Geometry

Geometry is all about shapes and their properties.

If you like playing with objects, or like drawing, then geometry is for you!

Geometry can be divided into:

Plane Geometry

Solid Geometry

Plane Geometry is about flat shapes like lines, circles and triangles ...
shapes that can be drawn on a piece of paper

Solid Geometry is about three dimensional objects like cubes, prisms,

cylinders and spheres.

Point, Line, Plane and Solid

A Point has no dimensions, only position

A Line is one-dimensional
A Plane is two dimensional (2D)
A Solid is three-dimensional (3D)

Why?
Why do we do Geometry? To discover patterns, find areas, volumes, lengths
and angles, and better understand the world around us.
Plane Geometry
Plane Geometry is all about shapes on a flat surface (like on an endless piece
of paper).

 2D Shapes
 A plane or 2D shape has 2 Dimensions (such as width and height)
but no thickness.

Regular Polygons
 A polygon is a 2D shape with straight sides.
A regular polygon has all sides equal and all angles equal:

Triangle - 3 Sides Square - 4 Sides

Pentagon - 5 Sides Hexagon - 6 sides

 Heptagon - 7 Sides Octagon - 8 Sides

Nonagon - 9 Sides Decagon - 10 Sides

More ...


 Other Common Polygons
 These are 2D shapes, and they are polygons, but not
regular polygons:

Rectangle - 4 Sides
Quadrilateral
All right angles
Any 4 sided 2D shape

And many more!


 Curved Shapes
 These are also 2D shapes that are not polygons because they have
curves:
 Ellipse
Circle
And many more!

 Activity: Sorting Shapes

Activity: Sorting Shapes

Let's sort flat shapes in different ways!

You will need some shapes. You can buy some, or make
your own like this:

 Print out Shapes (In Color) and then cut them out
 Or print Shapes (Black and White) on different
colors of paper or card, cut them out, then mix
them up. Or you might like to color them in
yourself

Now we have our shapes, let's sort them by color:

That was easy!

Now for a harder task, sort them by size!

This was how my shapes ended up ... your result may be different!

NOW, sort them by how many edges they have.

I am not going to show you how, but here are some hints:

 A circle has 1 edge,

 A triangle has 3 edges
 And there is at least one shape with 8 edges

NOW, sort them by how many corners they have.

Did anything change? What about the teardrop shape?

Next, can you sort them by curves:

 Shapes with a curve

 Shapes with only straight edges

The ones with only straight edges are called Polygons.

And your last task:

Sort them by two methods at the same time! By color, but with
the curved shapes on the top row:

Here I am sorting them by color and curved-or-not

Bonus task:

Sort them by color and how many edges

  Triangles

Triangles

A triangle has three sides and three angles

The three angles always add to 180°

Equilateral, Isosceles and Scalene Triangles

There are three special names given to triangles that tell how many sides (or
angles) are equal.

There can be 3, 2 or no equal sides/angles:

Equilateral Triangle

Three equal sides

Three equal angles, always 60°

Isosceles Triangle

Two equal sides

Two equal angles

Scalene Triangle

No equal sides
No equal angles
How to remember? Alphabetically they go 3, 2, none:

 Equilateral: "equal"-lateral (lateral means side) so they have

all equal sides
 Isosceles: means "equal legs", and we have two legs, right? Also
iSOSceles has two equal "Sides" joined by an "Odd" side
 Scalene: means "uneven" or "odd", so no equal sides

What Type of Angle?

Triangles can also have names that tell you what type of angle is inside:

Acute Triangle

All angles are less than 90°

Right Triangle

Has a right angle (90°)

Obtuse Triangle

Has an angle more than 90°

Combining the Names

Sometimes a triangle will have two names, for example:
 Right Isosceles Triangle

Has a right angle (90°), and also two equal angles

Can you guess what the equal angles are?

Play With It ...

Try dragging the points around and make different triangles:

You might also like to play with the Interactive Triangle.

Angles
The three interior angles always add to 180°

Perimeter
The perimeter is the distance around the edge of the triangle: just add up
the three sides:

Area

The area is half of the base times height.

 "b" is the distance along the base

 "h" is the height (measured at right angles to the base)

Area = ½ × b × h

The formula works for all triangles.

Note: a simpler way of writing the formula is bh/2

Example: What is the area of this triangle?

(Note: 12 is the height, not the length of the left-hand side)

Height = h = 12

Base = b = 20

Area = ½ × b × h = ½ × 20 × 12 = 120
The base can be any side, Just be sure the "height" is measured at right
angles to the "base":
(Note: You can also calculate the area from the lengths of all three sides
using Heron's Formula.)

Why is the Area "Half of bh"?

Imagine you "doubled" the triangle (flip it around one of the upper edges) to
make a square-like shape (a parallelogram) which can be changed to a
simple rectangle:

THEN the whole area is bh, which is for both triangles, so just one is ½ × bh.

 Right Angled Triangles

Right Triangles

A right triangle (also called right angled triangle) has a right angle (90°)
in it.

The little square in the corner tells us it is a right triangle

(I also put 90°, but you don't need to!)
The right triangle is one of the most useful shapes in all of mathematics!
It is used in the Pythagoras Theorem and Sine, Cosine and Tangent and
more.

Try it yourself (drag the points):

Two Types
There are two types of right triangle:

Isosceles right triangle

 One right angle

 Two other equal angles always of 45°
 Two equal sides

Scalene right triangle

 One right angle

 Two other unequal angles
 No equal sides

Example: The 3,4,5 Triangle

The "3,4,5 Triangle" has a right angle in it.

(Draw one if you ever need a right angle!)

It has no equal sides so it is a scalene right triangle

 Interactive Triangles

Interactive Triangles
Read about Triangles, and then play with them here.
They rotate, too! So you can become familiar with them from all angles.

Notes:

 the sides may not always add up due to computer rounding errors
 the three angles of a triangle add to 180°. If they don't let me know!

 Quadrilaterals (Rhombus, Parallelogram, etc)

 Quadrilaterals

Quadrilateral just means "four sides"

(quad means four, lateral means side).

A quadrilateral has four-sides, it is 2-dimensional (a flat

shape), closed (the lines join up), and has straight sides.

Try it Yourself
Drag the points:

(Also see this on Interactive Quadrilaterals)

Properties
A quadrilateral has:

 four sides (edges)

 four vertices (corners)
 interior angles that add to 360 degrees:
 Try drawing a quadrilateral, and measure the angles. They should add
to 360°

Types of Quadrilaterals
There are special types of quadrilateral:

Some types are also included in the definition of other types! For example
a square, rhombus and rectangle are also parallelograms. See below for
more details.

Let us look at each type in turn:

The Rectangle

the little squares in each corner mean "right angle"

A rectangle is a four-sided shape where every angle is a right angle (90°).

Also opposite sides are parallel and of equal length.

The Square

the little squares in each corner mean "right angle"

A square has equal sides (marked "s") and every angle is a right angle (90°)

Also opposite sides are parallel.

A square also fits the definition of a rectangle (all angles are 90°), and
a rhombus (all sides are equal length).

The Rhombus

A rhombus is a four-sided shape where all sides have equal length (marked
"s").

Also opposite sides are parallel and opposite angles are equal.
Another interesting thing is that the diagonals (dashed lines) meet in the
middle at a right angle. In other words they "bisect" (cut in half) each other
at right angles.

A rhombus is sometimes called a rhomb or a diamond.

The Parallelogram

A parallelogram has opposite sides parallel and equal in length. Also

opposite angles are equal (angles "A" are the same, and angles "B" are the
same).

NOTE: Squares, Rectangles and Rhombuses are all Parallelograms!

Example:

A parallelogram with:

 all sides equal and

 angles "A" and "B" as right angles

is a square!

The Trapezoid (UK: Trapezium)

 Trapezoid Isosceles Trapezoid

A trapezoid (called a trapezium in the UK) has a pair of opposite sides

parallel.

