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CLASS 7 · GANITA PRAKASH PART II · CHAPTER 6

Constructions and Tilings

Step-by-step compass constructions, angle reasoning and tiling arguments for Grade 7.

30 worked answersAll 30 end-of-chapter questions

What you will learn

  • Construct perpendicular bisectors and angle bisectors.
  • Build 30°, 45°, 60° and 90° angles using ruler and compass.
  • Explain regular-hexagon constructions.
  • Use area and checkerboard arguments to analyse tilings.

30 worked answers · short steps first, explanations when you need them

Figure it Out and chapter activities

Textbook pages 136–162

Question 6.1-1

When drawing a perpendicular bisector, must the arc radius above the segment equal the radius below it?

Steps only

For the upper pair, use any radius greater than half XY; the intersection is equidistant from X and Y. Repeat below with another such radius. Both centres lie on the perpendicular bisector, so their joining line is that bisector.

Answer

No. The two arc intersections only need to be distinct points that are each equally far from both endpoints. Joining them gives the unique perpendicular bisector.

Question 6.1-2

Must the two pairs of arcs lie on opposite sides of XY?

Steps only

Draw two valid arc pairs using different radii on the same side. Their two intersection points lie on the same perpendicular bisector.

Answer

No. They may lie on the same side if they give two distinct intersection points. Both points are equidistant from X and Y, so the line joining them is the perpendicular bisector.

Question 6.1-3

For one intersecting pair of arcs, must the radii from X and Y be equal?

Steps only

A point lies on the perpendicular bisector exactly when its distances to X and Y are equal. Equal-radius arcs enforce those equal distances.

Answer

Yes, for this standard construction: equal radii ensure the intersection is equally distant from X and Y. Different radii do not generally give a point on the perpendicular bisector.

Question 6.1-4

Construct the symmetric eye using ruler and compass.

Steps only

Set compass radius greater than half XY. Draw intersecting arcs from X and Y above and below; join the intersections and use them as centres for the two eye arcs.

Answer

Draw equal-radius arcs centred at X and Y above and below XY. Label their intersections A and B; choose centres A and B for the matching arcs through X and Y.

Question 6.1-5

Why does the rope method construct a perpendicular bisector?

Steps only

The rope ends stay fixed at X and Y and the rope is folded equally, so each pulled midpoint has equal distance to the endpoints. Two such points determine the perpendicular bisector.

Answer

The rope midpoint is equally far from X and Y, both above and below the segment. The line through those two positions is the perpendicular bisector.

Question 6.1-6

Construct a 90° angle at a point O on a line.

Steps only

Because OX=OY and AX=AY, A lies on the perpendicular bisector of XY. That bisector passes through O at a right angle to the line.

Answer

Mark equal points X and Y on the line with O as midpoint. Draw equal-radius arcs from X and Y meeting at A; OA is perpendicular to XY, so ∠AOX=90°.

Question 6.1-7

Why does the perpendicular bisector of XY pass through O in the right-angle construction?

Steps only

Mark OX=OY. The equal-radius arcs locate a point A also equidistant from X and Y. OA is the perpendicular bisector and contains O.

Answer

O is the midpoint of XY, so O is on the perpendicular bisector. The constructed bisector is therefore perpendicular to the original line at O.

Question 6.1-8

How can you construct an angle bisector with compass and ruler?

Steps only

Triangles OAC and OBC have OA=OB, AC=BC and common side OC. They are congruent by SSS, so the two angles at O are equal.

Answer

Mark equal distances OA and OB along the two arms. Draw equal-radius arcs from A and B meeting at C. Ray OC bisects the angle.

Question 6.1-9

What angle is between adjacent support lines in an 8-petal design around a point?

Steps only

A full turn is 360°. Divide equally among 8 gaps: 360°÷8=45°.

Answer

45°.

Question 6.1-10

If the equal-radius arcs for angle bisection meet on the other side of the angle, is OC still the bisector?

Steps only

OA=OB, AC=BC and OC is common regardless of which arc intersection is chosen. Therefore corresponding angles at O are equal.

Answer

Yes, provided C is the intersection of equal-radius arcs from A and B. The two triangles remain congruent by SSS, so OC still bisects the angle.

Question 6.1-11

Which angles can be built by repeatedly bisecting 90°? Can this alone construct 65.5°?

Steps only

Each bisection halves an available angle. The resulting angles are multiples of 90°/2ⁿ; 65.5° is not obtained by that simple sequence.

Answer

Repeated bisection gives 45°, 22.5°, 11.25° and related sums. It cannot directly produce 65.5° by halving 90° alone.

Question 6.1-12

Construct a 60° angle using ruler and compass.

Steps only

Draw an arc centred at A to mark B on the ray. With the same compass width, draw an arc from B to meet the first at C. AB=BC=CA, so triangle ABC is equilateral and ∠CAB=60°.

Answer

Make an equilateral triangle on a line segment; each interior angle is 60°.

Question 6.1-13

How do you construct 30° and 15°?

Steps only

The angle-bisector construction halves an angle while preserving its vertex and arms.

Answer

Bisect a constructed 60° angle to get 30°. Bisect 30° to get 15°.

Question 6.1-14

Why do six equilateral triangles fit around a point and form a regular hexagon?

Steps only

Around the centre, 6×60°=360°. At each outer vertex, two 60° triangle angles meet on a straight line, giving an interior angle 180°−60°=120°.

Answer

Each contributes 60°, so six make 360° with no gap or overlap. Their outer sides are equal, and each hexagon interior angle is 120°.

Question 6.1-15

The angles around a point are 40°, 60°, 50°, 30°, 40° and 90°. Find the gap and decide if 70° fits.

