Tell me more ×
Mathematics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for people studying math at any level and professionals in related fields. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 3 down vote favorite
3

How to prove that the only figure of which 3 copies can be used to tile a rectangle is a rectangle?

Is it possible to cut a rectangle into 5 equal (modulo rotations/reflections) non-rectangular pieces, which type of pieces?

share|improve this question
2  
In the situation of using 3 copies, is it possible to simply define the rectangle as the following: All touching/adjacent sides of the combined rectangle must have a summed interior angle of either 90 (the corners of the larger rectangle), 180 (along the outside edge of the larger rectangle), or 360 (a point inside the larger rectangle). From this, can we deduce that the only shape that can accomplish this can ONLY have right angles, and thus must be a rectangle? – Nicolas Villanueva Jul 7 '11 at 12:44
By "rectangle", are you insisting non-square? Is the answer known in the case of a square? – Aubrey da Cunha Jul 8 '11 at 19:04

1 Answer

up vote 5 down vote accepted

There is a lot of information about this problem at http://mathoverflow.net/questions/11753

share|improve this answer
5  
Perhaps the person who voted this down could come up with a better answer? – Gerry Myerson Jul 8 '11 at 1:42
They probably did it just to annoy you. But seriously, forks... (+.8) for the link and (+.2) to offset the down-vote – The Chaz 2.0 Jul 8 '11 at 16:52

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.