Study algebra and develop spatial skills with Sphinx tiles.

Sphinx Tiles
Make larger and larger sphinxes

Combine the tiles to make larger replicas of the Sphinx shape. When two tiles are brought sufficiently close, they will join and become a unit. Repeat this process to build up your replica. Additionally, you can make a copy of any selected combination by using the Duplicate button. Joining and duplicating can both be reversed by using the Undo button.

Both individual sphinxes and the groups may be rotated and flipped by selecting and dragging the appropriate handles. (The 4 edge handles are for flipping, and the top handle is for rotation.)

             

About the activity

  • First try and make a double size sphinx, then a triple, a quadruple etc.
  • Count the number of sphinxes needed in each case and look for a pattern.
  • Show the internal triangles and use them as the unit of area. Find the area of each size sphinx and look for a pattern.
  • Similarly, using sides of the internal triangles as unit lengths, examine how the perimeter changes as sphinx size increases.
  • Convert the results into algebraic form and find the number of tiles, the area and the perimeter of a size 100 sphinx.
  • How might you determine how difficult it would be to construct a sphinx of any given size?