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A Roll of Patterned Paper

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow star
  • Problem
  • Getting Started
  • Teachers' Resources

Single Unit for Roll

In what follows I'm going to call the design above the "unit shape" and imagine it repeated endlessly along a line - rather like a stream of paper coming off a roll.


Here are two pieces from the roll :

Basic Pattern

Basic Pattern Rotated 180 degrees

The second piece has then been turned around (rotated 180 $^\circ$).

Your challenge:


Try to design a new unit shape (probably simpler than mine) to make a strip which looks the same after a 180 $^\circ$ rotation.

In other words, make it so that you could not say whether the torn off strip had or had not been rotated.

There are two possibilities: across and along

First the original strip could have a mirror across it.

This illustration shows the right side as the reflection of the left side


Basic Pattern reflected in a vertical mirror line

Can you create a unit shape so that the strip has reflection symmetry across a vertical mirror line ?

And where would the mirror line need to be to be placed ?



Now try a mirror 'along' the torn off strip

The mirror could be reflecting the top half,

Basic Pattern with a Horizontal Mirror Line image 1

or (below) the bottom half.

Basic Pattern with a Horizontal Mirror Line image 2

Can you make a strip that has reflection symmetry across a horizontal mirror line ?


If you'd like more of this sort of thing, try the problem called 'One Reflection Implies Another'.



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The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice.

NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.

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