And a trapezium (called a trapezoid in the UK) is a quadrilateral with NO

parallel sides:

Trapezoid Trapezium
In the US: a pair of parallel sides NO parallel sides

In the UK: NO parallel sides a pair of parallel sides

(the US and UK definitions are swapped over!)

An Isosceles trapezoid, as shown above, has left and right sides of equal
length that join to the base at equal angles.

The Kite

Hey, it looks like a kite (usually).

It has two pairs of sides:

Each pair is made of two equal-length sides that join up.

Also:
  the angles where the two pairs meet are equal
 the diagonals, shown as dashed lines above, meet at a right angle
 one of the diagonals bisects (cuts equally in half) the other

... and that's it for the special quadrilaterals.

Irregular Quadrilaterals
The only regular (all sides equal and all angles equal) quadrilateral is a
square. So all other quadrilaterals are irregular.

The "Family Tree" Chart

Quadrilateral definitions are inclusive.

Example: a square is also a rectangle.

So we include a square in the definition of a rectangle.

(We don't say "Having all 90° angles makes it a rectangle except when all
sides are equal then it is a square.")

This may seem odd, as in daily life we think of a square as not being a
rectangle ... but in mathematics it is.

Using the chart below we can answer such questions as:

 Is a Square a type of Rectangle? (Yes)

 Is a Rectangle a type of Kite? (No)
Complex Quadrilaterals
Oh Yes! when two sides cross over, we call it a "Complex" or "Self-
Intersecting" quadrilateral, like these:
 They still have 4 sides, but two sides cross over.

Polygon
A quadrilateral is a polygon. In fact it is a 4-sided polygon, just like a triangle
is a 3-sided polygon, a pentagon is a 5-sided polygon, and so on.

Play with Them

Now that you know the different types, you can play with the Interactive
Quadrilaterals.

Other Names
A quadrilateral can sometimes be called:

 a Quadrangle ("four angles"), so it sounds like "triangle"

 a Tetragon ("four polygon"), so it sounds like "pentagon", "hexagon",
and so on

 Rectangle,

Rectangle
(Jump to Area of a Rectangle or Perimeter of a Rectangle)

A rectangle is a four-sided flat shape where every angle is a right

angle (90°).

the little square in each corner means "right angle"

Each internal angle is 90°

 Opposite sides are parallel and of equal length (so it is
a Parallelogram).

Play with a rectangle:

Area of a Rectangle

Area = a × b

Example: A rectangle is 6 m wide and 3 m high, what is its Area?

Area= 6 m × 3 m= 18 m2

Perimeter of a Rectangle
The Perimeter is the distance around the edges.

The Perimeter is 2 times (a + b):

Perimeter = 2(a+b)

Example: A rectangle is 12 cm long and 5 cm tall, what is its

Perimeter?

Perimeter= 2 × (12 cm + 5 cm)= 2 × 17 cm= 34 cm

Diagonals of a Rectangle

A rectangle has two diagonals, they are equal in length and

intersect in the middle.
 A diagonal's length is the square root of (a squared +
b squared):

Diagonal "d" = √(a2 + b2)

Example: A rectangle is 12 cm wide, and 5 cm tall, what is the

length of a diagonal?

d= √(122 + 52)= √(144 + 25)= √169= 13 cm

 Rhombus

Rhombus
(Jump to Area of a Rhombus or Perimeter of a Rhombus)

A Rhombus is a flat shape with 4 equal straight sides.

A rhombus looks like a diamond

 All sides have equal length

 Opposite sides are parallel, and opposite angles are equal (it is
a Parallelogram)
 The altitude is the right angle distance between opposite sides
 And the diagonals "p" and "q" of a rhombus bisect each other at right angles

Play with a rhombus:

Area of a Rhombus

The Area can be calculated by:

 the altitude times the side length:

Area = altitude × s

 the side length squared (s2) times the sine of angle A (or angle B):

Area = s2 sin(A)

Area = s2 sin(B)

 by multiplying the lengths of the diagonals and then dividing by 2:

Area = (p × q)/2

Example: A rhombus has diagonals of 6 m and 8 m, what is its Area?

Area = (6 m × 8 m)/2 = 24 m2

If you can draw your Rhombus, try the Area of Polygon by Drawing tool.
Perimeter of a Rhombus
The Perimeter is the distance around the edges.

The Perimeter is 4 times "s" (the side length)

because all sides are equal in length:

Perimeter = 4s

Example: A rhombus has a side length of 12 cm, what is its

Perimeter?

Perimeter = 4 × 12 cm = 48 cm

Is a Square a Rhombus?
Yes, because a square is just a rhombus where the angles are all right
angles.

Names
It is more common to call this shape a rhombus, but some people call it
a rhomb or even a diamond.

The plural is rhombi or rhombuses. Very rarely rhombbi (with a double b)

is used.

The name "rhombus" comes from the Greek word rhombos: a piece of wood
whirled on a string to make a roaring noise! What we might call a

 Square,
 Square (Geometry)
(Jump to Area of a Square or Perimeter of a Square)

A square is a flat shape with 4 equal straight sides, and every angle is a right
angle (90°)

the little squares in each corner mean "right angle"

All sides are equal in length

Each internal angle is 90°

Opposite sides are parallel (so it is a Parallelogram).

Play with a square:

A square also fits the definition of a rectangle (all angles are 90°),
a rhombus (all sides are equal length), a parallelogram (opposite sides
parallel and equal in length) and a regular polygon(all angles equal and all
sides equal). What a hero!

Area of a Square

The Area is the side length squared:

Area = a2 = a × a

Example: A square has a side length of 6 m, what is its Area?

Area = 6 m × 6 m = 36 m2

The Area is also half of the (diagonal squared):

Area = d22

Perimeter of a Square
The Perimeter is the distance around the edge.

The Perimeter is 4 times the side length:

Perimeter = 4a

Example: A square has a side length of 12 cm, what is its Perimeter?

Perimeter = 4 × 12 cm = 48 cm

Diagonals of a Square
A square has two diagonals, they are equal in length and intersect in the
middle.

The Diagonal is the side length times the square root

of 2:

Diagonal "d" = a × √2

Example: A square has a side length of 5 m, what is the length of a

diagonal?
Diagonal Length =a × √2=5 × 1.41421...=7.071 m (to 3 decimals)

Calculator
Enter the side length, area, diagonal or perimeter and the other values
are calculated live.

 Parallelogram,

Parallelogram
(Jump to Area of a Parallelogram or Perimeter of a Parallelogram)

A parallelogram is a flat shape with opposite sides parallel and equal in

length.

 Opposite sides are parallel

 Opposite sides are equal in length
 Opposite angles are equal (angles A are the same, and angles B are
the same)
 Angle A and angle B add up to 180°, so they are supplementary angles

Play with a parallelogram:

NOTE: Squares, Rectangles and Rhombuses are all parallelograms!

Example:
A parallelogram where all angles are right angles is a rectangle!

Area of a Parallelogram

The Area is the base times the height:

Area = b × h

Note: The height (h) is at right angles to the base (b), not the sloped side!

Example: A parallelogram has a base of 6 m and is 3 m high, what is

its Area?

Area = 6 m × 3 m = 18 m2

Perimeter of a Parallelogram
The Perimeter is the distance around the edges.

The Perimeter is 2 times the (base + side length):

Perimeter = 2(b+s)

Example: A parallelogram has a base of 12 cm and a side length of 6

cm, what is its Perimeter?

Perimeter = 2 × (12 cm + 6 cm) = 2 × 18 cm = 36 cm

Diagonals of a Parallelogram
The diagonals of a parallelogram bisect each other.

In other words the diagonals intersect each other at the half-way point.

Pantograph
Based on a parallelogram, a pantograph can be used to duplicate and
resize an image by tracing.

