Materials Needed: Unlined paper, compass or angle ruler, straight edge, coloring pencils, markers, etc.

In Chinese cosmology, all things are divided into two natural principles- yin and yang.

Yin- The feminine principle characterized by darkness, cold or dampness.

Yang- The masculine principle characterized by light, heat, or dryness.

The two principles combine to produce the harmony of nature, the yin-yang symbol.

Directions to construct your own yin-yang symbol:

1. Lightly mark a point near the center of a sheet of unlined paper to be the center for your design.

2. Start with drawing one large circle using your marked center.

3. Draw a diameter.

4. Bisect each radius of the diameter.

5. Construct two circles that are internally tangent to the original circle using the midpoint of each radius that was found in step 4 as the center of each of these new circles.

6. Construct small circles that are concentric to the two inside circles. They should have a radius that is approximately half the radius of the circles drawn in step 5.

7. Look at the yin-yang design on the next page and compare it to your design thus far. Decide what needs to be erased to finish your own yin-yang design.

8. Decorate/color your yin-yang to reflect your personality. ALL yin-yang designs will be displayed in the room. Remember to include your name before turning in your final design.

Note to teacher: If you want to really encourage students to be creative, have classes vote on the favorite design and offer a prize or extra credit. If you can, have a class vote on ANOTHER class’s design, not their own work. Have students put their names on the back of their designs so that the vote is fairer and not swayed by who the students are.

Developed by the "Geometry for All" network for the 1998 Kentucky Christa McAuliffe Fellowship, Lisa Willian, fellow. Permission granted for classroom use only.

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