THOMASENIA LOTT ADAMS

AND

FATMA ASLAN-TUTAK

Serving Up

Sierpinski!
THE SIERPINSKI TRIANGLE IS NAMED AFTER

topology, and analytic sets. He also developed the

first example of absolutely normal numbers, which
contain digits that occur with equal frequency in
whatever base they are written. Sierpinski also
worked on other spectacular mathematical creations, such as the Sierpinski curve.
His life spanned both World Wars I and II and at
times during these wars he could not continue his
studies. For example, in Poland during World War
II, his house was burned, and his library was destroyed. Researching his life would be a good way
to integrate mathematics and the social sciences.
In addition to mathematical accolades, two
postage stamps honor Sierpinski. One stamp contains a three-dimensional Sierpinski triangle, and the
other stamp pictures Sierpinski himself. You can review these stamps at ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/
asl/exhibits/stamps/math2b.html.

Waclaw Sierpinski (18821969), a Polish mathematician who studied number theory, set theory,

How to Construct a Sierpinski Triangle

HE SIERPINSKI TRIANGLE, CREATED IN

1916, has some very interesting characteristics. It is an impressive and valuable topic for
mathematical exploration, since it combines
Euclidean geometry (triangles and measurement)
with fractal geometry. The Sierpinski triangle, also
known as the Sierpinski gasket, is a fractal formed
from an equilateral triangle. It is one of the most popular fractals to construct and analyze in middle school
mathematics lessons. Since the 1960s, it has been
possible to design fractals using a computer program,
especially the complex examples that are often difficult to construct by hand. However, students can easily duplicate the Sierpinski triangle.

Who Was Sierpinski?

THOMASENIA LOTT ADAMS, tla@coe.ufl.edu, teaches at

the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7048. She
is interested in multicultural mathematics and teachers
mathematics subject matter knowledge. FATMA ASLANTUTAK, aslanfat@ufl.edu, is a graduate student at the
University of Florida and is pursuing a doctoral degree in
mathematics education.

This department explores rich mathematical ideas by revisiting their origins and early investigations found in the history of mathematics. Send submissions to this department
by accessing mtms.msubmit.net.
248

TO CONSTRUCT A SIERPINSKI TRIANGLE, FIRST

draw an equilateral triangle. Determine the midpoints of each side of the triangle. Use those midpoints as vertices of a new smaller triangle that divides the original equilateral triangle into four
smaller congruent equilateral triangles. Remove the
middle triangle and repeat the same procedure for
each of the remaining outer three triangles. Continue to repeat this entire process. The result will be
a Sierpinski triangle composed of three smaller Sierpinski triangles (see fig. 1). Student Activity Sheet
1 explains the procedure; solutions can be found

MATHEMATICS TEACHING IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Copyright 2006 The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc. www.nctm.org. All rights reserved.
This material may not be copied or distributed electronically or in any other format without written permission from NCTM.

under Teacher Notes. Furthermore, the number of

remaining triangles for every step should be determined. This discussion will help students develop an
in-depth understanding of the Sierpinski triangle,
and the result will be used for further activities.

What Is a Fractal?
FRACTALS WERE FIRST EXPLORED IN THE LATE

1800s and early 1900s. Benoit Mandelbrot in 1975

defined the term fractal long after Sierpinski had introduced his fractal triangle. Sierpinski was one of
the first mathematicians to develop curves and geometric objects that resembled fractals. These
curves are not smooth, and when one of the curves
is magnified, even more rough area is seen, which
follows the same pattern as the other rough areas.
The French derivation of fractal refers to something broken or uneven.
Fractals are generated by starting with a very
simple pattern that grows through the application
of a fixed procedure. The process is repeated recursively (the same way over and over) an infinite
number of times. Hence, fractals are shapes that
are self-similar, appearing the same at different
magnifications.

