Section 3 Mathematics as a Tool (Part 2) GECMAT CHMSU – CAS Mathematics Department

Chapter 5: Geometric Designs

More than the practical value, the aesthetic appeal of a geometrical figure can stimulate interest and
motivation which leads students to subconsciously embrace mathematical investigations. As a result, they do not
only engage themselves into the mathematical explorations but also a chance to understand society’s history and
culture as well as social systems. Geometric designs abound in nature and environment, either in 2- or 3-
dimensional (or even higher dimensional) forms. They appear naturally, like the colorful imprints in the wings
of butterflies or the near-perfect conical shape of Mt. Mayon, or occur as man’s handiwork, like the intricate
designs in Islamic textiles or the pyramids of the ancient Egyptians.
This module focuses on the mathematical concepts involved in the design of what appear as obvious art
forms like paintings, sculptures and tilings and textile imprints. Lesson 1 deals with recognizing and analyzing
geometric shapes, and transformations. Lesson 2 discusses patterns and diagrams, designs, arts and culture.

Learning Outcomes: At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:
1. apply geometric concepts especially isometries in describing and creating designs
2. contribute to the enrichment of the Filipino culture and arts using concepts in geometry

Lesson 1: Recognizing and Analyzing Geometric shapes and Transformations

Tell whether the dotted line on each shape represents a line of symmetry. Write yes or no and give your reason.

A. Draw a line of symmetry on each shape.

B. Draw the second half of each symmetrical shape.

Mathematicians instinctively search for geometrical and numerical patterns and for symmetry. The
discovery of patterns and symmetries enable us to understand some practical problems and as geometry evolves
people begin to clearly understand and control the world around us. For centuries, humans are fascinated in the
nature of symmetry. From the time of the Greeks to the present generation we tend to side with symmetry in
everything from planning our house layout to the way we dress. Nature displays an infinite number of geometrical
shapes from a small atom to the greatest of the spiral across the galaxies. Patterns abound a nature, and geometry
paves the way for us to understand it more as we experience it. Perhaps there is no subject has intrigued the human
race through centuries as much as geometry and see the wonder in nature, arts, design, and in other aspects of
human experience.

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Transformations
In geometry, we don’t only study figures but we also dwell on the movement of figures. Moving each
point of a geometrical figure according to set of rules we can create a new geometric figure. The movement
establishes a correspondence between the set of points in the original figure and the set of points of the new figure
which we called image. If we can pair each point of a figure with exactly one point of its image on a Euclidean
plane and vice versa, then the correspondence is called transformation.

According to Jennifer Beddoe, (2003) in geometry, transformation refers to the movement of objects in
the coordinate plane. Geometric transformations involve taking a preimage and transforming it in some way to
produce an image. There are two different categories of transformations, the rigid and non-rigid transformations.

1. The rigid transformations (isometry), which does not change the shape or size of the preimage.
2. The non-rigid transformations, which will change the size but not the shape of the preimage.

The four types of transformations in the plane are rotation, translation, reflection, and dilation. Rotation
turns a figure about a certain point in the plane. Colloquially, the geometric transformations are the geometric
operation/s that creates a new figure from one previously given. This new figure is called the homologous of the
original one. We can classify the above-mentioned transformations under two big groups.

1. Direct (Translation): If the double preserves the orientation of the original.

2. Inverse (Reflection): If the homologous has the opposite sense.

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3. Isometric (Rotation): The homologous preserves the distances and the angles. This group, is also called
movements in the plane.

4. Isomorphic (Dilation): The homologous preserves the form and the angles. Therefore, proportionality
exists between the sides of the homologous and the original.

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Isometries
There are four transformations but only three of them are isometries. These isometric transformations are
reflection, rotation, and translation. The characteristic of an isometry is that the original figure and the resulting
figure after a transformation are congruent. Dilation is a result of stretching or shrinking of an object. Hence, the
new figure is no longer congruent to the original one. This makes dilation not an isometry.
Isometries are also formed from transformations consisting of any combinations of the three operations.
A combined translation and reflection are called glide reflection.
Examples of isometries

Examples of glide reflection

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Put a check mark inside the box if the given figure has a translation, reflection, rotation or dilation and
explain why.
Translation Reflection Rotation Dilation

Translation Reflection Rotation Dilation

Apply the transformations using the given motif.

