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Tangrams are a seven-piece geometric puzzle that dates back at least to the Song Dynasty in China (about 1100 AD). Below[1] you will find the seven puzzle pieces. Make a careful copy (a photocopy or printout is best), cut out the puzzle pieces, and then use them to solve the problems in this section.
Whenever you solve a tangram puzzle, your job is to use all seven pieces to form the shape. They should fit together like puzzle pieces, sitting flat on the table; no overlapping of the pieces is allowed.
You can trace around your solutions to remember what you have done and to have a record of your work.
Problem 1
Use your tangram pieces to build the following designs[2]. How many can you make?
(These are all separate challenges. Each one requires all seven pieces. Once you solve one, trace your solution. Then try to solve another one.)
Problem 2
Use your tangram pieces to build the following designs[3]. How many can you make?
(These are all separate challenges. Each one requires all seven pieces. Once you solve one, trace your solution. Then try to solve another one.)
Think / Pair / Share
- Which tangram problems were easier and which were harder: making “real life” objects like cats and people, or purely mathematical objects like the rectangle?
- What do you think made one kind of problem easier or harder?
- Image of tangram puzzle from Wikimedia Commons, public domain. ↵
- Tangram puzzles from Wikimedia Commons, public domain. ↵
- Tangram puzzles from pixababy.com,CC0 Creative Commons. ↵