L
Step 0

Step 1
G

L
Step 3

Step 2

Area in the Sierpinski Triangle

IN ADDITION TO BEING A VALUABLE WAY TO IN-

troduce and understand fractals, constructing a

Sierpinski triangle can be good practice for discovering patterns and analyzing triangles and their
areas. One benefit of studying fractals is the opportunity to observe patterns and infinity in practice.
For the Sierpinski triangle, the pattern occurs by
dividing an equilateral triangle into four congruent
equilateral triangles. Then this pattern is applied to
the three outer triangles, whatever their size.
Therefore, the area of each triangle is one-fourth
the area of the previous one. To determine the area
of one triangle, multiply the area of the previous triangle by 1/4. This shows that the pattern is an exponential one. Thus, the area of one of the remaining triangles for step n will be (1/4)n. Multiplying
the number of triangles by the determined area
will give the area of the Sierpinski triangle, or
(3n)(1/4)n. This is just one way to approach the
area of the Sierpinski triangle that is accessible to
middle school students. Figure 2 is an illustration
of building on the basic triangle.

Step 4
Fig. 1 Steps for constructing the Sierpinski triangle

Source: Larry Riddle,

Sierpinski Gasket.
ecademy.agnesscott.edu/
~lriddle/ifs/siertri/siertri.htm.

Conclusion
SOME OF THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUES-

tions during mathematics instruction include Why

Fig. 2 Building on the Sierpinski triangle

V O L . 1 1 , N O . 5 . DECEMBER 2005/JANUARY 2006

249

am I learning this? and How can I use this knowledge? The Sierpinski triangle gives students a different perspective about triangles. The history of
the Sierpinski triangle and fractals can serve as a
context for studying triangles and related concepts.
Furthermore, explaining the concept of infinity in a
fractal is easier, because the pattern repeats infinitely many times. Constructing the Sierpinski triangle requires knowledge of both geometry and
measurement and is a valuable and simple way to
introduce fractals and their characteristics. Researching the life of Sierpinski can show the effects
of culture on developments in mathematics.

Teacher Notes
THE MATHEMATICAL QUESTIONS AT THE END

of Student Activity Sheet 1 are to improve the

higher-order thinking skills of students. Cooperative groups can work on these questions. If students cannot write a pattern mathematically as they
work through the student pages, encourage them
to express the pattern in their own words so as to
keep them engaged in the activity. Student Activity Sheet 2 uses the results from Sheet 1.
For Sheet 1, students are asked to draw their
own 32 cm equilateral triangle. The larger the triangle with the side length being a power of 2 (for
example, 32 = 25), the more in-depth the exploration of the Sierpinski triangle becomes. However, for convenience, we have provided an 8 cm
equilateral triangle (8 = 23), shown in figure 3, for
reproduction.

Solutions to Student Activity Sheet 1

5. The procedure for constructing the Sierpinski
triangle is based on dividing a triangle into four
congruent triangles. The first step of the procedure
is to determine the midpoints of each side of the
large triangle. Then we use those midpoints as vertices of a new smaller triangle (in the middle of the
large triangle). The first large triangle is thus divided into four congruent triangles.
6. Any triangle on the Sierpinski triangle can be selected. When you magnify that triangle, it will be
the same as the large Sierpinski triangle.
7. There are two reasons for having self-similarity.
The first reason is that we always use the same procedure. We do not change the pattern. The second
reason is related to the triangles. When we divide
the large triangle into four congruent smaller ones,
all triangles (the large one and the smaller ones)
are equilateral. Therefore, when we apply the same
pattern for the smaller triangles, the result will be
the same, leading to self-similarity.
89. Answers for the first two questions should be
derived from the figure. Therefore, the table will be
as follows.
Step 0: 1 triangle
Step 1: 4 1 = 3 triangles remain
Step 2: 3 3 = 9 triangles
Step 3: 3 9 = 27 triangles
Step 4: 3 27 = 81 triangles
Step n: 3n triangles
1011.
STEP #
0
1
2
3
...
n

NUMBER OF
TRIANGLES
LEFT
1
3
9
27
...
3n

Solutions to Student Activity Sheet 2

For every step, we divide the equilateral triangles into
four congruent equilateral triangles. Therefore, the
area of each smaller triangle will be 1/4 times the
area of the larger one. Since we know the number of
triangles, the area of the Sierpinski triangle will be
(number of triangles)(area of a triangle for that step).
Fig. 3 An 8 cm triangle

