Dividing a Circle into Eight

Mandala Creation: We wrote down the steps to divide a circle into eight parts.

Mandalas are fun to make because they combine artistic creativity with logical thinking. The first step to creating a mandala with a straight edge and a compass is to divide a circle into equal sized  parts. Six or eight sectors are the most common divisions.

In order to have the steps for circle division available for future mandalas, we created a small instruction book while performing the steps of dividing a circle into eight parts. The exercise was an excellent way to focus on mathematical vocabulary in a natural way.

Step 1 - Draw a line.
Step 2 - Create a perpendicular bisector. (This is created by setting the compass point on the end of the line and drawing tick marks above and below the line near the center of the line, then repeated by placing the compass at the other end of the line).

Step 3 - Draw a circle with the center point located where the two lines intersect.
Step 4 - Bisect the 90 degree angles. (This is done by setting the compass point on the point where the line and circle intersect and drawing tick marks above and below the line, then repeated by placing the compass on the two adjacent circle line intersections).

Once the steps were recorded, it was possible to create the mandala in the photo below.

 With the circle divided into eight parts, a very tiny concentric circle was drawn as well as a larger concentric circle to create both of the interior squares. With the initial lines and the two circles all the points were visible to create the mandala. The only tool required was a straight edge.

For additional mandala math ideas please visit my Math Page.

Check out these great blogs full of educational activity ideas.