The Koch Snowflake

Patterns in a von Koch snowflake

The purpose of this exercise is to investigate the relationship between the stages of the
snowflake and its perimeter and areas.

I will first count the number of sides, Nn, at each stage manually and then try to establish a
relationship between them.

Initially ln, the length of each side is taken to be one unit, but at each stage, the side will be
divided into three equal parts, of which the middle one will be the base for another triangle. As a
result, the length of each side at every stage will be one-third of the length of side at the previous
1
stage. That being said, the length of each side can be represented by the formula ln = l0 × ( 3 )n
units.

The length of the perimeter, Pn, will be the product of the length of each side and the
1
number of sides. The formula for this will be Pn = Nn × ln. We can substitute ln = ( 3 )n as found
1
above into this equation. As a result, the new equation will be Pn = Nn × ( 3 )n units.

1
I will calculate the area of the triangles by using the formula
2
absinC. As the Koch
snowflake consists of equilateral triangles, both sides a and b will be equal to Ln and C = 60o, the
1
formula for the area of each of the additional triangles will be (l )2 sin 60o. Simplifying it
2 n
 1
further, and replacing ln by ( )n . So for the nth stage of the snowflake, the area for each triangle
3

would be
√ 3 ( 1 ¿2n sq units.
4 3

The first calculated area, at stage 0 will be

√ 3 ( 1 ¿0 =>
√3 unit2. I will calculate the total
4 3 4
area of the snowflake, An, by calculating the sum of the areas of each of the additional triangles and
adding it to the area calculated for at the previous stage.

For the nth stage, the number of sides (Nn), the length of a single side (l n), the length of the
perimeter (Pn), and the area of the snowflake (A n) is shown in the table below (Figure 1)

Nn Ln Pn An

n=0 3 1 3 √3
4
n=1 12 1 4 √3
3 3
n=2 48 1 16 10 √ 3
9 3 27
n=3 192 1 64 94 √ 3
27 9 243
Figure 1

250 As we can see in

the table above and the
200 graph on the left, the
number of sides
Number of Sides

150
increases by four times
at each stage, that is,
Number of sides
every time n increases by
100
one, the number of sides
of the ‘snowflake’
50 increases by four times.
So, it can be said that the
0 number of sides is a
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Stage (n)
series in geometric progression for which the first term is 3 and the common ratio is 4. So, Nn =
3(4)n.
The next step is to find out if this generalisation is true. This can be done by substituting n=
0, n= 1, n= 2, and n= 3 into the equation we just found.

N0 = 3(4)0 = 3( 1) = 3

N1 = 3(4)1 = 3(4) = 12

N2 = 3(4)2 = 3(16) = 48

N3 = 3(4)3 = 3(64) = 192

The above values, calculated using the formula Nn = 3(4)n, adhere to the values that I found
manually.

The relationship between the terms for ln has already been established but is shown more
1
clearly by the graph below. It is a geometric series with the ratio and first term 1. As l0 = 1,the
3
1
length of each side can be represented as ln = ( 3 )n.

1.2

1
Length of each side (units)

0.8

0.6
Length of each side
0.4

0.2

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Stage (n)

1
To find out if the generalisation, l n = ( )n, is true for all cases, the values n= 0l, 1, 2, and 3 are
3
substituted as below.

1
l0 = ( )0 = 1
3
 1 1
l1 = ( )1 = ( )
3 3

1 1
l2 = ( )2 = ( )
3 9

1 1
l3 = ( )3 = ( )
3 27

Again, the generalisation is valid as it applies to all the values found in the table.

7 The graph for

6 the perimeters of the
figure at each stage is
Perimeter (units)

5
shown on the graph on
4 the right.
3 Perimeter
As we have found
2 the expression for Nn, we
1
can substitute Nn = 3(4)n
into the equation
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 1
Pn = Nn × ( )n . The new
Stage (n) 3
equation will be :

1
Pn = 3(4)n × ( 3 )n which can be further simplified to form the equation:

4
Pn = 3( 3 )n.

This can be verified by substituting n= 0, 1, 2 and 3.

4 4 4
P0 = 3( )0 = 3(1) = 3 P1 = 3( )1 = 3( ¿ = 4
3 3 3

4 16 16 4 64 64
P2 = 3( )2 = 3( )= P3 = 3( )3=3( )=
3 9 3 3 27 9

The generalisation applies consistently to the values in the table.

