Why Do Shapes Fit Together Perfectly?

Imagine you're playing with tiles on the floor. Some shapes, like squares and triangles, fit perfectly together without any gaps, that’s called a tessellation. But if you try to use pentagons, there might be spaces left in between.

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Examples

A square tile fits perfectly next to another square tile on the floor.
Triangles in a beehive fit together like pieces of a puzzle.
A pentagon-shaped sticker does not line up with another one, leaving small gaps.

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Categories: Math · geometry,tessellation,patterns