In class we discussed the result that every quadrilateral will tessellate, and it’s easy to use GeoGebra to create these tessellating patterns. Follow the steps below to create your own tessellation!
- Open GeoGebra and choose Geometry from the list of Perspectives, then select Algebra from the View menu.
- Use the Polygon tool to draw your quadrilateral.
- Once you’ve created your quadrilateral, click the little circles beside the name of each vertex in the list to hide the vertices.
- Set the Point tool to the Midpoint or Center option, then click each of the edges of your quadrilateral.
- Select the Transformation tool to Reflect Object about Point. With that tool selected, first click on your quadrilateral, then on one of the points you made in step 4. Repeat this for each of the midpoints you created.
- Now you’ve got 4 new copies of your original quadrilateral, and you can probably see your tessellating pattern taking shape! You can now click the circles to hide each of the midpoints you’ve used, then repeat steps 4 and 5 for each of the new quadrilaterals to continue your tessellating pattern.
- You can right click on any of the polygons you’ve created, then change its colour and style by changing some of the options found under Object Properties…
Have fun!