1. Rotation Reflection Translation Glide reflection

2. Rotation Reflection Translation Glide reflection

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Section 3 Mathematics as a Tool (Part 2) GECMAT CHMSU – CAS Mathematics Department

Lesson 2: Patterns and Diagrams, Designs, Arts and Culture

The role of symmetry in nature and in the world is best conveyed by the 20 th century German
mathematician Herman Weyl when he said “symmetry, as wide or as narrow as you may define its meaning, is
one idea by which man through ages has tried to comprehend and create order, beauty and perfection.
Understanding symmetry should provide an opportunity for mathematical thinking that is distinct, but never
detached, from the concept of numbers. Other than an improved aesthetic appreciation of things seen in the
environment, knowledge on symmetry enhances broader understanding of the systems that govern human
existence.

Watch the following video clip, “God’s Fingertip: The Fibonacci Sequence, Golden Ratio and The Fractal Nature of
Reality” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VrcO6JaMrM), and answer the following questions.

1. What are the three things that I significantly learned from the video clip?
2. What are the three things that still unclear to me?
3. Complete the statement: I used to thin that …
4. What are the three questions that I want to ask about the video clips.

Watch the following video clip, “How Sacred Geometry is embedded in Your DNA - Secrets of Geometric Art”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mynr7uik5), and answer the following questions.

1. What are the three things that I significantly learned from the video clip?
2. What are the three things that still unclear to me?
3. Complete the statement: I used to thin that …
4. What are the three questions that I want to ask about the video clips.

A. Symmetry
Some objects do not affect its appearance when rotated around a line such objects are called symmetric
objects. An object is said to be symmetric if it can be divided into two or more identical parts that can be
arranged in an organized fashion. In other words, symmetry is an exact configuration of an image around an
axis of symmetry. There are three types of geometrical symmetry namely, reflection, rotational, and
translational.
1. Reflectional symmetry (mirror symmetry) is a symmetry un which half of the image of an object is
exactly same as the other half. It is either left portion of an image which is the reflection of the right
image or the upper portion of an object is the reflection of lower portion of the object. The illustration
below is the reflectional symmetry as shown below.

Vertical Horizontal Diagonal

The following are some examples of reflection symmetry.

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2. Rotational symmetry is a symmetry in which the image is rotated to a certain degree about at axis and
does not affect the shape of the image. The illustration below is the reflectional symmetry as shown
below.

The following are some examples of rotational symmetry.

3. Translational symmetry is a symmetry in which a particular pattern or design is shifted from one place
to another, meaning the same exact image is found on another location, even the orientation of the image
is the same. Some of the translational symmetries are shown below.

The following are examples of translational symmetry.

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The following are examples of symmetry in arts and architecture.

B. Rosette Pattern

Rosette pattern is a pattern consist of taking a motif or element and rotating and/or reflecting that element. The
fact that they can only have these two forms of this rigid motion is called Leonardo’s theorem. The theorem was named
after Leonardo Da Vinci who formulated it, he needed to make sure cathedrals remained symmetrical when additions were
added to the chapels. There are two types of rosette pattern: cyclic and dihedral. A cyclic rosette patterns are rosette
patterns which do not contain reflection symmetry, while dihedral rosette patterns are rosette patterns which have
reflection symmetry.

The table below gives examples of figures with all cyclic and dihedral symmetry groups for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

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The figure below shows samples of rosette pattern in designs.

Rosette patterns can also be seen in nature.

C. Frieze Pattern
In mathematics, frieze pattern is a design or pattern on a two-dimensional surface that is repetitive (or
translational symmetry) in one direction. It can be imagined that the frieze pattern goes infinitely in both
directions or wrap around. Mathematician John Conway created names to relate to footsteps for each of
the frieze groups. The only possibilities are 180° rotations, reflections with vertical axes, a reflection
with horizontal axis, and a glide reflection with horizontal axis. He named it according to symmetries
such as hop, step, jump, slide, spinning hop, spinning jump, and spinning sidle.

