Which pentominoes have rotational symmetry

These are NOT pentominoes. Here is an example of a pentomino. How many different pentominoes can you find? Click here to return to line symmetry. Here is an arrangement of 7 pins. Here are some examples of 7-pin polygons. How many different 7-pin polygons can you find? A 7-pin polygon is a closed shape with straight sides with corners on the pins. If, when you rotate a shape, it looks exactly the same as it did in its original position, then we say that the shape has got rotational symmetry.

This square has got rotational symmetry. It looks exactly the same four times in a full turn. It has got rotational symmetry order 4.

Does this rectangle have rotational symmetry? It looks exactly the same twice in a full turn. The resources on TES are a legacy of this project. The content or format of these resources may be out of date. You can find free, bilingual teaching resources linked to the Curriculum for Wales on hwb. This unit is made up of a number of mini activities. After finding the 12 pentominoes pupils use the shapes in the following activities: Find the symmetry and rotational symmetry of the shapes.

Investigate which pentominoes will tessellate without being rotated, then which will tessellate when rotated. Fit the shapes into varying sizes of rectangles. The unit contains pentomino shapes to download and print out.

Of the pentomino shapes: 6 do not have a line of symmetry, 4 have one line of symmetry, the rectangle has two lines of symmetry, and the dodecagon has four lines of symmetry If you can rotate or turn a figure around a center point by fewer than degrees and the figure appears unchanged, then the figure has rotation symmetry.

Knowing which pieces are symmetrical is valuable information for solving pentomino puzzles. When covering a shape, the symmetrical pieces are easier to place as they do need to be turned around the fit. Pieces without line or rotational symmetry could fir on a puzzle in eight different ways. When solving pentomino puzzles, place the symmetrical pieces on the puzzle first since there are fewer ways in which they could fit.

Examples of Tessellations, using the shapes from our Pentomino set:. Share this: Twitter Facebook. Like this: Like Loading