set television monitors, as on Jeopardy! (starting with the 1984 revival, although pull-cards were used instead of trilons to show the categories until 1991). They were replaced by a CGI game board on the 1987 "Classic" revival of Concentration and Family Feud (starting with the 1999 revival).

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Trilon

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Trilon claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Trilon before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Trilon ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Trilon

In research: Trilon appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Trilon in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Trilon is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Geometric shapes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Trilon outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Trilon in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Trilon means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Trilon out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Trilon in simple terms?

A trilon is a three-faceted prism-shaped object. A trilon can be made to rotate on an axle to show different text or images which may be applied to any of its three facets.

Why does Trilon matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Trilon?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Trilon.