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Mind-Bending Math & GamesGeometry

Why Bees Build Hexagons

Hexagons hold the most honey with the least wax

Bees have never taken a geometry class. Yet honeycomb is built from the one shape mathematicians needed 2,000 years to prove best. Luck?

You'll find out

  • The only three shapes that fit together
  • How much wax a hexagon saves
  • Why a soccer ball needs pentagons

Why it matters

Doing more with less material is engineering's oldest problem. Hexagons solve it in combs, telescopes and aircraft.

About 3 min6 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 140 · Zone 16

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