What is a TANGRAM?
TILING PUZZLES are two-dimensional puzzles in which a number of flat shapes have to be assembled into a given shape without any overlaps or gaps.
Some tiling puzzles ask you to dissect a given shape and then rearrange the pieces into one or more different shapes. There are often certain conditions to fulfill or restraints placed on how the transformation from shape to shape occurs. These types of tiling puzzles are specifically referred to as DISSECTION PUZZLES.
By definition, Tangrams are dissection puzzles.
A tangram is “a traditional Chinese puzzle consisting of a square cut into seven pieces (tans) that can be arranged into various shapes". It is also called Qiqiaoban in Chinese, literally translating to “seven ingenious pieces”.
A tangram is made up of five triangles, one square, and one parallelogram. The objective of the puzzle is to form specific shapes using all seven pieces, without any overlap.
The origin of the word 'tangram' is unclear.
Some theories conclude that it derived from the
English word "trangam" (meaning trinket).
According to others, the word is a portmanteau
of 'tang' (a historical Chinese dynasty) and
'gram' (from the Greek γράμμα, meaning letter or
that which is drawn).
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