Identify tiling pieces and total area
4.MD.A.34.OA.A.3
From the workbook (authentic) — 3
Four kinds of pattern-block pieces were each used several times to build the dog shape on the right: piece R is a rhombus, piece T is a trapezoid, piece H is a hexagon, and piece S is a square. The unit triangle has size , so a rhombus R has size , a trapezoid T has size , and a hexagon H has size . The square piece S has size about . About what is the size of the whole dog shape on the right?
Show solution
Understand
A dog shape is built from four kinds of pattern blocks measured against a unit triangle of size 1: rhombus R (size 2), trapezoid T (size 3), hexagon H (size 6), and square S (size about 2). The dog uses 2 rhombi, 2 trapezoids, 3 hexagons, and 2 squares. I need the total size of the whole dog shape.
- The unit triangle has size 1.
- Rhombus R has size 2; trapezoid T has size 3; hexagon H has size 6; square S has size about 2.
- The dog uses 2 rhombi R (ears), 2 trapezoids T (middle of body), 3 hexagons H (head and two body sections), and 2 squares S (legs).
- The total size of the whole dog shape.
- The whole shape is made only of these four piece types.
- Total size = sum over piece types of (count) x (size).
Plan
#7 Identify Subproblems · also uses: #2 Make a Systematic List#1 Draw a Diagram
Break the dog into its four piece types, count each type, multiply each count by that piece's size, then add the four subtotals for the whole size.
Execute
Review
The three hexagons alone give 18, the biggest chunk, and the smaller pieces (4 + 6 + 4 = 14) bring the total to 32; that is sensible since hexagons are the largest pieces and there are three of them.
Triangle-unit view (tool 8/15): convert every piece to unit triangles -- 2 rhombi = 4, 2 trapezoids = 6, 3 hexagons = 18, 2 squares = 4 -- and count 32 unit triangles in all, the same answer.
Standards · min grade 4
4.MD.A.3Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real world and mathematical problems — Finding each piece-type's subtotal by multiplying its count by its size.4.OA.A.3Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole-number answers using the four operations — Adding the four piece-type subtotals into the whole dog's size.
A single pattern-block piece was used several times to build the shape on the right. The piece is a rhombus (the blue pattern-block rhombus). If this rhombus piece has size , what is the size of the whole shape on the right?
Show solution
Understand
One rhombus pattern-block piece of size 1 is used over and over to build a figure-eight shape: two equal regular hexagons joined at a single pinch point. Each hexagon is made of 3 of these rhombi. I need the total size of the whole figure-eight shape.
- The piece is a rhombus with size 1.
- The shape is two equal regular hexagons joined at one pinch point.
- Each hexagon is tiled by 3 of the rhombus pieces.
- The total size of the whole figure-eight shape.
- The whole shape is made only of the rhombus pieces.
- Total size = (number of rhombi) x (size of one rhombus).
Plan
#7 Identify Subproblems · also uses: #1 Draw a Diagram#2 Make a Systematic List
Split the figure-eight into its two hexagons, find how many rhombi tile one hexagon, double it to count all the rhombi, then multiply the count by the size of one rhombus.
Execute
Review
The shape is two hexagons and each hexagon is 3 rhombi, so 6 rhombi of size 1 must total 6. The pinch point is a single shared point (zero area), so nothing is double-counted -- 6 is consistent.
Pattern view (tool 5): each hexagon repeats the same 3-rhombus pattern, so the size grows by 3 per hexagon; with 2 hexagons the size is 3, 6 -- ending at 6.
Standards · min grade 4
4.G.A.2Classify two-dimensional figures based on the presence or absence of parallel or perpendicular lines, or the presence or absence of angles of a specified size — Recognizing that a regular hexagon is composed of 3 congruent rhombi.4.OA.A.3Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole-number answers using the four operations — Combining the rhombi from both hexagons into one count.4.MD.A.3Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real world and mathematical problems — Multiplying the rhombus count by each rhombus's size to get the total size.
Two pattern-block pieces, piece A and piece B, were each used several times to build the shape on the right. Piece A is an equilateral triangle and piece B is a square. If piece A has size and piece B has size about , about what is the size of the whole shape on the right?
Show solution
Understand
A tall star-topped shape is built from two kinds of pattern blocks: triangle piece A of size 1, and square piece B of size about 2. The shape uses 12 of the triangle pieces and 2 of the square pieces. I need the total size of the whole shape.
- Piece A is a triangle with size 1.
- Piece B is a square with size about 2.
- The shape is built from 12 triangle pieces A and 2 square pieces B.
- The total size of the whole shape.
- The whole shape is made only of triangle and square pieces.
- Total size = (count of A) x (size of A) + (count of B) x (size of B).
Plan
#7 Identify Subproblems · also uses: #2 Make a Systematic List#8 Analyze the Units
Separate the shape into its triangle part and its square part, count each kind of piece, multiply each count by that piece's size, and add the two totals.
Execute
Review
The triangles give 12 and the two size-2 squares add only 4 more, so a total near 16 makes sense; the triangle part dominates because there are many more triangles.
Units view (tool 8): measure everything in triangle-units -- each square is worth 2 triangles, so the 2 squares are 4 triangle-units; with 12 triangle-units already, the total is 16 triangle-units.
Standards · min grade 4
4.MD.A.3Apply the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles in real world and mathematical problems — Finding each piece-type's total by multiplying its count by its size.4.OA.A.3Solve multistep word problems posed with whole numbers and having whole-number answers using the four operations — Adding the triangle total and the square total into the whole shape's size.