PAPER MAGIC

FOLDING POLYGONS

Contents Introduction 2
Metric Paper 3

Folding Instructions:
Isosceles Triangle 4
Equilateral Triangle 5
Square 6
Rhombus 1 7
Rhombus 2 8

Pull out Paper Magic Poster centre pages

Kite 1 9
Kite 2 10
Regular Pentagon 11
Regular Hexagon 12
Regular Octagon 13

Activities:
Investigating Properties 14
Investigating Angles 15
Further Activities 16

Paper Magic has been produced by the Educational

Television Company to accompany the Channel 4 Schools
series Moths Everywhere.
For transmission details and information on other resources
which accompany this series, please contact:

The Educational Television Company

PO Box 100
Warwick
CV346TZ

Tel: 0926 433333

Fax: 0926 4501 78

Written by William Gibbs and Liz Meenan

Credits
Designed by Steve Chapman

© 1994 The Educational Television Company Ltd.

The activity pages are photocopiable for use within the
purchasing institution only.
INTRODUCTION
Paper is one of the most commonly used materials in daily life. It is
hard to imagine a world without it.

The word paper is derived from 'papyrus'- a reed which grows on

the banks of the river Nile. The early Egyptians flattened the stalks
of this reed and wrote on it - hence the Dead Sea Scrolls. But this
'paper' was very brittle and could not be folded.

Paper as we know it was invented in China in 105 AD. T'sa Lin, a

minister in the Imperial Palace discovered how to make it by
boiling rags and old fishing nets and beating them into pulp. As a
result, paper making is probably the first industry to have made
use of recycled materials; and it still does!

The invention of paper and of printing had far reaching

implications. Paper is an easy medium for communication,
relatively cheap and easy to produce, convenient for writing and
drawing on, compact and light and easily adapted for many other
uses.

In many countries paper has played a vital role in cultural

expression and as an artistic medium for local traditions; e.g. the
art of paper folding is a favourite pastime of both children and
adults in Japan. In recent times there has been a revival of the
creative use of paper especially in packaging and pop-up
structures. However paper folding is more than just a creative
pastime. It can be used as an entertaining and imaginative way to
learn mathematics, particularly its geometric aspects.

Paper Magic folding polygons contains:

• Step by step illustrated instructions of how to fold a variety of

polygons, using A size paper - A4 being the most common.
These include a square, an equilateral triangle, an isosceles
triangle, some kites, some rhombi, a regular pentagon, a
regular hexagon and a regular octagon. The instruction sheets
are photocopiable for usewithin the purchasing institution.

• Photocopiable activities for individual or group investigation

work. These include investigations on polygon properties and
suggestions for further activities.

• A full colour wall poster showing window, nesting and stacking

patterns using the folded polygons.

This work is suitable for all ages and abilities.

All that is needed is a plentiful supply of coloured A4 paper.

No glue, compasses, protractors or previous experience are

needed to obtain truly elegant easily handled polygons. These can
be used for display, for making strikirTg coloured patterns and for
exploring the properties of polygons.

Try some! Be creative! See how easy it is, and learn some maths
as you go along .

2
 METRIC PAPER
Metric paper, of which A4 is the most common, was first used in
1922 in Germany, where it was called 'Din A', but its use did not
spread until after 1945. Now it is to be found in almost every
country in the world with the notable exception of the U.S.A. which
still uses paper which is shorter and wider. Previously, paper sizes
depended very much on the individual paper mills and their
facilities. There was little relationship between one ·size and
another.