 Trapezoid

Trapezoid
(Jump to Area of a Trapezoid or Perimeter of a Trapezoid)

A trapezoid is a 4-sided flat shape with straight sides that has a pair of
opposite sides parallel (marked with arrows below):
 Trapezoid Isosceles Trapezoid

A trapezoid:

has a pair of parallel sides

is an isosceles trapezoid when it has equal angles from a parallel

side

is called a "trapezium" in the UK (see below)

Play with a trapezoid:

The parallel sides are the "bases"

The other two sides are the "legs"

The distance (at right angles) from one base to the other is called the
"altitude"

Area of a Trapezoid
 The Area is the average of the two base
lengths times the altitude:

Area = a+b2 × h

Example: A trapezoid's two bases are 6 m and 4m, and it is 3m high.

What is its Area?

Area = 6 m + 4 m2 × 3 m = 5 m × 3 m = 15 m2

The Area of Polygon by Drawing tool is helpful when you can draw your
Trapezoid.

Perimeter of a Trapezoid
The Perimeter is the distance around the edges.

The Perimeter is the sum of all side lengths:

Perimeter = a+b+c+d

Example: A trapezoid has side lengths of 5 cm, 12 cm, 4 cm and 15

cm, what is its Perimeter?

Perimeter = 5 cm + 12 cm + 4 cm + 15 cm = 36 cm

Median of a Trapezoid

The median (also called a midline or

midsegment) is a line segment half-way
between the two bases.

The median's length is the average of the

two base lengths:

m = a+b2
You can calculate the area when you know the median, it is just the median
times the height:

Area = mh

Trapezium
A trapezium (UK: trapezoid) is a quadrilateral with NO parallel sides.

The US and UK have their definitions swapped over, like this:

Trapezoid Trapezium

US: a pair of parallel sides NO parallel sides

UK: NO parallel sides a pair of parallel sides

Trapezoid
(Jump to Area of a Trapezoid or Perimeter of a Trapezoid)

A trapezoid is a 4-sided flat shape with straight sides that has a pair of
opposite sides parallel (marked with arrows below):

Trapezoid Isosceles Trapezoid

A trapezoid:

has a pair of parallel sides

is an isosceles trapezoid when it has equal angles from a parallel

side

is called a "trapezium" in the UK (see below)

Play with a trapezoid:

The parallel sides are the "bases"

The other two sides are the "legs"

The distance (at right angles) from one base to the other is called the
"altitude"

Area of a Trapezoid

The Area is the average of the two base

lengths times the altitude:

Area = a+b2 × h

Example: A trapezoid's two bases are 6 m and 4m, and it is 3m high.

What is its Area?

Area = 6 m + 4 m2 × 3 m = 5 m × 3 m = 15 m2

The Area of Polygon by Drawing tool is helpful when you can draw your
Trapezoid.

Perimeter of a Trapezoid
The Perimeter is the distance around the edges.
 The Perimeter is the sum of all side lengths:

Perimeter = a+b+c+d

Example: A trapezoid has side lengths of 5 cm, 12 cm, 4 cm and 15

cm, what is its Perimeter?

Perimeter = 5 cm + 12 cm + 4 cm + 15 cm = 36 cm

Median of a Trapezoid

The median (also called a midline or

midsegment) is a line segment half-way
between the two bases.

The median's length is the average of the

two base lengths:

m = a+b2

You can calculate the area when you know the median, it is just the median
times the height:

Area = mh

Trapezium
A trapezium (UK: trapezoid) is a quadrilateral with NO parallel sides.

The US and UK have their definitions swapped over, like this:

Trapezoid Trapezium

US: a pair of parallel sides NO parallel sides

UK: NO parallel sides a pair of parallel sides

 and Kite
 Kite
(Jump to Area of a kite or Perimeter of a kite)

A kite is a flat shape with four straight sides.

It has two pairs of equal-length sides.
Each pair of sides are adjacent (next to each other).

It often looks like

a kite!
 Two pairs of sides
 Each pair is two equal-length sides that are adjacent (they meet)
 The angles are equal where the two pairs meet
 Diagonals (dashed lines) cross at right angles
 One of the diagonals bisects (cuts equally in half) the other

Play with a Kite:

Area of a Kite
METHOD 1:

Multiply the lengths of the diagonals and then divide by 2 to

find the Area:

Area = p × q2

Example: A kite has diagonals of 3 cm and 5 cm, what is its Area?

Area = 3 cm × 5 cm2 = 7.5 cm2

METHOD 2:

Multiply the lengths of two unequal sides by the sine of

the angle between them:

Area = a × b × sin(C)

Example: You don't want to get wet measuring the diagonals of a

kite-shaped swimming pool. So you measure unequal side lengths
of 5.0 m and 6.5 m with an angle between them of 60°. What is its
Area?

Area = a × b × sin(C)
= 5.0 × 6.5 × sin(60°)
= 5.0 × 6.5 × 0.866...
= 28.1 m2 (to 1 decimal)
METHOD 3:

If you can draw your kite, try the Area of Polygon by Drawing tool.
Perimeter of a Kite
The Perimeter is the distance around the edges.

The Perimeter is 2 times (side length a + side length

b):

Perimeter = 2(a + b)

Example: A kite has side lengths of 12 m and 10m, what is its

Perimeter?

Perimeter = 2 × (12 m + 10 m) = 2 × 22 m = 44 m

Rhombus and Square

When all sides have equal length the kite will also be a Rhombus.

When all the angles are also 90° the kite will be a Square.

A Square is a kite? Yes! So it doesn't always look like the kite you fly.

A Dart

Dart
A concave kite is called a Dart

 Interactive Quadrilaterals

 Parallelogram In Any Quadrilateral

 Parallelogram In Any Quadrilateral

Inside any quadrilateral (a 4-sided flat shape) there is

a parallelogram (opposite sides parallel and equal in length):

When we connect the midpoints (the point exactly half-way along a line) of
each side of the quadrilateral, one after the other, we create a new shape
that has opposite sides parallel, even though the containing quadrilateral
might not.

Play with it here:

To see why, click on the "Diags" button and drag the points around, while
thinking "midpoints".

Also try different shape types, such as square and kite, and see what
happens.

 Paper Sizes
 Shapes Freeplay

 Perimeter

Perimeter
Perimeter is the distance around a two-dimensional shape.
 Imagine the distance to walk
all the way around the edge of a field.

Example: the perimeter of this rectangle is 7+3+7+3 = 20

Example: the perimeter of this regular pentagon

3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 5×3 = 15

The perimeter of a circle is called the circumference:

 Circumference = 2 π × radius
Example: A circle has radius 4 cm, what's its circumference?

Using π ≈ 3.1416, and then rounded to 2 decimals:

π π
Circumference = 2 r = 2 × 4 = 8 π
≈ 25.13 cm

Perimeter Formulas

Triangle
Perimeter = a + b + c

Square
Perimeter = 4 × a
a = length of side

Rectangle
Perimeter = 2 × (a + b)

Quadrilateral
Perimeter = a + b + c + d

Circle

Circumference = 2 πr
r = radius

Sector
Perimeter = r(θ+2)
r = radius
θ = angle in radians
 Ellipse
Perimeter = very hard!

Try It Yourself

 Area
 Area of Plane Shapes

Area of Plane Shapes

Area is the size of a surface!
Learn more about Area, or try the Area Calculator.

Triangle
Area = ½ × b × h
b = base
h = vertical height

Square
Area = a2
a = length of side
 Rectangle
Area = w × h
w = width
h = height

Parallelogram
Area = b × h
b = base
h = vertical height

Trapezoid (US)
Trapezium (UK)
Area = ½(a+b) × h
h = vertical height

Circle
Area = π × r2
r = radius
 Ellipse
Area = πab

Sector
Area = ½ × r2 × θ
r = radius
θ = angle in radians

Note: h is at right angles to b

Example: What is the area of this rectangle?

The formula is:

Area = w × h
w = width
h = height

We know w = 5 and h = 3, so:

 Area = 5 × 3 = 15
Example: What is the area of this circle?

