Transum Software

Symmetry Table Challenge

In how many cells can you draw symmetrical shapes with these row and column headings?

Polygon Symmetry Geometry Toolbox Help Video More Symmetry
Row Label Column Label

 

None

2

3

4

0

×
×
×
×

1

×
×
×
×

2

×
×
×
×

3

×
×
×
×

4

×
×
×
×

Instructions

Fill in as many of the cells in the table as you can with rough sketches to show rotational and line symmetry. Many combinations are not possible so your task is to find the maximum number of cells it is possible to include.

Please note that this is not an activity that the computer is able to mark like the other Transum exercises. Take a screenshot of your work and send it to your teacher for feedback.

To extend this activity think about the possibility of adding more rows and columns to the table.

Why am I learning this?

Mathematicians are not the people who find Maths easy; they are the people who enjoy how mystifying, puzzling and hard it is. Are you a mathematician?

Comment recorded on the 2 May 'Starter of the Day' page by Angela Lowry, :

"I think these are great! So useful and handy, the children love them.
Could we have some on angles too please?"

Comment recorded on the 24 May 'Starter of the Day' page by Ruth Seward, Hagley Park Sports College:

"Find the starters wonderful; students enjoy them and often want to use the idea generated by the starter in other parts of the lesson. Keep up the good work"

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If you have ever played a card game called Top Trumps you will know the main idea of this game already. Based on the properties of polygons this game for two or more players is a fun way to learn geometric facts.

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Trevor Cashmore, Vancouver, WA

Thursday, October 20, 2022

"For the first column, shouldn't the order be 1 instead of 0? (Speaking as an American educator, so maybe it's taught differently overseas!).

[Transum: Thanks for your feedback Trevor, I have changed the column heading to 'none' which I think better describes the situation.]"

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More on this topic including lesson Starters, visual aids, investigations and self-marking exercises.

Answers to this exercise are available lower down this page when you are logged in to your Transum account. If you don’t yet have a Transum subscription one can be very quickly set up if you are a teacher, tutor or parent.

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Answers to this exercise are available lower down this page when you are logged in to your Transum account. If you don’t yet have a Transum subscription one can be very quickly set up if you are a teacher, tutor or parent.

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