Math Wonders with Seven Pieces

Now that I've posted about Tangrams I find myself pondering why they're so amazing. Just think, seven simple pieces that hold a myriad of geometric relationships such that they can be combined to create all the shapes above. And they're not easy. Just give it a try. Tangrams

Or better yet, sit with a young person and work on it together. Talk about what your brain is thinking as you try to use the seven pieces to make the different shapes. You could ask questions like: Which of the shapes has the greatest perimeter? Which shape has the greatest area? How could you design a shape with the pieces that has the maximum perimeter, or the maximum area?

Tangrams - Geometric Brain Sharpener

I just love Tangrams. I'm not that great at doing them but I love to watch my mind think as I work out a solution. The shape of "the sitting man" for instance seems easy because you know right off where two of the pieces go just by looking at the shape. So there are only 5 other pieces to place. But as you do it you discover that getting those large triangles in place can be tricky, and if you listen to your mind thinking about the options you'll find it's fascinating to see your strategies of looking at the areas of pieces, and lengths of sides, and ways that pieces could fit together to fill a certain space. And for kids - if we can get them to be aware of their thinking I believe there will be a great deal of transfer to all kinds of problems related to area, distance, angles, triangles and more. Play with it and see what you think. Try Interactive Tangrams