Radius = r = 3

Area = π×r 2

=π×3 2

= π × (3 × 3)
= 3.14159... × 9
= 28.27 (to 2 decimal places)

Example: What is the area of this triangle?

Height = h = 12

Base = b = 20

Area = ½ × b × h = ½ × 20 × 12 = 120

A harder example:

Example: Sam cuts grass at $0.10 per square meter

How much does Sam earn cutting this area:

Let's break the area into two parts:

Part A is a square:

Area of A = a2 = 20m × 20m = 400m2

Part B is a triangle. Viewed sideways it has a base of 20m and a height of

14m.

Area of B = ½b × h = ½ × 20m × 14m = 140m 2

So the total area is:

Area = Area of A + Area of B = 400m2 + 140m2 = 540m2

Sam earns $0.10 per square meter

Sam earns = $0.10 × 540m2 = $54

 Area Calculation Tool

Area Calculator
 Here is a handy little tool you can use to find the area of plane shapes.
Choose the shape, then enter the values.

The height h is at right angles to b:

More Complicated Shapes

For more complicated shapes you could try the Area of Polygon by
Drawing Tool.

 Area of Polygon by Drawing

 Activity: Garden Area

 General Drawing Tool

 Square Calculator and Rectangle Calculator

Polygons

A Polygon is a 2-dimensional shape made of straight lines. Triangles and

Rectangles are polygons.

Here are some more:

Pentagon

Polygons Pentagra
m
 A polygon is a plane shape with straight sides.

Is it a Polygon?
A polygon is a flat 2-dimensional (2D) shape made of straight lines.
The sides connect to form a closed shape. There are no gaps or
curves.

Polygon
(straight sides)

Not a Polygon
(has a curve)

Not a Polygon
(open, not closed)

Polygon comes from Greek. Poly- means "many" and -gon means
"angle".

Example: Stop Sign

A stop sign is an example of a regular polygon.

It has eight equal sides and angles, making it a regular octagon.

Can you think of more polygons in real life?

Types of Polygons
Regular or Irregular

A regular polygon has all angles equal and all sides equal.
Otherwise it is irregular

Regular Irregular
Concave or Convex

A convex polygon has no inward-pointing angles: internal angles are

at most 180°.
If any internal angle is greater than 180° then the polygon
is concave. (Think: concave has a "cave" in it)

Convex Concave
Simple or Complex

A simple polygon has a single, unbroken boundary, and it doesn't

cross over itself. A complex polygon has sides that intersect,
making many polygon rules invalid.

Simple Polygon Complex Polygon

(this one's a Pentagon) (also a Pentagon)
More Examples

Irregular Hexagon

Concave Octagon
 Complex Polygon
(a "star polygon",
in this case a pentagram)

Play With Them!

Try Interactive Polygons ... make them regular, concave or complex.

Names of Polygons
If it is a Regular Polygon...

Name Sides Shape Interior Angle

Triangle (or Trigon) 3 60°

Quadrilateral (or Tetragon) 4 90°

Pentagon 5 108°
 Hexagon 6 120°

Heptagon (or Septagon) 7 128.571°

Octagon 8 135°

Nonagon (or Enneagon) 9 140°

Decagon 10 144°

Hendecagon (or
11 147.273°
Undecagon)

Dodecagon 12 150°

Triskaidecagon 13 152.308°
 Tetrakaidecagon 14 154.286°

Pentadecagon 15 156°

Hexakaidecagon 16 157.5°

Heptadecagon 17 158.824°

Octakaidecagon 18 160°

Enneadecagon 19 161.053°

Icosagon 20 162°

Triacontagon 30 168°

Tetracontagon 40 171°

Pentacontagon 50 172.8°

Hexacontagon 60 174°

Heptacontagon 70 174.857°

Octacontagon 80 175.5°

Enneacontagon 90 176°

Hectogon 100 176.4°

Chiliagon 1,000 179.64°

Myriagon 10,000 179.964°

Megagon 1,000,000 ~180°

Googolgon 10100 ~180°

n-gon n (n−2) × 180° / n

You can make names using this method:

 Sides Start with...
Sides ...end with
20 Icosi...
+1 ...henagon
30 Triaconta...
+2 ...digon
40 Tetraconta...
+3 ...trigon
50 Pentaconta...
+4 ...tetragon
60 Hexaconta...
+5 ...pentagon
70 Heptaconta...
+6 ...hexagon
80 Octaconta...
+7 ...heptagon
90 Enneaconta...
+8 ...octagon
100 Hecto...
+9 ...enneagon
etc..

Example: a 62-sided polygon is a Hexacontadigon

BUT, for polygons with 13 or more sides, it is OK (and easier) to write
"13-gon", "14-gon" ... "100-gon", etc.

Remembering
Quadrilateral (4 Sides)

A Quad Bike has 4 wheels

Pentagon (5 Sides)
 The "Pentagon" in Washington DC has 5 sides

Hexagon (6 Sides)

Honeycomb has Hexagons

Septagon (7 Sides)

Think Septagon is a "Seven-agon"

Octagon (8 Sides)
 An Octopus has 8 tentacles

Nonagon (9 Sides)

Think Nonagon is a "Nine-agon"

Decagon (10 Sides)

Think Decagon has 10 sides,

just like our Decimal system has 10 digits

Hexagon

 Properties of Regular Polygons

 Diagonals of Polygons
 Interactive Polygons
The Circle

 Circle

Circle

A circle is easy to make:

Draw a curve that is "radius" away from a

central point.

And so:

All points are the same distance from the

center.

You Can Draw It Yourself

Put a pin in a board, put a loop of string around it, and insert a pencil into the
loop. Keep the string stretched and draw the circle!

Play With It
Try dragging the point to see how the radius and circumference change.

(See if you can keep a constant radius!)

Radius, Diameter and Circumference

The Radius is the distance from the center to the edge.

The Diameter goes straight across the circle, through the center.

The Circumference is the distance once around the circle.

And here is the really cool thing:

When we divide the circumference by the diameter we get 3.14159265...

which is the number π (Pi)

So when the diameter is 1, the circumference is 3.14159265

We can say:

Circumference = π × Diameter
Example: You walk around a circle which has a diameter of 100m,
how far have you walked?
 Distance walked = Circumference = π × 100m
= 314m (to the nearest m)

Also note that the Diameter is twice the Radius:

Diameter = 2 × Radius

And so this is also true:

Circumference = 2 × π × Radius
In Summary:

×2 × π
Radius Diameter Circumference

Remembering
The length of the words may help you remember:

 Radius is the shortest word and shortest measure

 Diameter is longer
 Circumference is the longest

Definition

The circle is a plane shape (two

dimensional), so:
 Circle: the set of all points on a plane that are at a fixed distance from a
center.

Area

The area of a circle is π times the radius squared, which is written:

A= πr 2

Where

 A is the Area
 r is the radius

To help you remember think "Pie Are Squared" (even though pies are usually
round):

Example: What is the area of a circle with radius of 1.2 m ?

Area= πr = π × 1.2 = 3.14159... × (1.2 × 1.2)= 4.52 (to 2 decimals)

2 2
Example: The Area of a Circular Garden

Imagine we have a circular garden with a radius of 5 meters:

Area= πr = π × (5 m) = 78.5 m
2 2 2
(to 1 decimal)

Or, using the Diameter:

π
A = ( /4) × D2

Area Compared to a Square

A circle has about 80% of the area of a similar-width square.

The actual value is (π/4) = 0.785398... = 78.5398...%
And something interesting for you to try: Circle Area by Lines

Names
Because people have studied circles for thousands of years special names
have come about.

Nobody wants to say "that line that starts at one side of the circle, goes
through the center and ends on the other side" when they can just say
"Diameter".

So here are the most common special names:

Lines

A line that "just touches" the circle as it passes by is called a Tangent.

A line that cuts the circle at two points is called a Secant.

A line segment that goes from one point to another on the circle's
circumference is called a Chord.

If it passes through the center it is called a Diameter.

And a part of the circumference is called an Arc.

Slices
There are two main slices of a circle.