Steps only

Add known angles: 40+60+50+30+40+90=310°. Subtract from 360° to get 50°.

Answer

Gap=360°−310°=50°. A 70° angle does not fit; it overlaps by 20°.

Question 6.1-16

Construct a regular hexagon of side 5 cm.

Steps only

A regular hexagon divides the circle into six 60° central angles. Each chord then equals the radius, so all six sides are 5 cm.

Answer

Draw a circle of radius 5 cm. Step the compass width around the circle six times and join consecutive points.

Question 6.1-17

The six-pointed star is made from six outer triangles around a hexagon. Are the outer triangles equilateral?

Steps only

Check one tip triangle: its base angles and vertex angle are each 60° in the constructed regular pattern. Rotational symmetry gives the same result for all six.

Answer

Yes, when each outer tip is formed from the 60° directions of the regular-hexagon construction; each triangle has three 60° angles and equal sides.

Question 6.1-18

Construct a perpendicular to line l through an external point P.

Steps only

PA=PB because A and B lie on the circle centred at P. Thus P lies on the perpendicular bisector of AB. Since A and B are on l, that bisector meets l at 90°.

Answer

Draw a circle centred at P large enough to meet l at A and B. Construct the perpendicular bisector of AB; it passes through P and is perpendicular to l.

Question 6.1-19

How do you construct a pointed arch from two equal support segments?

Steps only

The equal supports and their midpoint symmetry make the two sides mirror images. The arc radius controls the arch’s point and width.

Answer

Mark the midpoint of each equal segment and use those midpoints as arc centres; choose a radius that joins the top ends smoothly.

Question 6.1-20

Construct a regular hexagon from six equilateral triangles.

Steps only

Each sector triangle has all sides equal to the radius. Adjacent sectors share a side, leaving six equal outer sides and six 120° interior angles.

Answer

Construct six 60° sectors of equal radius around a centre and join the six outer vertices.

Question 6.2-1

Can a 4×6 grid be tiled by 2×1 dominoes?

Steps only

Each domino covers 2 squares. Since both dimensions are even, pair adjacent squares in each row.

Answer

Yes. It has 24 unit squares, and one construction is to place 12 horizontal dominoes in pairs across each row.

Question 6.2-2

Can a 4×7 grid be tiled by 2×1 dominoes?

Steps only

Pair row 1 with row 2 and row 3 with row 4 in every column: 14 dominoes cover all 28 squares.

Answer

Yes. Each of its 4 rows has 7 squares, so use vertical dominoes to pair the rows in each column.

Question 6.2-3

Can a 5×7 grid be tiled by 2×1 dominoes?

Steps only

A sum of groups of 2 is even. An odd area cannot be fully covered by 2-square tiles.

Answer

No. It has 35 squares, an odd number, while each domino covers exactly 2 squares.

Question 6.2-4

When is an m×n rectangle grid tileable by 2×1 dominoes?

Steps only

An even row count permits vertical pairing in each column; an even column count permits horizontal pairing in each row. If both are odd, mn is odd and cannot be split into pairs.

Answer

If at least one of m or n is even, tile it by pairing rows or columns. If both are odd, its number of squares mn is odd, so tiling is impossible.

Question 6.2-5

Does an even number of squares guarantee a region can be domino-tiled?

Steps only

Dominoes cover pairs, so area must be even. But geometry and adjacency also matter; use a checkerboard colouring or a forced-placement argument to prove impossibility.

Answer

No. Even area is necessary but may not be sufficient; the shape can still force a mismatch or blocked placement.

Question 6.2-6

Why can checkerboard colouring prove some domino tilings impossible?

Steps only

Colour the grid alternately. Adjacent squares have opposite colours. If the region has unequal colour counts, no arrangement of dominoes can cover it.

Answer

Every domino covers one black and one white square. Therefore a tileable region must contain equal numbers of each colour.

Question 6.2-7

A 5×3 board has one square removed. Is it always tileable because the remaining 14 squares are even?

Steps only

A domino always covers one square of each colour. Removing a square can leave unequal colour totals; then no tiling exists. The removed square’s position matters.

Answer

No. Even area alone does not guarantee a tiling. Colour the board like a checkerboard and compare remaining black and white counts; if unequal, tiling is impossible.

Question 6.2-8

How can you test whether the two textbook regions can be covered by the shown tiles?

Steps only

A valid tiling must cover every unit exactly once, with no overlap or gap. The printed diagrams are required to decide these two specific cases.

Answer

The exact regions and tile shapes are diagram-dependent. Compare area divisibility first, then test boundary fit and forced placements; for dominoes, use checkerboard counts.

Question 6.2-9

Which regular polygons can tile the plane by themselves: squares, equilateral triangles or regular hexagons?

Steps only

A regular polygon tessellates when an integer number of its interior angles fit exactly around each vertex.

Answer

All three. Their interior angles meet around a point in whole numbers: 4×90°=360°, 6×60°=360° and 3×120°=360°.

Question 6.2-10

Can tangram pieces form the pictured arrow and other figures?

Steps only

Start with the long edges and pointed corners. Fit the large triangles first, then place the other five pieces in the spaces left. Turn pieces or flip the parallelogram if needed.

Answer

Yes. Use all seven pieces once in each outline. Match edges without gaps or overlaps; more than one arrangement may work.

Questions follow NCERT’s Ganita Prakash Part II, Chapter 6 ↗, checked on 2026-10-05. Use our original question summaries and worked answers alongside the questions in your textbook.

Diagrams are drawn from mathematical rules. Learnivelle is not affiliated with NCERT.

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