Geometry & Figures

Problem

Count all the rhombuses in a figure of small triangles

An elongated hexagon is tiled by 14 identical small equilateral triangles in two rows of 7, one above the other, split by a horizontal centerline from the left tip to the right tip. In each row the triangles alternate point-up and point-down. I must count every rhombus, where each rhombus is exactly one point-up triangle joined to a neighboring point-down triangle (2 small triangles), in all of its possible orientations.
Geometry
Your answer
How to solve
Strategy Make a Systematic List — Label the 14 small triangles (top row t1..t7 left to right, bottom row b1..b7 left to right) and list rhombuses by orientation so none is missed or double-counted. Each rhombus is a fixed up+down pair sharing an edge; the shared edge can be horizontal (a tall vertical diamond) or one of two slanted edges (a left-leaning or a right-leaning diamond). Count each orientation as a subproblem, then add.
1STEP 1

Label the 14 small triangles

Number the top row from left to right as t1, t2, t3, t4, t5, t6, t7 and the bottom row from left to right as b1, b2, b3, b4, b5, b6, b7. In the top row the point-up triangles are t1, t3, t5, t7 and the point-down triangles are t2, t4, t6. In the bottom row the point-down triangles are b1, b3, b5, b7 and the point-up triangles are b2, b4, b6. Every rhombus is one up-triangle glued to a neighboring down-triangle along a shared edge.

top: t_1,…,t_7; bottom: b_1,…,b_7
2STEP 2

Count the tall vertical rhombuses (shared edge on the centerline)

A point-up triangle in the top row sitting directly above a point-down triangle in the bottom row share their base on the centerline, and together they make a tall vertical diamond. These pairs are t1+b1, t3+b3, t5+b5, and t7+b7. That is 4 vertical rhombuses.

t_1+b_1, t_3+b_3, t_5+b_5, t_7+b_7 → 4
3STEP 3

Count the left-leaning rhombuses

A rhombus that leans one way is an up+down pair sharing a slanted edge tilted like a backslash. In the top row these are t1+t2, t3+t4, t5+t6 (each up-triangle joined to the down-triangle on its right). In the bottom row these are b2+b3, b4+b5, b6+b7. That is 3 + 3 = 6 left-leaning rhombuses.

t_1+t_2, t_3+t_4, t_5+t_6, b_2+b_3, b_4+b_5, b_6+b_7 → 6
4STEP 4

Count the right-leaning rhombuses

A rhombus that leans the other way is an up+down pair sharing a slanted edge tilted like a forward slash. In the top row these are t2+t3, t4+t5, t6+t7. In the bottom row these are b1+b2, b3+b4, b5+b6. That is 3 + 3 = 6 right-leaning rhombuses.

t_2+t_3, t_4+t_5, t_6+t_7, b_1+b_2, b_3+b_4, b_5+b_6 → 6
5STEP 5

Add the three orientations

The three lists do not overlap, because each rhombus has exactly one orientation. Add the vertical, left-leaning, and right-leaning counts to get the total.

4 + 6 + 6 = 16
Answer
16
4 + 6 + 6 = 16
List every up+down pair explicitly: 4 vertical + 6 left-leaning + 6 right-leaning = 16. Cross-check by up-triangle — t1:2, t3:3, t5:3, t7:2, b2:2, b4:2, b6:2 — also totals 16, with no pair counted twice and none missed.
Takeaway

Sort the diamonds by how they lean: 4 stand upright, 6 lean one way, 6 lean the other. Organized counting gives 4 + 6 + 6 = 16!

  • Label the 14 small triangles
  • Count the tall vertical rhombuses (shared edge on the centerline)
  • Count the left-leaning rhombuses
  • Count the right-leaning rhombuses
  • Add the three orientations
Where next?
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▶ Practice — 5 problems