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Patterns and Symmetry
Drawing 'kolams' or 'rangoli' patterns in front of the house is a common practice in India. These kolams get special attention during the festival season of Pongal or Sankranti. People draw bigger patterns and fill them with different colours to give it a rich and bright look. But the beauty of the kolam lies in its symmetry!
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Lines of Symmetry
We say that a shape is line symmetric if one half of the shape exactly sits on the top of the other when folded. The fold is called the line of symmetry and the shape is said to be line symmetric.
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Examples
Here are some examples of kolams that are line symmetric.
When folded along the dotted lines, notice that one half of the kolam sits exactly on the other half. So the first kolam has 4 lines of symmetry and the second kolam has 2 lines of symmetry.
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Curved and Complex Patterns
There are also kolams that are not line symmetric. Here's an example. More often than not, you will be able to identify symmetric and asymmetric shapes. Next time you see any complex patterns, try to see if they are symmetric or asymmetric!
