Pattern Triangles for School Maths Lab

Quick Answer: Pattern Triangles are a set of triangular pieces that students arrange into patterns, larger shapes and tessellations. Using only pattern triangles, a class can show that any triangle tiles a flat surface and that the three angles of a triangle together make a straight line.

What Triangles Alone Can Show

A single shape is enough for a surprising amount of geometry. Two equilateral triangles make a rhombus, three make a trapezium, six make a regular hexagon, and four make a larger triangle with sides twice as long. That last arrangement shows that doubling the side of a triangle multiplies its area by four, an early step towards scale factors.

Triangles also tessellate, and not only equilateral ones. Any triangle, rotated half a turn and placed against a copy of itself, forms a parallelogram, and parallelograms tile the plane in rows. At each vertex of such a tiling the three different angles of the triangle each appear twice, filling the full 360°, which gives students a visual reason why the angles of one triangle add up to 180°.

The listing does not state the triangle types, sizes or colours in this set, so confirm them before ordering. A set with more than one size opens up similarity and scaling activities, while a single size suits pattern and fraction work.

Applications

• Composing rhombuses, trapeziums and hexagons from triangles and naming the new shapes
• Tiling a region with triangles and marking the equal angles that meet at each point
• Counting how many small triangles fill a larger similar triangle to explore how area grows
• Making symmetric designs and extending growing patterns such as the triangular numbers

Specifications

Care & Handling

• Store the triangles in a shallow tray or tub so that their points do not get bent or chipped.
• Wipe with a damp cloth, dry, and keep away from heat sources.
• Count pieces at the end of group work, as missing triangles leave gaps in a tessellation.

Why Choose LabEquip

Teachers who use plastic pattern blocks for mixed-shape work sometimes add a triangle-only set when the lesson is about angles or tessellation, because students then have to reason with one shape. For secondary classes, the Ratio of Area of Similar Triangles model takes the area-scaling idea further. Both are listed in LabEquip’s maths lab range, and enquiries go through the contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does every triangle tessellate?

Yes. Two copies of any triangle, one turned through half a turn, fit together to make a parallelogram, and parallelograms tile the plane in rows. This works for scalene, isosceles and right-angled triangles alike, not just equilateral ones.

How do triangles show that the angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees?

In a tessellation of identical triangles, six triangles meet at each point and each of the three angles appears twice. The full turn of 360 degrees therefore equals twice the angle sum, so one set of three angles makes 180 degrees, a straight line.

What shapes can be made from equilateral triangles?

Two make a rhombus, three make a trapezium, four make a larger equilateral triangle and six make a regular hexagon. Larger combinations produce parallelograms and star-like designs, and students can record how many triangles each shape needs.

How are pattern triangles used for area?

If one small triangle counts as one unit of area, students can find the area of any design by counting triangles. A triangle with sides twice as long takes four units and one with sides three times as long takes nine, showing that area grows with the square of the scale factor.

Can the triangles be used for fractions?

Yes. Six equilateral triangles form a hexagon, so each triangle is one sixth of it, two triangles a third and three a half. Using a different shape as the whole changes the fraction each triangle stands for.

What is the difference between pattern triangles and pattern blocks?

Pattern blocks include six different shapes that fit together, while a triangle set concentrates on one shape. A triangle-only set makes students build the other shapes themselves, which is useful when the lesson is about composing shapes, angles or tessellation.

Last Updated: September 2026