Lighting up time

A very mathematical light - what can you see?
Age
7 to 14
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



This lampshade was photographed in Rimini in Italy. In Africa candle holders exactly like this are often made from wire.

Lighting up time
  • Do you know the mathematical name for this shape?
  • Can you see lots of triangles?
  • What "type" of triangles are they and how many of them were needed to make this lampshade?
  • What other shapes can you see?
  • Could you make a polyhedron like this from card? How would you do it?


There's another image you might like to take a look at in the Notes .