Types of Frieze Patterns

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D. Wallpaper Pattern
Wallpaper pattern is a mathematical classification of a two-dimensional repetitive pattern which covers
a plane and can be mapped based on the symmetries on the pattern in more than one direction. The multiple
directions force the pattern to cover the entire infinite plane., while a finite portion of a wallpaper pattern is
enough to establish the translational symmetry which is used to cover the entire plane. Wallpaper patterns can
be categorized based from their symmetries. The difference may place similar patterns in different groups,
while patterns that are very different in style, color, scale or orientation may belong to the same group.
Below are the 17 pattern types shown in the standard international notations for symmetry operations
(rotations, reflections and glide reflections).

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Below are some of the wallpaper patterns used in different countries.

Cloth, Tahiti Ornamental painting in Nineveh, Assyria

Painted, Porcelain in China Wall design in Egypt

Filipino weaving also elicits wallpaper patterns: the Yakan tribe’s designs are inspired by the natural
landscape of Basilan. Their fabrics are characterized by geometric patterns and vivid hues, and are made from
“pineapple and abaca fibers dyed with herbal extracts”.

Yakan Tribe Design

Deigns, Arts, and Culture

Archimedes and other ancient mathematicians investigated properties of regular polygons and combinations of
regular polygons that tessellated the plane. The word “tessellation” comes from the word “tessera” which
meaning “a square tablet” and it has been borrowed from the Greek word “tessares” meaning “four”. The square
tablets were used to make ancient Roman mosaics.

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Roman and Sumerian Mosaics

Moorish Arts

Mosaics in Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain

A. Tessellation or Tiling
A tessellation (or tiling) is an arrangement of congruent figures that cover a plane without any gaps or overlaps.
Maurits Cornelis Escher is known as the “Father of Tessellation”. He created tessellations on woodworks and made 137
tessellations in his lifetime. Some of the works of M. C. Escher are shown below.

Horsemen Bulldog

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Eight Heads Smaller and Smaller

Gravitation Snakes

Heaven and Hell Circle Limit III

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There are some different types of tessellations such as regular, semi-regular, demi-regular, and others. A regular
tessellation is a tessellation made up of congruent regular polygons being regular means the sides of the polygon are all
the same length and congruent means that the polygons we put together are all the same size and shape. A regular polygon
is a polygon which is equiangular (all angles are congruent) and equilateral (all sides have the same length). To tessellate,
a two-dimensional (Euclidean plane) plane, it must tile a floor (that goes on forever) with no overlapping or gaps. The
tiles must be regular polygons (all the same) and each vertex must look the same. There are three (3) different regular
tessellations of regular polygons. The figures below show some examples of regular tessellation and how they are named
according to the number of sides of the polygon used to tessellate a plane.

Triangular Tiling: 3 ∙ 3 ∙ 3 ∙ 3 ∙ 3 ∙ 3 or 36

Square Tiling: 4 ∙ 4 ∙ 4 ∙ 4 or 44

Hexagonal Tiling: 6 ∙ 6 ∙ 6 or 63

A semi-regular
tessellation (or Archimedean
tessellation) is an edge-to-
edge tessellation where two
or more different polygons
are around each vertex
having the same pattern of
polygons. There are eight (8)
different semi-regular
tessellations of regular
polygons namely:
trihexagonal, elongated
triangular, snub square, small
rhombi trihexagonal,
truncated square, great
rhombi trihexagonal, snub
hexagonal, and truncated
hexagonal. The figure below
shows some examples of
semi-regular tessellation.

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Trihexagonal Snub Square Great Rhombi trihexagonal

A semi-regular tessellation is an edge-to-edge tessellation, wherein the arrangement at each vertex in a
tessellation of regular polygon is not the same. There are twenty (20) different two-uniform tessellations or regular
polygons. The figure below shows some examples of semi-regular tessellation.

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B. Creating Tessellation Design

We can create a tessellation through a group of techniques called transformation. These techniques are used to
take shape and match it exactly to another. The types of transformation which we had discusses in Lesson 1 are
translation, rotation, reflection, dilation, and glide reflection. To create a tessellation by transformation, first find a
midpoint of side; second is to make a new edge for half of the side; third is to rotate the new edge of the other half of the
side; and fourth is to repeat with the other sides; and lastly is to use figure to make tessellation. The table below shows
how to create tessellation.

