The Tangram puzzle is one of the best-known anchor puzzles. It consists of seven geometric shapes, called Tans (a square, five triangles and a parallelogram). The objective is to reproduce particular figures using these seven shapes. This is often more difficult than it seems.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the Tangram puzzle was introduced into America and Europe from China. Many different figures are possible. I have seen a book which contains as many as 1600 different figures. Four of these are shown below.
If you want to make the Tangram puzzle, copy the Tangram Diagram at the top of the page onto a piece of triplex or other material. Then, using a fine saw, saw the pieces out along the red lines and smooth them with sandpaper. Paint or varnish the puzzle to give it a nice finish.
My brother made this applet for me. I've added and harder set of puzzle to it.
Click on one of the Tangram buttons below and just wait a few seconds for the Applet to load... The top button for an easy puzzle, the bottom button for more challenge.
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