 The "pizza" slice is called a Sector

 And the slice made by a chord is called a Segment

Quadrant
The Quadrant is a special sector with a right angle. It has a quarter of the
circle's area.

Semicircle

Half a circle is called a Semicircle.

Inside and Outside

A circle has an inside and an outside (of course!). But it also has an "on",
because we could be right on the circle.

Example: "A" is outside the circle, "B" is inside the circle and "C" is on the
circle.

Ellipse

A circle is a "special case" of an ellipse.

 Pi
 Circle Area by Lines

Area of a Circle by Lines

Have a look at this:

A circle becomes a triangle! And the area is:

Area =base × height2πr × r / 2πr2

Conclusion:

Area of Circle = πr 2

Also notice:

π
Circumference of 2 r → Area of πr 2

Things to Try
Try a low value for "sides":

 you can see that the lengths don't change as they unfold into straight
line segments
 also notice they are actually polygons, which head towards being
circles as the number of sides increase

Also try increasing the value of "lines" to convince yourself that the lines are
heading towards filling the whole area.

Circle Sector and Segment Circle Sector and

Segment

Slices
There are two main "slices" of a circle:

 A sector is like a slice of pizza, with a radius on two sides

  A segment is the part of a circle cut off by a "chord" (a line connecting
two points on the circle)

Try Them!
Sector Segment

Area of a Sector

We can work out the Area of a Sector by comparing its angle to the angle of
a full circle.

Note: we are using radians for the angles.

This is the reasoning:

A circle has an angle of 2π and an Area of:πr2A Sector has an angle

of θ instead of 2π so its Area is :θ2π × πr2Which can be simplified to:θ2 ×
r2

Area of Sector = θ2 × r2 (when θ is in radians)

 Area of Sector = θ × π360 × r 2
(when θ is in degrees)

Area of Segment

The Area of a Segment is the area of a sector minus the triangular piece
shaded blue below:

There is a lengthy reason, but the result is a slight modification of the Sector
formula:

Area of Segment = θ − sin(θ)2 × r2 (when θ is in radians)

Area of Segment = ( θ × π360 − sin(θ)2) × r 2

(when θ is in degrees)
Arc Length
The arc length (of a Sector or Segment) is:

L = θ × r (when θ is in radians)

L=θ× π180 × r (when θ is in degrees)



 Circle Area by Sectors

Area of a Circle by Cutting into Sectors

Here is a way to find the formula for the area of a circle:

Cut a circle into equal sectors (12 in this example)

Divide just one of the sectors into two equal parts. We now have thirteen
sectors – number them 1 to 13:
Rearrange the 13 sectors like this:

Which resembles a rectangle:

What are the (approximate) height and width of the rectangle?

The height is the circle's radius: just look at sectors 1 and 13 above. When
they were in the circle they were "radius" high.

The width (actually one "bumpy" edge) is half of the curved parts around
the circle ... in other words it is about half the circumference of the circle.

We know that:

Circumference = 2 × π × radius
And so the width is about:
 Half the Circumference = π × radius
And so we have (approximately):

radius

π × radius
Now we multply width by height to find the area of the rectangle:

Area =( π × radius) × (radius)=π × radius 2

Note: The rectangle and the "bumpy edged shape" made by the sectors are
not an exact match.

But we can get a better result if we divide the circle into 25 sectors (23 with
an angle of 15° and 2 with an angle of 7.5°).

And the more we divide the circle up, the closer we get to being exactly
right.

Conclusion

Area of Circle = πr 2

 Activity: Dropping a Coin onto a Grid

Activity: Dropping a Coin onto a Grid

A few hundred years ago people enjoyed betting on coins tossed on to the
floor ... would they cross a line or not?

A man (Georges-Louis Leclerc, the Count of Buffon, see "Buffon's Needle")

started thinking about this and worked out how to calculate the probability.

Now it is your turn to have a go!

You will need:

A sma
ll
round
coin,

such
as a
US
penny,
a 1c
Euro
or 5
Rupee
.
 A
sheet
of
paper
with a
grid of
30
mm
square
s.

Steps
 Measure the diameter of your coin: ____ mm

 a US Penny is 19mm, a 1c Euro is 16.25mm, a Rs 5 is 23mm

 Also measure the spacing of your grid (it may not print at exactly
30mm): ____ mm
  Put your sheet of paper on a flat surface such as a table top or the
floor.
 From a height of about 5cm, drop the coin onto the paper and record
whether it lands:

A: Completely inside a square (not touching any grid lines)

B: Crosses one or more lines

The exact height from which you drop the coin is not important, but don't
drop it so close to the paper that you are cheating!

If the coin rolls completely off the paper, then do not count that turn.

100 Times
Now we will drop the coin 100 times, but first ...

... what percentage do you think will land A, or B?

Make a guess (estimate) before you begin the experiment:

Your Guess for "A" (%):

Your Guess for "B" (%):

OK let's begin.
Drop the coin 100 times and record A (does not touch a line) or B (touches a
line) using Tally Marks:

Coin lands Tally Frequency Perce

Totals: 100 10

Now draw a Bar Graph to illustrate your results.

You can create one at Data Graphs (Bar, Line and Pie).

 Are the bars the same height?

 Did you expect them to be?
 How does the result compare with your guess?

We Can Calculate What It Should Be ...

Here are some positions for the coin to land so it does not quite touch one
of the lines:

Place your coin on your grid (like above), and then put a mark on the paper
where the center of the coin is (just a rough estimate will do).

See how the coin's center is one radius r away from a

line.

(Read about a Circle's Radius and Diameter.)

Make lots of "center marks" then draw a box connecting them all like below:

d = Coin's diameter (2 × r)

When a coin's center is within the yellow box it won't touch any line.
The yellow box is smaller than the grid by two radiuses (= one diameter) of
the coin.
So what are the areas?

 The area of the grid square is 30 × 30 = 900 mm2

 The area of the yellow box is (30-d) × (30-d) = (30-d)2 mm2

The above calculation was for a 30 mm grid, but we can use S for grid size:

 The area of the grid square is S × S = S2 mm2

 The area of the yellow box is (S-d)2 mm2

Example: A 1c Euro (d=16.25 mm) on a 29mm grid (S=29 mm):

Grid Square = 292 = 841 mm2

Yellow Box = (29-16.25)2 = 12.752 = 162 mm2 (to the nearest mm2)

So you should expect the coin to land not crossing a line of the grid
approximately:

"A" = 162 / 841 = 19.3% of the time

And "B" = 100% - 19.3% = 80.7%

Now do the calculations for your own grid size and coin size.

Grid Spacing S (mm):

Diameter of Coin d (mm):
Area of Grid Square = S2 (mm2):
Area of Yellow Box = (S-d)2 (mm2):
"A" (%):
"B" (%):

How do these theoretical results compare with your experimental results?

It won't be exact (because it is a random thing) but it may be close.

Different Sizes of Coin

Try repeating the experiment using a different sized coin.

 First calculate the theoretical value ... how does this affect the values
for A and B?
 Then do the experiment to see how close it gets.
What You Have Done
 You have (hopefully) had fun running an experiment
 You have done some geometry, and had some experience calculating
areas and probabilities
 And you have seen the relationship between theory and reality

 Arc
 Annulus

Circle Theorems (Advanced Topic)

Circle Theorems
Some interesting things about angles and circles

Inscribed Angle
First off, a definition:

Inscribed Angle: an angle made from points sitting on the circle's

circumference.

A and C are "end points"

B is the "apex point"

Play with it here:

When you move point "B", what happens to the angle?

Inscribed Angle Theorems
Keeping the end points fixed ...

... the angle a° is always the same,

no matter where it is on the same arc between end points:

(Called the Angles Subtended by Same Arc Theorem)

And an inscribed angle a° is half of the central angle 2a°

(Called the Angle at the Center Theorem)

Try it here (not always exact due to rounding):

Example: What is the size of Angle POQ? (O is circle's center)

Angle POQ = 2 × Angle PRQ = 2 × 62° = 124°

Example: What is the size of Angle CBX?

