Chapter 7: Shapes and Patterns

Look at a beehive, a kite, a tile floor, a marigold garland. All of these are made of shapes repeated in clever ways. Mathematicians call these arrangements patterns. Patterns are everywhere , in nature, in temples, in rangolis, in textiles.

In this chapter we meet a fresh batch of shapes , different kinds of triangles and quadrilaterals , and we learn how patterns are made by repeating, flipping, and turning them. By the end, you will see geometry hiding inside ordinary tiles and curtains.

What's inside

• Different types of triangles by sides and by angles.
• Different types of quadrilaterals , squares, rectangles, parallelograms.
• Repeating patterns and tile arrangements (tessellation).
• Spotting symmetry inside patterns.

How to read this chapter

Read in order. Take a notebook and draw every shape as you read. The hands-on tasks use colour pencils and paper, so keep them ready. Geometry is best learnt by drawing, not just reading.