The seemingly magical properties of A sizing rely on a system

which is rational, systematic and mathematical - each A size
rectangular sheet is made by folding in half the size numerically
below it e.g. folding A3 in half creates A4 etc. (Figs 1a and 1b).
Fig 1a By doing this two similar rectangles are produced and if the
process is continued, we get a never ending family of similar
shapes. (Fig 2) This is made possible because the sides of any
A size paper are in the ratio 1: -v2 (1 .4142 ... ).
A3

A4

"""1....- ----'
Fig 1b

Fig 2 AO
Of course, the process can be reversed with two A4 sheets com-
bined to create an A3 and two A3 to create an A2 and so on until
AO is reached: AO has an area of 1 square metre. (Fig 3).
Al

The B family has the same ratio of sides as the A series. Size B3 is
A2 most often used and is derived from a rectangle BO, of which the
longer side is 1 metre. Hence the name: Metric Paper.
A3

mm mm
AO 841 x 1189 BO 1000 x 1414
A1 594 x 841 B1 707 x 1000
A2 420 x 594 B2 500 x 707
A3 297 x 420 B3 353 x 500
Fig 3 AO A4 210 x 297 B4 250 x 353
A5 148 x 210 B5 176 x 250
Al
The A and B series are the most common sizes but it is interesting
to investigate the sizes of books, newspapers and magazines and
see if there are any relationships at work. What about envelopes
and postage stamps? Do these seem to be made to any particular
A3 rule?
A2
A5
A4
A61A6

3
FOLDING POLYGONS: ISOSCELES TRIANGLE
A size paper

Fold edge to edge

turn over ••
Fold edge to edge Isosceles Triangle

... now make

patterns like these
using coloured
paper ...
FOLDING POLYGONS: EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE
A size paper

x V
Fold in half and Roll corner X along
open middle fold line until
line XY is formed

v Fold edge
to edge

Fold under Equilateral Triangle

edge to edge Turn over

... now make patterns

like these using
coloured paper ...

.•.•... __ ._-_ .... _ __

.. .._._---------'
 FOLDING POLYGONS: SQUARE
A size paper

x···
Fold edge to edge Cut or fold stri p

Unfold Square

... now make a

pattern like
this using
coloured paper ...
 FOLDING POLYGONS: RHOMBUS I
A size paper

Fold corner to corner

Cut or
fold strips

Rhombus 1

... now make patterns

like these using coloured paper ...
 FOLDING POLYGONS: RHOMBUS l.
A size paper

A x B

Roll corners A and B

Fold in half and then along quarter fold lines
in quarters and unfold. until lines AX and BX
Rotate shape. are formed

x
Rotate shape. Fold edge to edge

Turn over Rhombus 2

Fold edge to edge

... now make patterns

like this using coloured paper ...
 FOLDING POLYGONS: KITE I

A size paper

Fold edge to edge

Turn '1
Fold edge to edge over t Kite 1

... now make a

pattern like this
using coloured paper ...
 FOLDING POLYGONS: KITE 1
A size paper

Fold edge to edge Fold corner to corner

Fold corner to corner and then turn

over Kite 2

... now make patterns

like these using
coloured paper ...
FOLDING POLYGONS: REGULAR PENTAGON
A size paper

Fold corner to corner

Fold in half and

unfold

Turn over

Fold edge to centre line

... now make a

pottern like
this using
Regular Pentagon
coloured paper ...
FOLDING POLYGONS: REGULAR HEXAGON
A size paper

A x B x
Rotate shape
Roll corners A and B
Fold in half and along quarter fold lines
then in quarters until lines AX and BX
and unfold. are formed
Rotate shape.

Fold edge to edge Fold edge to edge

Fold corners to
centre using Turn over Regular
quarter fold lines Hexagon
... now make a
patchwork pattern
like this using
coloured paper
or
Make a
football by
gluing
together
difterent
polygons ...