 0.8

0.7
The graph on the
0.6 left shows the graph of the
area of the figure against
0.5
Area (sq units)

the value of n. According

0.4 to the graph, the area

0.3 Area (sq units) decreases significantly.

0.2

0.1

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Stage (n)

The increase in the number of triangles is equal to the number of sides of the figure at the
previous stages. Following this procedure,

3
An = √ ¿
4

To test if this generalisation holds true, I will substitute n with 0, 1, 2 and 3 like I have done
in the steps above.

A0 =
√3 ( 1 )0 = √ 3
4 9 4

√3 ( 1 )0 + 3 √ 3 ( 1 )1 = 3 √ 3 1 + √ 3 = √3 + 3 √3 = 12 √ 3 = √3
A1 =
4 9 4 9 4 (9) 4 4 36 36 3

A2 =
√3 ¿ = √ 3 + √ 3 + √ 3 = 10 √ 3
4 4 12 27 27

A3 =
√3 ¿
4

The generalisation has been proven correct. This can now be manipulated to formulate a
general formula that does not involve all this calculation and is more convenient. I shall start with
the first formula for calculation the area, before it was simplified to achieve the one I just verified.

3
An = √ ¿
4
 The first thing I will do is separate the area at A 0 from the area at the rest of the stages as
this is the area that I am adding the rest of the areas to. The formula would now look like this:

3
An = √ +¿
4

1
The next thing I will do is combine the two ratios, and 4. As the power to which 4 is raised
9
1
is one less than the power to which is raised, I will multiply both the numerator and denominator
9
by 4. The equation would look like:

3
An = √ +¿
4

3 √3
The series in the bracket would be one geometric series with first term ¿ which, upon
16

simplification, would become

√ 3 . The common ratio for this series will be 4 . The sum of the terms
12 9
in the series can be calculated using the general formula for sum to nth term for a geometric
1−r n
progression series, Sn = a( ), where a is the first term and r is the common ratio. In this case,
1−r

4 n
1−( )
Sn =
√3 ( 9
).
12 4
1−
9

The new equation would be as shown below:

4 n
1−( )
3 3 3 9
An = √ + Sn so, An = √ + √ ( ).
4 4 12 5
9

To verify that this generalisation holds true for all values of n, I will substitute n= 0, n=1, n=2,
n=3 into the above equation and compare it with the values in the table.

4 0
1−( ) √ 3 + √ 3 1−1 = √ 3 + √ 3 ( 0 ) = √ 3
A0 =
√ 3 √3
+ (
4 12 5
9
9
) = 4 12 5
9 ( )
4 12 4
 4 1 5
A1 =
√ 3 + √3 (
4 12
1−( )

1−
9
5
9
)=
√3 + √3
4 12
()
9
5
9
3
4 12
3
= √ + √ ( 1 )= √
3
3

4 2 1−
16
A2 =
√ 3 + √3 (
4 12
1−( )
5
9
9
)=
√3 + √3
4 12 5
9
81
( )
4
3
=√ +√
3 13 10 √ 3
12 9
=
27 ( )
4 3 1−
64
A3 =
√ 3 + √3 (
4 12
1−( )
5
9
9
)=
√3 + √3
4 12 5
9
729
( )
3
=√ +√
3 133 94 √ 3
4 12 81
=
243 ( )
The values obtained by using this formula are the same as the values in the table. This shows

4 n
1−( )
that the formula An =
√3 + √3 ( 9
) is true for all values of n.
4 12 5
9

Nn ln Pn An
Nn = 3(4)n 1 4 4 n
ln = ( 3 )n Pn = 3( 3 )n 1−( )
3 3 9
An = √ + √ ( )
4 12 5
9

As the generalisations apply consistently to the sets of values produced in the table, the
number of sides, length of each side, perimeter and area of the snowflake for stage 4 can be found
by substituting n= 4 into their respective formulae.

Number of sides: N4 = 3(4)4 = 3(256) = 768 sides

1 1
Length of each side: l4 = ( )4 = units
3 81

4 256 256
Perimeter: P4 = 3( )4 = 3( ¿= units
3 81 27
 4 4
1−( )
Area of snowflake: A4 =
√ 3 + √3 ( 9
)=
4 12 5
9

256
1−
√3 + √3
4 12
( ) 6561
5
9
3
=√ +√
3 1261 862 √ 3
4 12 729
=(2187 )
units

A side of the original triangle at Stage 0, would look like the following after 4 iterations:
 1
units
1 27
units
81

1
units
9
1
units
3

1 unit
 In the image on the previous page shows one side of the original triangle which we started
with at n=0.

