Project AMP
Dr. Antonio Quesada – Director, Project AMP
Tessellations
Lesson Summary:
Students will create polygon tessellations by rotation using geometry software.
Students will work with both regular and irregular polygons.
Key Words:
Tessellations, regular polygons, rotation
Existing knowledge:
Students should have previous knowledge of regular polygons, interior angles in a
polygon, and the midpoint of a segment.
Learning objectives:
1. Create regular polygon tessellations by rotation.
2. Determine which regular polygons tessellate.
3. Create polygon tessellations by rotation.
4. Determine what conditions cause a polygon to tessellate.
Materials:
Computer lab or set of calculators equipped with Cabri Geometry II and a lab worksheet.
Suggested Procedure:
• Group students in pairs.
• Discuss the definition of a tessellation with students.
• Have students complete the lab to discover the properties of tessellations.