tessellation Definition
- 1the process of covering a plane with a pattern of shapes without any gaps or overlaps
- 2a pattern of shapes that covers a plane without any gaps or overlaps
Using tessellation: Examples
Take a moment to familiarize yourself with how "tessellation" can be used in various situations through the following examples!
Example
The artist created a beautiful tessellation of hexagons.
Example
The bathroom floor was covered in a tessellation of small tiles.
Example
Tessellations are commonly found in Islamic art and architecture.
Example
The mathematician studied the properties of tessellations in different shapes.
tessellation Synonyms and Antonyms
Synonyms for tessellation
Phrases with tessellation
a tessellation made up of congruent regular polygons, where the same number of polygons meet at each vertex
Example
A regular tessellation of squares can be seen in a checkerboard pattern.
semi-regular tessellation
a tessellation made up of two or more regular polygons, where the same sequence of polygons occurs around each vertex
Example
A semi-regular tessellation of triangles and hexagons can be seen in the honeycomb pattern of a beehive.
Penrose tessellation
a non-periodic tessellation made up of two rhombus shapes, discovered by mathematician Roger Penrose
Example
The Penrose tessellation is an example of a quasicrystal, which has symmetries that are not present in ordinary crystals.
Origins of tessellation
from Latin 'tessella', meaning 'small square'
Summary: tessellation in Brief
Tessellation [ˌtɛsəˈleɪʃən] refers to the process of covering a plane with a pattern of shapes without any gaps or overlaps. It can also refer to the resulting pattern itself. Tessellations can be regular, made up of congruent regular polygons, or semi-regular, made up of two or more regular polygons. The Penrose tessellation is a famous example of a non-periodic tessellation made up of two rhombus shapes.
