Pattern Blocks, Plastic for School Maths Lab

Quick Answer: Pattern Blocks, Plastic are rigid geometric shapes, traditionally a hexagon, trapezium, two rhombuses, square and triangle, whose matching edges let them fit together without gaps. Maths classes use plastic pattern blocks for tessellation, angles, symmetry and fraction models.

Angles Built into the Shapes

Every angle in a standard pattern-block set is a multiple of 30°. The triangle has three 60° angles, the square four right angles and the hexagon six angles of 120°. The wide rhombus has angles of 60° and 120°, the narrow rhombus 30° and 150°, and the trapezium two of 60° and two of 120°. Because these angles are known, students can find an unknown one by fitting blocks around a point and using the fact that the angles round a point total 360°.

Tessellation follows naturally. A shape tiles the plane when copies fit around each vertex with no gap, so three hexagons (3 × 120°), four squares (4 × 90°) and six triangles (6 × 60°) all work. Rigid plastic pieces with crisp edges show clearly whether a gap has been left, something softer foam pieces can hide.

Plastic is also the more durable choice for sets that pass between many classes. Whether this set follows the standard shapes and colours, how many pieces it contains and whether the blocks are solid or transparent should be confirmed with LabEquip, since sets differ.

Specifications

Applications

• Measuring angles by fitting blocks around a point and checking the total
• Testing which shapes tessellate and designing tiling patterns
• Building fraction models with the hexagon as the whole, including mixed numbers
• Creating designs with reflective and rotational symmetry
• Estimating area by counting how many triangles cover a design

Care & Handling

• Wash plastic pattern blocks in warm soapy water in a bowl or mesh bag, rinse and dry them on a towel.
• Store them in a lidded tub; separate tubs for each shape make sorting at the end of a lesson quicker.
• Set aside cracked or chipped blocks, which no longer sit flush against their neighbours.

Why Choose LabEquip

Maths departments buying for several classes often choose plastic for durability and accuracy, keeping the EVA foam pattern blocks for the youngest children. Both are in LabEquip’s Mathematics School Lab Products range, and the contact page is the place to ask about set sizes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What shapes are in a standard pattern block set?

The traditional set has six shapes: a yellow hexagon, a red trapezium, a blue wide rhombus, a green equilateral triangle, an orange square and a tan narrow rhombus. Apart from the long side of the trapezium, all edges are the same length, so every piece fits against every other.

Why do pattern blocks tessellate?

A shape tessellates when copies meet at each vertex with angles totalling exactly 360 degrees and no gaps are left. Three hexagons, four squares or six triangles achieve that at a point, and mixed arrangements such as two hexagons with two triangles also work.

How are pattern blocks used for fractions?

Take the hexagon as one whole. The trapezium is then one half, the wide rhombus one third and the triangle one sixth. Choosing two hexagons as the whole changes every value, a good way to show that a fraction always depends on the size of the whole.

Can students measure angles with pattern blocks instead of a protractor?

Yes, for the angles in the set. Since each corner of the triangle measures 60 degrees, triangle corners placed inside another block’s corner reveal its size: two of them exactly fill the obtuse angle of the wide rhombus, showing it measures 120 degrees.

How do plastic pattern blocks differ from the foam version?

Plastic blocks are rigid with crisp edges, so they fit tightly and give accurate angle and tessellation results. Foam blocks are softer, quieter and lighter, which suits very young children but makes precise fitting harder.

Can pattern blocks be used for symmetry?

Yes. Students build a design on one side of a mirror line and reflect it on the other, or build a design that looks the same after a turn of 60, 90 or 120 degrees. The regular hexagon itself has six lines of symmetry and rotational symmetry of order 6.

Last Updated: September 2026