MTE3103 Geometry

Topic 1
Plane Tessellations
1.1 Synopsis
The use of mathematics in art and design is very wide. This topic explores the use of
mathematics in this area focusing on the creation and analysis of designs in two-dimensional
plane. The type of tessellations discussed included regular, semi-regular and irregular
tessellations. Escher-type tessellations also will be discussed. A new branch of mathematics,
i.e. Fractal Geometry also will be introduce here.
1.2 Learning Outcomes
. Explain the types of tessellations.
!. "esign simple Escher-type tessellations.
#. $alculate the similarity dimension for Fractal Geometry.
1.3 Conceptual Framework

MTE3103 Geometry
1.4 Tessellation
A tessellation is a pattern which completely covers a surface or plane without any overlapping of
the shapes used.
%implest example for tessellations include the types of tillings on most bathroom floors. %ome
exciting examples include &slamic Tiles star pattern and Escher-type tessellation. Escher-type
tessellation will be discuss later in this modul.

!
Figure .' ()* &slamic Tiles star
pattern Tessellation

MTE3103 Geometry
1.4.1 Types of Tessellation
There are several way of classifying tessellations. This includes clasification by the
number of shapes used in the tessellations or categori+ed by regular polygons, semi-
regular polygons or irregular polygons. This modul will categori+e tessellation according
to the number of different shapes used.

1.4.1.1 Tessellations sing One S!ape
,e will begin by loo-ing at the simplest type of tessellations, i.e. formed by using only
one shape. &t can be categori+ed according to using regular polygons and irregular
polygons.
Tessellations using regular polygons
There are only three regular polygons which alone completely cover the plane, i.e. the
e.uilateral triangle, the s.uare and the regular hexagon.

#
Figure .' (!)* Escher-Type
Tessellation
Figure .' (#)* E.uilateral triangle-based
tessellation

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&f we observe the tessellations carefully, we will find that every vertex in the basic shape
used meets the vertices of the neighbouring shape. ,hat is vertex/ The vertex is the
corner or sharp point of the shape. Figure .' (0) show a vertex in s.uare-based
tessellation*
1ertex
&n any tessellation there are at least three polygons whose vertices meet at the same
point. "o you -now why/
A polygon is a plane figure with three or more straight line segments as its sides. %ince
it is !-dimension figure, the total angle in each vertex must be #02. For example, one
interior angle for a e.uilateral triangle is 02. There are six e.uilateral triangles which
meet in each vertex. Thus , and e.uilateral triangles alone can form
'
Figure .' (')* %.uare-based tessellation
Figure .' (3)* 4egular hexagon-based
tessellation
Apart from these three regular polygons which alone can form tessellations, is thare
any other regular polygon which can tesselate/ ,hy/
Figure .' (0)

MTE3103 Geometry
tessellations. For the s.uare, one interior angles is 52 and four vertices would meet.
. Therefore, s.uares itself can form tessellations.
6olygons with five sided are called pentagons. For a regular pentagon, one interior
angle is 27. &f we have 3 pentagons place next to each other, , which
is less than #02 . &n this case, regular pentagons alone cannot produce a tessellation.

6olygon with six sides is a hexagon, and the interior angle for regular hexagon is !2.
,hen three regular hexagons meet in a vertex, .
Thus regular hexagons alone can form tessellations.

,e extend the same idea for regular heptagon, i.e. a polygon with seven sides. Each
interior angle is !7.38, when three regular heptagons meet in a vertex,
&nterception will happen9 as shown in the figure below*
3
Figure .' (8)* There is a
gap with three regular
pentagons.

MTE3103 Geometry

For polygons with bigger number of sides, having three regular polygons such that the
vertices meet without overlapping is impossible. As we have seen ealier, only three
regular polygons can on their own form tessellations.

Tessellations using irregular polygons
Tessellations also can be formed from irregular polygons. :ere are some examples*

1.4.1.2 Tessellation using two or more s!apes
Homogeneous tessellations are tessellations which use two or more regular polygons to
tessellate such that the pattern formed at each vertex are the same. Homogeneous
0
Figure .' (5)*
4ectangular based
tessellation
Figure .' (2)*
Trape+ium based
tessellation
Figure .' (7)

MTE3103 Geometry
tessellations also -nown as semi-regular tessellations. %everal examples of semi-
regular tessellations are given below*











%emi-regular tessellations are named according to the number of regular polygons which
meet at each vertex. For the first example above, there are two hexagons and two
e.uilateral triangle which meet in each vertex. :exagon has six sides and triangle has
8
#.0.#.
0
'.7.7
#.#.#.'.'
#.#.#.#.0