12
 FOLDING POLYGONS: REGULAR OCTAGON
A size paper

Unfold

Fold edge to edge Keep this strip for later

Fold corner to corner

,,
and unfold

,,
, ,
Take strip Fold in half
and unfold
,
Place stri~ on-one
diagonal fold line
and fold down
corners

Now rep'eat with other

diagonal fold Iine
Turn over
/< " ,
/
'.I'
''
/
/

/
'
/
/
'

Regular Octagon

... Now make a

pattern like this using
coloured paper ...
 INVESTIGATING PROPERTIES
Using the folded shapes you have made, you can easily Shape No. of Sides No. of Angles No. of Diagonals
investigate their special properties.
Square

Rectangle

Kite

Take each of your shapes and find out if it can be folded In Rhombus
half so that the two halves lie on top of each other.
Pentagon
For example, the rectangle can be folded like this:
Hexagon

Octagon

Write down any interesting facts that you noticed about the
diagonals of each shape. Wh,at shape is made when you
draw the diagonals of the pentagon?

or like this:
, Now try and discover which of the shapes you have made
will TESSELLATE.
To do this take any of the shapes and see if they will fit
together to make a repeating pattern which can fill any
amount of space.

So we say that the rectangle has two lines of symmetry.

It is easy to find the middle of each side of a paper shape;

simply fold the side in half. What happens when these mid-
I
points are joined by drawing straight lines? For example, if
------+----f--
the mid-points of a rectangle are joined, do they make a
rectangle? Now discover what happens when the mid-
points of other shapes are joined.

Now experiment with each of the folded paper shapes and

see if you can discover how many different lines of
symmetry each shape. has.

Now look at each of your shapes and see how many equal Put your findings into the table below.
sides and equal angles each one has. You can test if the Shape Shape rnade by joining rnid -points
angles are equal by placing the angles on top of each
Square
other and seeing if they match. Try and write a sentence
about each shape. Rectangle

Kite

Rhombus

Pentagon
Diagonals are straight lines that join the corners of shapes.
First of all discover how many diagonals each shape has. Hexagon
You can draw them on the paper shapes. (Triangles have
Octagon
no diagonals!) Then fill in the table.

14
 INVESTIGATING ANGLES

See if you can discover the size of some of the angles In Take your folded Kite 2.
the shapes you have folded.

• Start with Kite 1.

• Try to find the size of all the angles.
• What is the size of angle A?
(Hint: unfold the angle to see how it was made.) • You may find it helpful to study your Isosceles Triangle
and your Kite 1.
• Now try to find the size of the other angles that make up
the folded kite.
Remember the kite has two sides!
Facts
• On the kite, write the angles you have worked out.
Keep the kite to help you with later problems. A right angle has 90 degrees.

The angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees.

The angles of a four sided shape add up to

360 degrees.

Take the Isosceles Triangle you have folded.

• Unfold the paper shapes you have made.

• Look at all the angles that are made by the creases.

• Work out the size of all the angles you can see.

• Start with angle B. How many degrees are there in

angle B?

• Next mark all the angles which are 90 degrees.

• Now try and work out all the other angles. Fill them in
on your paper triangle. (Hint: which angles are equal?
Which angles add up to 180 degrees?)

15
 FURTHER ACTIVITIES

Use your polygons to make people or creatures of your Take an A size rectangle. Fold it to make an isosceles
own design. Creote good names for them. triangle.
For example: Then open it up, back into a rectangle.
7
/
/
/
/
/

•• /
/

/
Percy Pen tagon ••.....
<,
<,
<,
<,
<,
<,
.....

Ollie Octagon
• Cut along the creases to give 3 triangles.

jIoo.-
• ,
Using the 3 triangular pieces, make these shapes:
a kite, a parallelogram, a trapezium, a rhombus.

What other shapes can you make with your pieces?

You can fold A size paper to make other polygons not

covered in this pack, e.g. a hexagon.

Take an A size rectangle. Fold both of the short sides onto

one of the long sides, and unfold it.

/
/
/
/
-, /
-, /
••• /
;(
-,
/ -,
-,
-,
Investigate what other polygons you can fold with A size -,
paper. <,

1 Fold, 2 Folds ••••••••••? • Cut along the creases to give 2 triangles and 2 kites.

How many different polygons can you make by folding • Using 3 of these pieces make:
your A size paper once? a parallelogram, a square and a trapezium.

Investigate how many you can make with 2 folds, 3 folds. • Using all 4 pieces make:
a parallelogram, a trapezium, and a rectangle in two
different ways.

16
•
I
.