Make a sum that adds to 2. Trace the shapes you selected. Put your shapes together so they meet at one corner. When shapes fit together without gaps or overlapping, we call it a tessellation. There are three regular shapes that tessellate with themselves – triangles, squares and hexagons. To get other regular shapes to tessellate, you need to use more than one shape at a time. Cut out more shapes and extend the pattern. There are lots of different ways to tessellate with two or more shapes. Mathematicians give these patterns different names such as semi-regular tessellation, and demi-regular tessellation. The fractions in this activity are related to the angles on each shape. If you multiply each fraction by 180, you get the angle in degrees. For example, the square has the fraction 2/4 written on it. 2/4 x 180 = 90 degrees, the size of the angles in a square. When you find a set of fractions that add up to 2, you will be able to arrange the corresponding shapes to meet all at one point. The angles meeting at that point will add up to 360 degrees. If you’re after more maths activities for kids, subscribe to Double Helix magazine! This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. By submitting this form, you give CSIRO permission to publish your comments on our websites. Please make sure the comments are your own. For more information please see our terms and conditions. Sign up to our Double Helix newsletter Stay in touch with new updates by signing up to our free newsletterYou will need
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