How Much Wax Does a Honeycomb Save?
Bees store honey in hexagonal cells. Of the shapes that fill a flat surface without gaps, the hexagon encloses the largest area for the shortest wall. Students compare triangles, squares and hexagons of equal area and measure the length of wall each one needs.
What happens
A hexagon with an area of 1 cm² needs about 3.72 cm of wall, a square 4 cm and a triangle 4.56 cm.
Activity
Cut three shapes of equal area from card, tile them on a sheet and measure the total wall length for 20 cells of each shape.
Where it is used
Aircraft floor panels and packaging boards use honeycomb cores to stay stiff with little material.
Introduction
- Level
- Middle school
- Time
- 1.5 hours
- Materials
- Thin card
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Grid paper