MTE3103 Geometry
three sides. Therefore, the tessellation is indicated as #.0.#.0., i.e. a triangle followed by
a hexagon, another triangle, another hexagon, in cloc-wise order. ,hy it is not read as
0.#.0.#/ &n some boo-s this is written as 0.#.0.#., which is not wrong, but we try to -eep
the smaller number first. &f we had #.#.0.0. instead, this would mean something
different* two triangles followed by two hexagons.
The symbol for semi-regular tessellation is important, as it can show if the tessellation is
homogenuous. There are semi-regular tessellations which is not homogenous, as show
in the example below below. $an you distinguish the difference between homogenuos
tessellations and non-homogenous tessellatons/


1." Tessellation an# $rt
&f we relate tessellations with art, we have to tal- about the art wor-s that has been
developed by a "utch artist, called, ;.$ Escher (757-58!). There are numerous
examples of Escher<s wor-, which is highly mathematical, included in boo-s, on T-shirts,
=igsaw pu++les and coffee mugs.
Escher derived much of his inspiration during his first visit to Alhambra in %pain in 5!!,
where he studied ;oorish masaics. :owever, unli-e the ;oors, who were forbidden to
7
6repare a pair of scissors, glue and colour papers, spend thirty minutes to create
homogenuos tessellations by combining several shapes of e.uilateral triangle, s.uare,
regular pentagon, regular hexagon, regular heptagon or regular octagon.
En=oy>
Figure .' ()

MTE3103 Geometry
use ?graven images< and only made tiling patterns with geometric shapes, Escher
attempted to create tessellations with shapes which represented ob=ects, animals and
birds.

%everal art wor-s by ;.$. Escher*


1.".1 Creating your own %sc!er&type Tessellations
&n this section we will show you two of the simplest ways of creating Escher-type
tessellations. From your previous reading, you should be aware that in producing
tessellations with animate ob=ect is not easy and that Escher had spent incredible
amount of time in researching, practising and implementing his designs.
5
4eading material * EscherGeometry meets art by @. Ansell, The Magic Mirror of
M. C. Escher by @. Ernst dan M. C Escher at work by G.A. Escher.

MTE3103 Geometry
1.".1.1 Tessellations 'ase# on altering opposite parallel si#es
This method involves altering one side and then altering the opposite parallel side in a
similar wayAsee the following figure*



1.".1.2 Tessellations 'ase# on (otation
,e have seen earlier that there are only three regular plane tessellations B those using
e.uilateral triangle, s.uare and regular hexagon. ,hile the s.uare and the regular
hexagon have opposite parallel sides, the e.uilateral triangle does not, thus this
techni.ue cannot apply for triangle.
:owever, we can alter a side, and alter one of the ad=acent sides in the same way
through a rotation. This method of altering ad=acent sides can be used to produce
tessellations based on the regular hexagon as well.
2
Figure .3 ()* A simple tessellation
based on a s.uare.

MTE3103 Geometry

The figure above show the design with e.uilateral triangle based, where we altered a
side, then alter one of the ad=acent side by rotation. Cbserve the figure above carefully,
you will find out the third side altered half of the side only and then rotating that alteration
around the mid-point of the side. $an you see how the tessellation form/ "iscuss in
your group>
1.) Fractal *eometry
:ave you ever used a computer program to enlarge a portion of a photograph/ &f the
photograph is enlarged too much, the image may become blurred. A mathematician,
@enoit ;andelbrot (5!'- ) discovered some remar-able methods that enable us to
create geometric figures with a special property* if any portion of the figure is enlarged
repeatedly, then additional details of the figure are displayed. ;andelbrot called these
endlessly repeated geometric figures fractals.

$reate an Escher-type tessellation by using one of the methods discussed above.

Figure .3 (!)

MTE3103 Geometry



Figure .0 ()* Set +an#el'rot
@enoit ;andelbrot is -nown as the father of Fractal Geometry. :e was not the first person to
create a fractal, but he was the first person to discover how some of the ideas of earlier
mathematicians such as George $antor, Giuseppe 6eano, :elge 1on Doch, ,aclaw %ierpins-i
dan Gaston Eulia could be united to form a new type of geometry. ;andelbrot also recogni+ed
that many fractals share characteristics with shapes and curves found in nature. For instance,
the leaves of a fern, when we compared with the whole fern, are almost identical in shape, only
smaller in the si+e.
!

MTE3103 Geometry

At the present time, there is no universal agreement on the precise defination of a fractal, but
we can define fractal as follows. A fractal is a geometric figure in which a self-similar motif
repeats itself on an ever-diminishing scale.
Figure .0 (#)* Self&similarity is s!own in Sierpinski *asket
Fractal generally constructed by using iterati,e processes in which the fractal is more closely
approximated as repeated cycle of procedures is performed. For example, a fractal -nown as
Koch Cure is contructed as follows*
Stage -* %tart with a line segment. %tage 2 in a fractal is called the initiator of the fractal.
#
Figure .0 (!)* Fern leaves

MTE3103 Geometry
Stage 1* Cn the middle third of the line segment, draw an e.ulateral triangle and remove its
base. %tage in the fractal is called the generator of the fractal.
Stage 2* 4eplace each initiator shape with a scaled version of the generator to produce the next
stage of the Doch curve. The width of the scaled version of the generator is the same
as the width of the line segment it replaces. $ontinue to repeat this step for the
additional stages of the Doch curve.
%.ample 1.)/101 2oc! Cur,e
Stage -*
Stage 1*
Stage 21
'

