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In mathematics, a domino is a
In mathematics, a domino is a polyomino
A polyomino is a plane geometric figure formed by joining one or more equal squares edge to edge. It is a polyform whose cells are squares. It may be regarded as a finite subset of the regular square tiling.
Polyominoes have been used in po ...
of order 2, that is, a polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed '' polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two t ...
in the plane made of two equal-sized square
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...
s connected edge-to-edge. When rotation
Rotation, or spin, is the circular movement of an object around a '' central axis''. A two-dimensional rotating object has only one possible central axis and can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. A three-dimensional ...
s and reflections are not considered to be distinct shapes, there is only one ''free'' domino.
Since it has reflection symmetry
In mathematics, reflection symmetry, line symmetry, mirror symmetry, or mirror-image symmetry is symmetry with respect to a reflection. That is, a figure which does not change upon undergoing a reflection has reflectional symmetry.
In 2D the ...
, it is also the only ''one-sided'' domino (with reflections considered distinct). When rotations are also considered distinct, there are two ''fixed'' dominoes: The second one can be created by rotating the one above by 90°.
In a wider sense, the term ''domino'' is sometimes understood to mean a tile
Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wa ...
of any shape.
Packing and tiling
Dominos can tile the plane in a countably infinite number of ways. The number of tilings of a 2×''n'' rectangle with dominoes is , the ''n''t