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Visual Patterns in Tessellations Worksheet


  1. Think of three different objects in the world around you that have tessellating patterns.

    • Item 1:

    • Item 2:

    • Item 3:

  2. Try drawing each of these patterns using the Tessellate! activity. Choose a starting polygon shape, then bend the lines until they look like the design you are re-creating, then click the "tessellate" button.

  3. Which starting polygon shapes did you use for your three tessellations?

    • Item 1 polygon:

    • Item 2 polygon:

    • Item 3 polygon:

  4. Which types of symmetry does each tessellation use?

    • Item 1 uses __________________________

    • Item 2 uses __________________________

    • Item 3 uses __________________________

  5. Now choose one of your designs and experiment further by changing the colors.

    • Do you notice a difference when you use colors with a strong contrast rather than colors with little contrast? Describe the difference:

    • Observe your tessellations using warm colors (reds and oranges). Then try using cool colors (greens and blues). What differences are there?

    • Now mix a warm color with a cool color in the tessellation. How does this combination look compared to using two warm or two cool colors?