While studying for his PhD at Cambridge, Penrose became fascinated by the geometry of covering a plane. Octagons and squares can be arranged to form a semi-regular pattern:
The image that we are likely to think of is known as a regular tessellation, where all the shapes are regular and of the same type, for example:Ī semi-regular tessellation is made up of two different regular shapes and each vertex (i.e. Traditionally, the pattern formed by a tessellation is repetitive. Two people have principally been responsible for investigating and developing tessellations: Roger Penrose, an eminent mathematician, and the artist, M.C.Escher. Tessellations are a common feature of decorative art and occur in the Presumably this is an indication of the fact that tiles of this shape are the easiest to interlock. The word tessellation itself derives from the Greek tessera, which is associated with four, square and tile. Tessellation is a system of shapes which are fitted together to cover a plane, without any gaps or overlapping. And of course, there is so much maths involved! It seems a golden opportunity to link art with maths, allowing the creative side of your children to take over. There is so much scope for practical exploration of tessellations both For many, this is their preferred method of learning and, in general, it engages pupils more effectively. So often in the classroom we try to make activities more enjoyable for the children by varying our teaching to include a more tactile or "hands on" approach. 'Why tessellation?' you may well be asking.
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