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This Hexagonal Pattern of Beehives activity also includes:
- Answer Key
- Worksheet
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Young geometers and biologists investigate the math of nature in an activity that is just the bee's knees. Participants will study the tessellations of hexagons in a beehive, along with the natural rationale behind the specific shape. Learners perform calculations to justify the bee's use of a hexagon, and then answer synthesis questions to provoke a deeper understanding of the identified characteristics.
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CCSS:
Designed
Concepts
Additional Tags
Instructional Ideas
- Could be part of a larger unit on math in nature (i.e. Fibonacci in flowers and shells, symmetries of sea creatures, etc.)
- Good review of equilateral triangle properties
- Could be used to introduce or justify general area of a polygon formulas
- Possible links to tessalation projects in art class
Classroom Considerations
- The more information link for Honeycomb Structure takes the reader to Wikipedia (which may be blocked in the classroom, or a forbidden source for research).
- Student worksheet is not separated from teacher notes
- Solutions require deep knowledge of triangles (trig ratios, equilateral triangle properties, etc.)
Pros
- Elegant and real-life example of math being applied in nature
- Calculations lead into fundamental properties of polygons
- Extension questions require synthesis and analysis beyond calculations
Cons
- Solution example comparing ratios of hexagon perimeter and area to that of a square or triangle is simply given without much explanation or justification (part b)