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C. Aperiodic Tiling
Aperiodic tiling is a tiling made from the basic elements or tiles that can cover an arbitrary large surface without
ever exactly repeating itself. It was discovered by a British mathematician Roger Penrose. Some of the Penrose works are
shown below.

D. Tessellation Around Us
Tessellation can be seen in the arts, chessboard, restrooms, walls, floors, and others. Common shapes
can be arranged in unusual ways, sometimes an unusual shape will tessellate and sometimes two or more
different shapes will tessellate.

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Each and every culture in the world evaluates art and how it relates aesthetically to their surroundings
and/or beliefs. Aesthetic understanding of an artwork is the combination of the ability to see, interpret, and
evaluate it. Therefore, one person might have a different viewpoint of an artwork than someone from another
culture
Furthermore, Greeks were believed to be the supreme culture. However, William M. Ivins, Jr. studied the
art of the Greeks and also their geometry. In his book, "Art and Geometry: A Study in Spatial Intuitions,".
According to Ivins, the Greeks were "tactile minded," meaning that they created works of art that were perceived
through the sense of touch. The Greeks "tactile" world view is visible in their art by the lack of motion, emotional
and spiritual qualities.

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Moreover, artists of the Renaissance period were the first to be successful in perspective. In 1636, a man
named Girard Desargues introduced his "perspective ladder." This was used by artists as a tool for bringing
perspective to their work.

While in the Philippines, tradition has continuously the source of inspiration for contemporary designers
and artists. In the ethnic tradition of textile, a re-connection to a people’s heritage, life ways, and belief systems
is found through the motifs and patterns present on the surface of the cloth.
According to Jericho Paul S. Santos (2018), Islam as a religion has long been established since the early
A.D. 600s. Along with its emergence around the world, it also paved way for the development of its own unique
style of art. Islamic art place emphasis on creating an art form that is built on the beauty and respect for the
teachings of Islam.

Furthermore, Clothing reflects the style and colors of their ethnic background. A design related to Islam
that is used in the Philippines is the batik cloth design. It contains abstract themes with geometric and floral
design. However, human and animal depiction is a rare motif in batik.
The art of tattooing was once an integral part of tribal culture in the Philippines. Unfortunately, by the
1700s, the practice had all but fallen by the wayside due to the influence of invaders such as the Spanish
Conquistadors. Now, true Filipino tribal tattoos (called batik in the Philippines) are a rarity, and a Filipino tattoo
artist will only ink these designs on clients of Filipino heritage. Many modern Filipinos frown on tattooing in
general.
In addition, Filipino tribal tattoos often draw inspiration from nature. Traditionally, an artist tattooed
scenes and symbols highlighting aspects of the area where they themselves grew up. For example, if an artist
grew up near a mountain range with a river running through it, symbols depicting mountains and rivers would
likely feature in their designs.
Furthermore, Filipino tribal tattoos offered men protection, represented a tribe member’s bravery in battle,
or signified their tribe status. As with many forms of indigenous tattooing, repetitive, meticulous patterns were
commonplace, as opposed to the elaborate, photo-realistic images often seen in modern Western tattooing.
Lastly, these patterns included circles, diamonds, as well as rudimentary shapes of dogs, men and eagles.
Armbands were popular choices as far as placement, as were full chest pieces. All parts of the body except hands
and feet were considered prime real estate for ink.

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Activity 1:

A. Create a pattern of the three broad categories of symmetries.

1. Rosette Patterns

2. Frieze Patterns

3. Wallpaper Patterns

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B. Identify the symmetry group for the given frieze patterns.

C. Create your own tessellation design and discuss the steps in making a particular design.

D. Given the accompanying figure, illustrate the different type of frieze pattern.

1. Hop

2. Jump

3. Step

4. Sidle

5. Spinning hop

6. Spinning jump

7. Spinning sidle

E. Describe all the symmetries of each of the following patterns.

1. 2.

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3. 4.

5. 6.

F. Match the pattern from column A with patterns from column B such that they have the same symmetry.

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