Shapes fit together like puzzle pieces when their edges match perfectly. Some shapes, like squares or hexagons, can be repeated to cover a whole surface with no gaps, that’s called tessellating! Other shapes, like pentagons, leave tiny spaces between them, which is why you don’t see them in floors as much.
Examples
- A honeycomb is made of hexagons that fit together perfectly.
- Floor tiles are usually squares or rectangles because they fit together without gaps.
- When you try to put together three pentagon-shaped puzzle pieces, there’s always a small space left.
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See also
- What Makes Some People Better at Math Than Others?
- How Does a Fractal Work Exactly?
- What Makes a Coin Flip Fair?
- Why Is the Shape of a Pizza So Perfect?
- How Does a Clock Work?
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Categories: Math · geometry,symmetry,tessellations