FRACTALS and

TESSELLATION
 FRACTALS

- Mathematical constructs characterized

by self-similarity

(one examines finer and finer details of

the object, the magnified area is similar to
the original but is not identical to it)
- It is a geometric shape has
fractional dimension;
- they tend to appear nearly the
same at different levels
Fractal Geometry – a discipline named and
popularized by BENOIT MANDELBROT

Fractus which means “broken” or

“fractured”

Then extended the concept of theoretical

fractional dimensions to geometric
patterns in nature
 FRACTALS IN NATURE
BARNSLEY FERNS Romanesco Broccoli
FRACTALS IN NATURE
TREES LIGHTNING
 Iteration
-Repeating a process over
and over

RECURSION: Following a
rule repeatedly (Fibonacci
Numbers)

SCALING FACTOR:
distance between points
(fraction)
Sierpinski Triangle
Koch Snowflake
TESSELLATION
TESSELLATION

• A tessellation is created when a shape is

repeated covering a plane without any gaps

or overlaps.

• A pattern covering the plane by fitting

together replicas of the same basic shape

• Maurits Escher

“Father of Tessellation”

He elaborated tessellation as
mathematical but artistic.
Some of Escher’s works:

HORSEMEN
BULLDOG
Tessellations around us…

HONEYCOMB
Tessellations around us…
SNAKE SKIN
Tessellations around us…

PAVEMENT / FLOOR TILES

 REGULAR TESSELLATION

• Regular Polygon
– Polygons with congruent sides and
angles.
– Examples: equilateral triangle,
square, regular pentagon, regular
hexagon, etc.
Properties of Regular Tessellation

1. The tessellation must tile and fit

with no overlapping/gaps.

2. The tiles must be regular polygons

and all the same.

3. Each vertex must look the same.

The three regular tessellations

TRIANGLES SQUARES HEXAGONS

 SEMI-REGULAR TESSELLATIONS

ARCHIMEDEAN TESSELLATIONS
- Regular tessellations of two or more
different polygons around a vertex and
each vertex has the same arrangement
of polygons
 EXAMPLES OF SEMI REGULAR
TESSELLATIONS

TRIHEXAGONAL
TILING
EXAMPLES OF SEMI REGULAR
TESSELLATIONS

TRUNCATED
SQUARE
TILING
 EXAMPLES OF SEMI REGULAR
TESSELLATIONS

SNUB
SQUARE
TILING
SAMPLE TESSELATIONS
TESSELLATION MAKING
 Materials

1. Long sized bond paper (at least 3 sheets)

2. Ruler (optional)
3. Pencil
4. Coloring materials
5. Clear tape
6. Index card (2.5”x3”)
7. Scissors
 Translation Tessellation

STEPS:
1. Cut an index card in half, creating a 2.5“ x 3"
rectangle.
2. Draw a line between two adjacent corners on
one of the long sides of the rectangle. Your line
can be squiggly or made up of straight
segments.

Whatever its shape, your line must connect two

corners that share one side of the rectangle.
3. Cut along the line you drew.
Take the piece you cut off and
slide it straight across to the
TA PE

opposite long side of the

rectangle. Line up the long,
straight edges of the two pieces
and tape them together.
 TA PE
4. Now draw another line that
connects two adjacent corners on
one of the short sides of the shape.

5. Cut along this new line. Take

TA PE
the piece you cut off and slide it
straight across to the opposite
TA PE

side of the shape. Line up the

straight edges and tape them
together.
 On your paper, carefully trace around your
pattern shape.
 Making a Reflection
Tessellation

STEPS
1. Cut an index card in half, creating a 2.5" x 3"
rectangle.

2. Draw a line between two adjacent corners

on one of the long sides of the rectangle. Your
line can be squiggly or made up of straight
segments.
3. Cut along the line you drew. Take the piece
you cut off, flip it over and then slide it across to
the opposite long side of the rectangle. Line up
the straight edge of the piece with the straight
edge of the opposite edge of the rectangle.
Tape the piece in place.
4. Now draw another line that connects two
adjacent corners on one of the short sides of
the shape.
5. Cut along this new line. Take the piece you
cut off, flip it over and then slide it straight
across to the opposite side of the shape. Line
up the straight edge of the piece with the
straight edge of the shape. Tape the piece in
place.
On your paper, carefully
trace around your
pattern shape. It may
help to position the
squared-off corner
(formerly the edge of the
index card) in one corner
of the grid.
 Rotation Tessellation

1. Draw a 2.5" x 2.5" square on your index

card.
2. Cut out the square from the index card.
3. Draw a line between two adjacent corners
on one side of the square.
4. Cut along the line you drew. Take the
piece you cut off (without flipping) and
slide it to an adjacent side of the square.
Line up the straight edges and tape
them together.
5. Now draw another line that connects the two
corners on the side adjacent to the cut side of
the square.
6. Cut along this new line. Take the piece you
cut off (without flipping) and slide it to its
adjacent side. Line up the straight edge of the
cut piece with the straight edge of the square,
and tape them together.
On your paper, carefully trace around your
pattern piece.