Angle ADB = 32° also equals Angle ACB.

And Angle ACB also equals Angle XCB.

So in triangle BXC we know Angle BXC = 85°, and Angle XCB = 32°

Now use angles of a triangle add to 180° :

Angle CBX + Angle BXC + Angle XCB = 180°

Angle CBX + 85° + 32° = 180°
Angle CBX = 63°

Angle in a Semicircle (Thales' Theorem)

An angle inscribed across a circle's diameter is always a right angle:

(The end points are either end of a circle's diameter,

the apex point can be anywhere on the circumference.)

Play with it here:

Why? Because:

The inscribed angle 90° is half of the central

angle 180°

(Using "Angle at the Center Theorem" above)

Another Good Reason Why It Works

We could also rotate the shape around 180° to make a rectangle!

It is a rectangle, because all sides are parallel, and both diagonals are equal.

And so its internal angles are all right angles (90°).

Example: What is the size of Angle BAC?

The Angle in the Semicircle Theorem tells us that Angle ACB = 90°

Now use angles of a triangle add to 180° to find Angle BAC:

Angle BAC + 55° + 90° = 180°

Angle BAC = 35°

So there we go! No matter where that angle is

on the circumference, it is always 90°

Finding a Circle's Center

We can use this idea to find a circle's center:

 draw a right angle from anywhere on the circle's circumference, then

draw the diameter where the two legs hit the circle
 do that again but for a different diameter
Where the diameters cross is the center!

Drawing a Circle From 2 Opposite Points

When we know two opposite points on a circle we can draw that circle.

Put some pins or nails on those points and use a builder's square like this:

Cyclic Quadrilateral

A "Cyclic" Quadrilateral has every vertex on a circle's

circumference:

A Cyclic Quadrilateral's opposite angles add to

180°:

a + c = 180°
b + d = 180°
Example: What is the size of Angle WXY?

Opposite angles of a cyclic quadrilateral add to 180°

Angle WZY + Angle WXY = 180°

69° + Angle WXY = 180°
Angle WXY = 111°

Tangent Angle
A tangent line just touches a circle at one point.

It always forms a right angle with the circle's radius.

Symbols

There are many special symbols used in Geometry. Here is a short reference
for you:
 Geometric Symbols

Congruent and Similar

 Congruent Shapes

Congruent
When one shape can become another using Turns, Flips and/or Slides, then
the shapes are Congruent:

Rotation Turn!

Reflection Flip!

Translation Slide!
After any of those transformations (turn, flip or slide), the shape still has the
same size, area, angles and line lengths.

Examples:
Here are 3 examples of shapes that are Congruent:

Congruent
(Rotated and Moved)

Congruent
(Reflected and Moved)

Congruent
(Reflected, Rotated and Moved)

Congruent or Similar?
The shapes need to be the same size to be congruent.

When we need to resize one shape to make it the same as the other, the
shapes are Similar.

When we ... Then the shapes are ...

... only Rotate, Reflect and/or Translate Congruent

... also need to Resize Similar

Congruent? Why such a funny word that basically means "equal"? Maybe
because they are only "equal" when placed on top of each other. Anyway it
comes from Latin congruere, "to agree". So the shapes "agree".

 Similar Shapes

Similar

Two shapes are Similar when one can become the other after a resize, flip,
slide or turn.

Resizing
If one shape can become another using Resizing (also called dilation,
contraction, compression, enlargement or even expansion), then the shapes
are Similar:

These Shapes are Similar!

If there is no need to resize, then the shapes are better called Congruent*.

There may be Turns, Flips or Slides, Too!

Sometimes it can be hard to see if two shapes are Similar, because you may
also need to turn, flip or slide a shape.
 Rotation Turn!

Reflection Flip!

Translation Slide!

Examples
Here are 3 examples of shapes that are Similar:

Resized and Resized and

Resized
Reflected Rotated

Why is it Useful?
When two shapes are similar, then:

 corresponding angles are equal, and

 the lines are in proportion.

This can make life a lot easier when solving geometry puzzles, as in this
example:

Example: What is the missing length here?

Notice that the red triangle has the same angles as the blue triangle ...

... they both have one right angle, and a shared angle in the left corner

In fact we can flip the red triangle over, rotate it a little, resize it, and it will
fit exactly on top of the blue triangle. So they are similar triangles.

So the line lengths are in proportion:

 The blue triangle has two sides with the ratio 130/127
 The red triangle has matching sides in the ratio ?/80

and we can calculate:

? = 80 × 130127 = 81.9

(No fancy calculations, just common sense.)

Congruent or Similar?
Shapes are Congruent when they are the same size (but may have been
rotated, reflected or moved). So when the shapes become the same:

When we ... Then the shapes are ...

... only Rotate, Reflect and/or Translate Congruent

... also need to Resize Similar

*Are Congruent Shapes also Similar?

Most people (including us) agree that "Congruent shapes are also Similar".

Example:

We can move and rotate the orange shape to exactly match the blue shape,
so the two shapes are Congruent.

We don't have to resize for the shapes to be similar! So they are also
Similar even though no resizing was needed.

Angles

Types of Angles

Acute Reflex
Right Angles Obtuse Angles Straight Angle Full Rotation
Angles Angles
  Degrees (Angle)

 Angles Around a Point

 Radians
 Angles on a Straight Line

 Congruent Angles
 Interior Angles
 Parallel Lines and Pairs of Angles
 Exterior Angles
 Transversal
 Adjacent Angles
 A Triangle Has 180°
 Interior Angles of Polygons
 Exterior Angles of Polygons

 Supplementary Angles
 Complementary Angles

Using Drafting Tools

 Geometric Constructions
 Using the Protractor
 Using the Drafting Triangle and Ruler
 Using a Ruler and Compass

Transformations and Symmetry

Transformations:
  Rotation
 Reflection
 Translation
 Resizing

Symmetry:

 Reflection Symmetry
 Rotational Symmetry
 Point Symmetry
 Lines of Symmetry of Plane Shapes

 Symmetry Artist

 Activity: Symmetry of Shapes

 Activity: Make a Mandala
 Activity: Coloring (The Four Color Theorem)

 Tessellations
 Tessellation Artist
Coordinates

 Cartesian Coordinates
 Interactive Cartesian Coordinates
 Hit the Coordinate Game

More Advanced Topics in Plane Geometry

Pythagoras

 Pythagoras' Theorem
 Pythagorean Triples

Conic Sections

 Set of all points

 Conic Sections
 Eccentricity
  Ellipse
 Parabola and Projectile Animation
 Hyperbola

Circle Theorems

 Circle Theorems
 Tangent and Secant Lines
 Intersecting Secants Theorem
 Intersecting Chords Theorem
 Angle of Intersecting Secants Theorem

Triangle Centers

Trigonometry

Trigonometry is a special subject of its own, so you might like to visit:

 Introduction to Trigonometry
  Trigonometry Index

Solid Geometry
Solid Geometry is the geometry of three-dimensional space - the kind of
space we live in ...

... let us start with some of the simplest shapes:

Common 3D Shapes

Polyhedra and Non-Polyhedra

There are two main types of solids, "Polyhedra", and "Non-Polyhedra":

Polyhedra (they must have flat faces):

Cubes and
Cuboids (Volume
of a Cuboid)

Platonic Solids

Prisms

Pyramids

Investigating Solids Activity

Non-Polyhedra (when any surface is not flat):

 Sphere Torus

Cylinder Cone

 Polyhedron Models
 Volume and Area of a Sphere Calculator
 Spheroid
 Cross Sections
 Vertices, Faces, and Edges
 Cone vs Sphere vs Cylinder
 Pyramid vs Cone
 Prism vs Cylinder
 Pyramid vs Cube
 Volume of Horizontal Cylinder
 Euler's Theorem
 Pythagoras in 3D
 Hypercubes
 Builder's Math
 Moments of Area

Plane Geometry
If you like drawing, then geometry is for you!