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%.ample 1.)/201 Sierpinski gasket
Stage -1

Stage 11

Stage 21
%.ample 1.)/301 Box Fractal
3

MTE3103 Geometry
Stage -1
Stage 11
Stage 21

%.ample 1.)/401 Peano curve
0

MTE3103 Geometry
Stage -1
Stage 11
Stage 21
1.).1 Strictly self&similar fractals
All fractals show a self-similar motif on an ever-diminishing scale9 however, some
fractals are strictly self-similar fractals, according to the following defination.
8
3efinition1
A fractal is said to be strictly self&similar if any arbitrary portion of the fractal
contains a replica of the entire fractal.
"raw %tage # and %tage ' for all the example .0(-') above.

MTE3103 Geometry
Example 1.)/"0:
"etermine whether the following fractals are strictly self-similar.
a. ?Koch snowflake<. b. ?Koch cure<
Solution:
a. Koch snowflake is a close figure. Any portion of the Koch snowflake (as shown in the
circled in figure .0 (')) is not a closed figure. Thus the Koch snowflake is not a strictly
self-similar fractal.

b. &t is .uite obvious that any portion of Koch cure replicates the entire fractal, the Koch
cure is a strictly self-similar fractal. The figure is shown in the following figure.
7
Figure .0 (')* The portion of the
Doch snowfla-e shown in the circle
is not a replica of the entire
snowfla-e.

MTE3103 Geometry
1.).2 (eplacement (atio an# Scaling (atio
There are two numbers that are closely related to many fractals are the (eplacement
(atio and Scaling (atio.
%.ample 1.)/)0 1
(i) Koch Cure
5
(eplacement (atio and Scaling (atio*
&f the generator of the fractal consists of ! replicas of the initiator, then the
(eplacement (atio of the fractal is !.
&f the initiator of a fractal has linear dimensions that are r times the
corresponding linear dimensions of its replicas in the generator, then the
Scaling (atio of the fractal is r.
Figure .0 (3)* Any portion of the Doch curve is a replica of the entire
Doch curve.
"etermine whether "ierpinski Gasket and #eano cure are strictly self-
similar fractal.

MTE3103 Geometry
%tage 2* %tage *
(ii) "ierpinski Gasket
%tage 2* %tage *
Find the replacement ratio and scaling ratio for
(i) Doch cure
(ii) %ierpinski Gasket
"olution*
(i) The generator of Koch cure consists of four line segments and the initiator consists of
only one line segment. Thus the replacement ratio for Koch cure is ' * , or '.
The line segment in initiator is three times longer than the replica line segments in the
generator. Thus the scaling ratio of the koch cure is # * , or #.
(ii) The generator of the "ierpinski Gasket consists of three triangles and the initiator
consists of only one triangle. Thus the replacement ratio of the %ierpinski Gasket is
# * , or #.
!2

MTE3103 Geometry
The triangle of the "ierpinski Gasket in the initiator has a width that is ! times the width
of the replica triangles in the generator. Thus the scaling ratio of the "ierpinski Gasket is
! * , or !.
1.).3 Similarity 3imension
A number called the similarity $imension, %, is used to .uantify how densely a strictly
self-similar fractal fills a region.
%.ample 1.)/401
Find the similarity dimension of the,
(i) Koch cure
(ii) "ierpinski gasket
"olution*
(i) Doch curve is a strictly self-similarity fractal, thus we can find its similarity dimension.
From calculation on e.ample 1.)/)0, replacement ratio for Koch Cure is ' and scaling
ratio is #. Thus the Doch curve has a similarity dimension of
% F
(ii) Also from e.ample 1.)/)05 4eplacement 4atio for "ierpinski gasket is # and scaling
ratio of !. Therefore, the %ierpins-i gas-et has a similarity dimension of
!
Find the replacement ratio and scaling ratio of the
a. #eano cure b. &o' (ractal
The similarity $imension (%) of a strictly self&similarity fractal is given by
% F
where ! is the replacement ratio of the fractal and r is the scaling ratio.

MTE3103 Geometry
% F
1.).3 Fractal *eometry in 3aily Life
1.).3.1 Fractal in 6atural Life

(i,ers Clou#

Lig!tning Leaf ,eins
1.).3.2 Fractal in 7uil#ings
!!
$ompute the %imilarity "imension of the
a. #eano cure b. &o' (ractal

MTE3103 Geometry

7a&8li in $frika +enara %iffel in Paris
For further information about this chapter, you are encouraged to do your extra reading
and surfing in the internet. Gou will feel excited how mathematics can be so beautiful>
:appy reading>
(emin#er1 Please make sure all t!e printe# materials5 inclu#e# your notes an# your
solutions is kept properly in your portfolio.
!#