mosaic

Everyday

1. A picture or pattern made by putting together many small pieces of coloured stone, glass or tile. tree →
2. Something made of many different parts mixed together (a mosaic of cultures). tree →

In the lessons

In history: Romans made mosaic floors. In art lessons: pupils make paper mosaics. In maths: mosaics and tiling connect with shapes and tessellation. Phrases: mosaic floor, Roman mosaic, a mosaic of.

Examples

• We saw a Roman mosaic of a dolphin on the floor. tree →
• In art we made a mosaic from tiny squares of paper. tree →
• The church window is a glass mosaic. tree →
• The city is a mosaic of different cultures. tree →
• The mosaic used over 1,000 tiny tiles. tree →
• Square tiles fit together well in a mosaic. tree →
• Then he went on through richly-furnished chambers, over mosaic floors, amid gorgeous pictures. tree →

Note

Countable. Said "moh-ZAY-ik". In maths, a mosaic of shapes that fit with no gaps is a tessellation; to find how many tiles, divide the area to cover by the area of one tile.