Plane Geometry is about flat shapes like lines, circles and triangles ...
shapes that can be drawn on a piece of paper
 Hint: Try drawing some of the shapes and angles as you learn ... it
helps.

Point, Line, Plane and Solid

A Point has no dimensions, only position
A Line is one-dimensional
A Plane is two dimensional (2D)
A Solid is three-dimensional (3D)

Plane Geometry is all about shapes on a flat surface (like on an endless piece
of paper).

 2D Shapes

 Activity: Sorting Shapes

 Triangles
 Right Angled Triangles
 Interactive Triangles
 Quadrilaterals (Rhombus, Parallelogram, etc)
 Rectangle, Rhombus, Square, Parallelogram, Trapezoid and Kite
 Interactive Quadrilaterals
 Parallelogram In Any Quadrilateral
 Paper Sizes
 Shapes Freeplay

 Perimeter

 Area
 Area of Plane Shapes
 Area Calculation Tool
 Area of Polygon by Drawing

 Activity: Garden Area

  General Drawing Tool
 Square Calculator and Rectangle Calculator

Polygons

A Polygon is a 2-dimensional shape made of straight lines. Triangles and

Rectangles are polygons.

Here are some more:

Pentagon

Pentagram

Hexagon

 Properties of Regular Polygons

 Diagonals of Polygons
 Interactive Polygons
The Circle

 Circle
 Pi
 Circle Area by Lines
 Circle Sector and Segment
 Circle Area by Sectors

 Activity: Dropping a Coin onto a Grid

 Arc
 Annulus

Circle Theorems (Advanced Topic)

Symbols

There are many special symbols used in Geometry. Here is a short reference
for you:

Geometric Symbols

Congruent and Similar

 Congruent Shapes
 Similar Shapes
Angles

Types of Angles

Acute Reflex
Right Angles Obtuse Angles Straight Angle Full Rotation
Angles Angles

 Degrees (Angle)
 Radians
 Angles Around a Point
 Angles on a Straight Line

 Congruent Angles
 Parallel Lines and Pairs of Angles
 Interior Angles
 Transversal
 Exterior Angles
 Adjacent Angles
 A Triangle Has 180°

 Interior Angles of Polygons

 Exterior Angles of Polygons
 Supplementary Angles
 Complementary Angles

Using Drafting Tools

  Geometric Constructions
 Using the Protractor
 Constructing Triangles
 Using the Drafting Triangle and Ruler
 Using a Ruler and Compass

Transformations and Symmetry

Transformations:

 Rotation
 Reflection
 Translation
 Resizing

Symmetry:

 Reflection Symmetry
 Rotational Symmetry
 Point Symmetry
 Lines of Symmetry of Plane Shapes
  Symmetry Artist

 Activity: Symmetry of Shapes

 Activity: Make a Mandala
 Activity: Coloring (The Four Color Theorem)

 Tessellations
 Tessellation Artist

Coordinates

 Cartesian Coordinates
 Interactive Cartesian Coordinates
 Hit the Coordinate Game

More Advanced Topics in Plane Geometry

Pythagoras
  Pythagoras' Theorem
 Pythagorean Triples

Conic Sections

 Set of all points

 Conic Sections
 Eccentricity
 Ellipse
 Parabola and Projectile Animation
 Hyperbola
Circle Theorems

 Circle Theorems
 Tangent and Secant Lines
 Intersecting Secants Theorem
 Intersecting Chords Theorem
 Angle of Intersecting Secants Theorem

Triangle Centers

Trigonometry

Trigonometry is a special subject of its own, so you might like to visit:

 Introduction to Trigonometry
 Trigonometry Index

Solid Geometry
Solid Geometry is the geometry of three-dimensional space, the kind of
space we live in.

Three Dimensions

It is called three-dimensional,
or 3D, because there are
three dimensions: width, depth and height.

Simple Shapes
Let us start with some of the simplest shapes:

Common 3D Shapes

Properties
Solids have properties (special things about them), such as:

 volume (think of how much water it could hold)

 surface area (think of the area you would have to paint)
 how many vertices (corner points), faces and edges they have

Polyhedra and Non-Polyhedra

There are two main types of solids, "Polyhedra", and "Non-Polyhedra":

Polyhedra (they have flat faces):

 Cubes and
Cuboids (Volume
of a Cuboid)

Platonic Solids

Prisms

Pyramids

Non-Polyhedra (when any surface is not flat):

Sphere
 Cylinder

Cone

Torus

More...

 Polyhedron Models
 Volume and Area of a Sphere Calculator
 Spheroid
 Cross Sections
 Vertices, Faces, and Edges
  Cone vs Sphere vs Cylinder
 Pyramid vs Cone
 Prism vs Cylinder
 Pyramid vs Cube
 Volume of Horizontal Cylinder
 Euler's Theorem
 Pythagoras in 3D
 Hypercubes

PolyhedronPlatonic SolidsVolumeGeometry Index

2D Shapes

A plane or 2D shape has 2 Dimensions (such as width and height) but no

thickness.

Regular Polygons

A polygon is a 2D shape with straight sides.

A regular polygon has all sides equal and all angles equal:

Triangle - 3 Sides Square - 4 Sides

Pentagon - 5 Sides Hexagon - 6 sides

 Heptagon - 7 Sides Octagon - 8 Sides

Nonagon - 9 Sides Decagon - 10 Sides

More ...

Other Common Polygons

These are 2D shapes, and they are polygons, but not regular polygons:

Rectangle - 4 Sides
Quadrilateral
All right angles
Any 4 sided 2D shape

And many more!

Curved Shapes

These are also 2D shapes that are not polygons because they have curves:
 Ellipse
Circle

And many more!

3D Shapes

There are plenty of 3D shapes too!

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Polygons (more detail)3D ShapesGeometry Index

Activity: Sorting Shapes

Let's sort flat shapes in different ways!

You will need some shapes. You can buy some, or make
your own like this:

 Print out Shapes (In Color) and then cut them out
 Or print Shapes (Black and White) on different
colors of paper or card, cut them out, then mix
them up. Or you might like to color them in
yourself

Now we have our shapes, let's sort them by color:

That was easy!

Now for a harder task, sort them by size!

This was how my shapes ended up ... your result may be different!

NOW, sort them by how many edges they have.

I am not going to show you how, but here are some hints:

 A circle has 1 edge,

 A triangle has 3 edges
 And there is at least one shape with 8 edges

NOW, sort them by how many corners they have.

Did anything change? What about the teardrop shape?

Next, can you sort them by curves:

 Shapes with a curve

 Shapes with only straight edges

The ones with only straight edges are called Polygons.

And your last task:

Sort them by two methods at the same time! By color, but with
the curved shapes on the top row:
 Here I am sorting them by color and curved-or-not

Bonus task:

Sort them by color and how many edges

Now just go ahead and combine the shapes into artwork:

Bye-Bye!

PolygonsActivity Index

Triangles

A triangle has three sides and three angles

The three angles always add to 180°

Equilateral, Isosceles and Scalene
There are three special names given to triangles that tell how many sides (or
angles) are equal.

There can be 3, 2 or no equal sides/angles:

Equilateral Triangle

Three equal sides

Three equal angles, always 60°

Isosceles Triangle

Two equal sides

Two equal angles

Scalene Triangle

No equal sides
No equal angles

How to remember? Alphabetically they go 3, 2, none:

 Equilateral: "equal"-lateral (lateral means side) so they have

all equal sides
 Isosceles: means "equal legs", and we have two legs, right? Also
iSOSceles has two equal "Sides" joined by an "Odd" side
 Scalene: means "uneven" or "odd", so no equal sides

What Type of Angle?

Triangles can also have names that tell you what type of angle is inside:

Acute Triangle

All angles are less than 90°

Right Triangle

Has a right angle (90°)

 Obtuse Triangle

Has an angle more than 90°

Combining the Names

Sometimes a triangle will have two names, for example:
Right Isosceles Triangle

Has a right angle (90°), and also two equal angles

Can you guess what the equal angles are?