250

MATHEMATICS TEACHING IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL

1. There are 3 triangles. The area of each is 1/4,

since the area of the original triangle is 1. There-

fore, the area for the Sierpinski triangle for step 1

(A1 ) is (3)(1/4), or 3/4.
2. A total of 32 = 9 triangles remain. We divide the
area of each triangle from step 1 by 4. The area will
be (1/4)(1/4). Therefore, the area of the Sierpinski
triangle at step 2 will be (32)(1/4)2, or 9/16.
3. A total of 33 = 27 triangles remain. We divide the
area of each triangle from step 2 by 4. Their area will
be (1/4)(1/4)(1/4). Therefore, the area of the Sierpinski triangle at step 3 will be (33)(1/4)3, or 27/64.
4. Every time we divide by 4, the pattern for the
area of each new smaller triangle will be 1/4 of the
area of previous triangle.
5. (1/4)n
6. The formula is (number of triangles)(area of one
of the remaining triangles). So (3n)(1/4)n = (3n)/(4n).

STEP #
0
1
2
3
...
n

AREA OF THE
SIERPINSKI
TRIANGLE
1
3/4
9/16
27/64
...
(3n)/(4n)

Bibliography
Germantown Academy Academics, Fort Washington,
Pennsylvania. What Is a Fractal? www.germantown
academy.org/academics/US/Math/Geometry/stwk00
/griffith/WIF.htm.
Lanius, Cynthia. Math Questions on Sierpinskis Triangle. math.rice.edu/~lanius/fractals/Sier_Ques/.
Richards, Geoff. Sierpinski Fractals. ungwe.org/art/
sierpinski/.
Riddle, Larry. Sierpinski Gasket. ecademy.agnesscott
.edu/~lriddle/ifs/siertri/siertri.htm.
Shodor. Sierpinskis Triangle. www.shodor.org/inter
activate/activities/gasket/.
University of Buffalo Libraries. Mathematics and Computation IV. ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/exhibits/
stamps/math2b.html.
University of St. Andrews, Scotland. Waclaw Sierpinski.
www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians
/Sierpinski.html. 

V O L . 1 1 , N O . 5 . DECEMBER 2005/JANUARY 2006

251

Student Activity Sheet 1

NAME _______________________________________

Constructing the Sierpinski Triangle

1. Draw an equilateral triangle with sides of 32 cm. Label this triangle as step 0.
2. Determine the midpoints of each side.
3. Use these midpoints as the vertices of a new triangle, then remove the center triangle from the
original triangle. This is step 1.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each remaining triangle, removing the middle triangle each time. Label
the triangle accordingly.
Fractal Properties of the Sierpinski Triangle
5. Describe the procedure (recursion) to construct the Sierpinski triangle in your own words.
6. Give examples to show the self-similarity of the Sierpinski triangle.
7. Can you explain the self-similarity for the Sierpinski triangle in your own words? (Hint: remember
your answer for the first question.)
Mathematical Questions
8. How many triangles remain after step 1?
9. Find the total number of triangles that remain after step 2 and after step 3.
10. Is there a pattern? Can you use it to predict the total number of triangles that will remain after step 4?
11.Can you find a formula to determine the total number of triangles that will remain after any given step?

STEP #

NUMBER OF
TRIANGLES REMAINING

0
1
2
3
...
n

From the December 2005/January 2006 issue of

Student Activity Sheet 2

NAME _______________________________________

Area of the Sierpinski Triangle for the nth step

Find the area of the Sierpinski triangle for steps 1, 2, and 3. Then discover the pattern and construct a
formula for the area at any given step (step n). Use the Sierpinski triangle that you constructed for
Student Activity Sheet 1. On each triangle, write the area that you determined for each step. For
step 0, let the area of the Sierpinski triangle be 1. Answer the following questions.
1. How many triangles are there for step 1? What is the area of each of them? What is the area of the
Sierpinski triangle for step 1?
2. How many triangles remain for step 2? What is the area of one of them? (Hint: use the area pattern
for each of the triangles at step 1.) What is the area of the Sierpinski triangle for step 2?
3. How many triangles are left behind for step 3? What is the area of one of them? (Hint: use the area
pattern for each of the triangles at step 2.) What is the area of the Sierpinski triangle for step 3?
4. What is the pattern (or relationship) between areas of the remaining triangles when moving from
one step to another? State your reasoning.
5. What is the area of a remaining triangle for step n?
6. What is the formula for the area of the Sierpinski triangle for step n?

STEP #

AREA OF THE
SIERPINSKI TRIANGLE

0
1
2
3
...
n

From the December 2005/January 2006 issue of