The number of sides in this closed figure can be manually counted. For convenience, I will
divide this ‘side’ (which is one third of the actual snowflake) into four equal parts, one of which is
enclosed in the green box as shown on the diagram. I will count the number of sides in this box and
multiply it by 4 to find the number of sides in the part of the snowflake that it shown in the diagram.
Finally, I will multiply the result by 3 to find the number of sides in the entire closed figure.

N4
Number of counted sides (in the green box), = 64
12

N4
Number of sides in the diagram, = 64×4 = 256
3

Number of sides in the snowflake when n=4, N 4= 768

As this value is same as the one found using the conjectures found earlier, the prediction can
be verified.

I have marked the lengths of the sides for the fractal at stages 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4. At stage 4, the
1
length of each side is units, the same as the calculated value.
81

As the perimeter, P4, is the product of N4 and l4, which are the same in both cases, the value
calculated using this diagram will be the same as the one calculated using the conjecture found
earlier.

1
There will be 192 new equilateral triangles with side units. I will calculate the sum of the areas of
81
all these triangles and add it to the value of A 3 to get the value for A4. The value calculated in this step
should be the same as the value calculated using the generalisation earlier.

I will calculate the area of each small triangle using the semi-perimeter formula, which is

Area = √ s ( s−a)(s−b)( s−c ) where s is the semi-perimeter and a, b and c are the sides of the
triangle. Since the triangle in hand is an equilateral triangle, a=b=c, so I will let a = side of triangle.

The modified formula would be area = s ( s−a)3

√
1
3( ) 1 1 1
S= 81 × =
=¿ 27 2 54
2
 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 √3 3
Area =
√ ( − )=
54 54 81 √
54 4251528(= ) =
√ = √
229582512 √ 688747536 26244

Total area of triangles = 192(

√ 3 ¿ = 16 √ 3
26244 2187

16 √ 3 94 √ 3 862 √ 3
A4 = + =
26244 243 2187

Both values of A4 are the same.

 To find the values of n for which A n is equal to An+1, I will substitute values, n=5, 6, 7, 8, …, n
as well as the five values that I have already found. I will make a table with values of n, N n, ln, Pn and
An. I will no longer use exact values but take my answers to seven decimal places, as the answer
needs to be given in 6 decimal places.

n Nn ln Pn An
0 3 1 3 0.4330127
1 12 1 4 0.5773503
3
2 48 1 5.3333333 0.6415003
9
3 192 1 7.1111111 0.6700114
27
4 768 1 9.4814815 0.6826830
81
5 3072 1 12.6419753 0.6883149
243
6 12288 1 16.8559671 0.6908179
729
7 49152 1 22.4746228 0.6919304
2187
8 196608 1 29.9661637 0.6924248
6561
9 786432 1 39.9548849 0.6926445
19683
10 3145728 1 53.2731799 0.6927422
59049
11 12582912 1 71.0309065 0.6927856
177147
12 50331648 1 94.7078754 0.6928049
531441
13 201326592 1 126.2771672 0.6798135
1594323
14 805306368 1 168.3695562 0.6928173
4782969
15 3221225472 1 224.4927416 0.6928190
14348907
16 12884901890 1 299.3236556 0.6928197
43046721
Table 4

4
As we can see from the table above, the perimeter is increasing at the constantly in the ratio for
3
every increase by one in the value of n. As this is a series following geometric progression and its
ratio is greater than 1, the perimeter is expected to be very large. It will be close to infinity as
n → ∞.
 As can be seen in the table above, at n= 15, An =A n+1 to six decimal places. In the table we
can see the pattern An follows. It increases at a decreasing rate and after several values of n , seems
as if it is constant. This is because as n becomes greater, the area of the small triangles after that
many iterations becomes too small to make a significant difference to the total area of the
snowflake. The area at infinity will be very close to the area of the snowflake at n= 15 or n=16. This
can be verified by the formula :

√3
3 3 12
A ∞ = √ + S∞ = √ +
4 4 5
9

The area at infinity will be: A∞ =

√3 + 3 √3
4 20

= 0.692820