Domino hexagon

Dominic wants to place the six dominoes above in a hexagonal ring. Which of the dominoes could be placed next to the one shown?
Age
11 to 16
Challenge level
filled star empty star empty star
Exploring and noticing Working systematically Conjecturing and generalising Visualising and representing Reasoning, convincing and proving
Being curious Being resourceful Being resilient Being collaborative

Problem



Domino Hexagon
When Dominic arranges his dominoes, for two to be next to each other the ends that touch must have the same number of pips on them. For example, he could place:
Domino Hexagon
Domino Hexagon


 Suppose Dominic places his dominoes on the right into the hexagon shown below.
Domino Hexagon
How many of the other five dominoes can be placed in a completed hexagon next to
Domino Hexagon
?


If you liked this problem, here is an NRICH task that challenges you to use similar mathematical ideas.