Tangrams
The Legend of the Tangram
A long time ago in China, there lived a man called Tan. Tan's greatest possession was a fine ceramic tile. One day Tan was carrying his tile to show the emperor. He tripped and the tile fell and broke into seven geometric shapes: two large triangles, a medium size triangle, a square, and a parallelogram. Tan spent the rest of his life trying to put the tile back together again. He was not successful, but he did succeed in creating many different geometric designs.
Tan enjoyed creating the designs. His friends also enjoyed trying to recreate his designs. Tan's puzzles, later called tangrams, were passed on through generations and from country to country. Tangrams are perhaps the oldest and most enduring of all geometric puzzles.
If you would like to try some tangram puzzles, you can print out this pattern and trace the pieces onto heavy paper and cut them out. Then try to use the pieces to form the shapes below. You must use all the shapes on each puzzle. You can click on the shapes to see the answers.
You may also want to try these online tangram puzzles. Following this link will cause you to leave our website.