Play With It ...

Try dragging the points around and make different triangles:

You might also like to play with the Interactive Triangle.

Angles
The three interior angles always add to 180°

Perimeter
The perimeter is the distance around the edge of the triangle: just add up
the three sides:

Area

The area is half of the base times height.

 "b" is the distance along the base

  "h" is the height (measured at right angles to the base)

Area = ½ × b × h

The formula works for all triangles.

Note: a simpler way of writing the formula is bh/2

Example: What is the area of this triangle?

(Note: 12 is the height, not the length of the left-hand side)

Height = h = 12

Base = b = 20

Area = ½ × b × h = ½ × 20 × 12 = 120
The base can be any side, Just be sure the "height" is measured at right
angles to the "base":

(Note: You can also calculate the area from the lengths of all three sides
using Heron's Formula.)

Why is the Area "Half of bh"?

Imagine you "doubled" the triangle (flip it around one of the upper edges) to
make a square-like shape (a parallelogram) which can be changed to a
simple rectangle:
THEN the whole area is bh, which is for both triangles, so just one is ½ × bh.

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Interactive TrianglesRight Angled trianglesProof that a Triangle has
180°Pythagoras' TheoremGeometry Index

Right Triangles

A right triangle (also called right angled triangle) has a right angle (90°) in it.

The little square in the corner tells us it is a right triangle

(I also put 90°, but you don't need to!)

The right triangle is one of the most useful shapes in all of mathematics!
It is used in the Pythagoras Theorem and Sine, Cosine and Tangent and more.

Try it yourself (drag the points):

Two Types
There are two types of right triangle:
Isosceles right triangle

 One right angle

 Two other equal angles always of 45°
 Two equal sides

Scalene right triangle

 One right angle

 Two other unequal angles
 No equal sides

Example: The 3,4,5 Triangle

The "3,4,5 Triangle" has a right angle in it.

(Draw one if you ever need a right angle!)

It has no equal sides so it is a scalene right triangle

And, like all triangles, the three angles always add up to 180°.

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Pythagoras' TheoremTrianglesProof that a Triangle has 180°Pythagorean TriplesTrigonometry
Index

Interactive Triangles
Read about Triangles, and then play with them here.
They rotate, too! So you can become familiar with them from all angles.

Notes:

 the sides may not always add up due to computer rounding errors
 the three angles of a triangle add to 180°. If they don't let me know!

Interactive QuadrilateralsInteractive PolygonsTrigonometry IndexGeometry Index

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Copyright © 2025 Rod Pierce

Quadrilaterals

Quadrilateral just means "four sides"

(quad means four, lateral means side).
A quadrilateral has four-sides, it is 2-dimensional (a flat
shape), closed (the lines join up), and has straight sides.

Try it Yourself
Drag the points:

(Also see this on Interactive Quadrilaterals)

Properties
A quadrilateral has:

 four sides (edges)

 four vertices (corners)
 interior angles that add to 360 degrees:

Try drawing a quadrilateral, and measure the angles. They should add
to 360°

Types of Quadrilaterals
There are special types of quadrilateral:
Some types are also included in the definition of other types! For example
a square, rhombus and rectangle are also parallelograms. See below for
more details.

Let us look at each type in turn:

The Rectangle

the little squares in each corner mean "right angle"

A rectangle is a four-sided shape where every angle is a right angle (90°).

Also opposite sides are parallel and of equal length.

The Square

the little squares in each corner mean "right angle"

A square has equal sides (marked "s") and every angle is a right angle (90°)

Also opposite sides are parallel.

A square also fits the definition of a rectangle (all angles are 90°), and
a rhombus (all sides are equal length).

The Rhombus
A rhombus is a four-sided shape where all sides have equal length (marked
"s").

Also opposite sides are parallel and opposite angles are equal.

Another interesting thing is that the diagonals (dashed lines) meet in the
middle at a right angle. In other words they "bisect" (cut in half) each other
at right angles.

A rhombus is sometimes called a rhomb or a diamond.

The Parallelogram

A parallelogram has opposite sides parallel and equal in length. Also

opposite angles are equal (angles "A" are the same, and angles "B" are the
same).

NOTE: Squares, Rectangles and Rhombuses are all Parallelograms!

Example:
A parallelogram with:

 all sides equal and

 angles "A" and "B" as right angles

is a square!

The Trapezoid (UK: Trapezium)

Trapezoid Isosceles Trapezoid

A trapezoid (called a trapezium in the UK) has a pair of opposite sides

parallel.

And a trapezium (called a trapezoid in the UK) is a quadrilateral with NO

parallel sides:

Trapezoid Trapezium
In the US: a pair of parallel sides NO parallel sides

In the UK: NO parallel sides a pair of parallel sides

(the US and UK definitions are swapped over!)

An Isosceles trapezoid, as shown above, has left and right sides of equal
length that join to the base at equal angles.

The Kite
Hey, it looks like a kite (usually).

It has two pairs of sides:

Each pair is made of two equal-length sides that join up.

Also:

 the angles where the two pairs meet are equal

 the diagonals, shown as dashed lines above, meet at a right angle
 one of the diagonals bisects (cuts equally in half) the other

... and that's it for the special quadrilaterals.

Irregular Quadrilaterals
The only regular (all sides equal and all angles equal) quadrilateral is a
square. So all other quadrilaterals are irregular.

The "Family Tree" Chart

Quadrilateral definitions are inclusive.

Example: a square is also a rectangle.

So we include a square in the definition of a rectangle.

(We don't say "Having all 90° angles makes it a rectangle except when all
sides are equal then it is a square.")

This may seem odd, as in daily life we think of a square as not being a
rectangle ... but in mathematics it is.

Using the chart below we can answer such questions as:

  Is a Square a type of Rectangle? (Yes)
 Is a Rectangle a type of Kite? (No)

Complex Quadrilaterals
Oh Yes! when two sides cross over, we call it a "Complex" or "Self-
Intersecting" quadrilateral, like these:
 They still have 4 sides, but two sides cross over.

Polygon
A quadrilateral is a polygon. In fact it is a 4-sided polygon, just like a triangle
is a 3-sided polygon, a pentagon is a 5-sided polygon, and so on.

Play with Them

Now that you know the different types, you can play with the Interactive
Quadrilaterals.

Other Names
A quadrilateral can sometimes be called:

 a Quadrangle ("four angles"), so it sounds like "triangle"

 a Tetragon ("four polygon"), so it sounds like "pentagon", "hexagon",
and so on

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PolygonsInteractive QuadrilateralsRight AngleParallelParallelogram In Any
QuadrilateralGeometry Index

Rhombus
(Jump to Area of a Rhombus or Perimeter of a Rhombus)

A Rhombus is a flat shape with 4 equal straight sides.

 A rhombus looks like a diamond

 All sides have equal length

 Opposite sides are parallel, and opposite angles are equal (it is a Parallelogram)
 The altitude is the right angle distance between opposite sides
 And the diagonals "p" and "q" of a rhombus bisect each other at right angles

Play with a rhombus:

Area of a Rhombus

The Area can be calculated by:

 the altitude times the side length:

Area = altitude × s
  the side length squared (s2) times the sine of angle A (or angle B):

Area = s2 sin(A)

Area = s2 sin(B)

 by multiplying the lengths of the diagonals and then dividing by 2:

Area = (p × q)/2

Example: A rhombus has diagonals of 6 m and 8 m, what is its Area?

Area = (6 m × 8 m)/2 = 24 m2

If you can draw your Rhombus, try the Area of Polygon by Drawing tool.

Perimeter of a Rhombus
The Perimeter is the distance around the edges.

The Perimeter is 4 times "s" (the side length)

because all sides are equal in length:

Perimeter = 4s

Example: A rhombus has a side length of 12 cm, what is its Perimeter?

Perimeter = 4 × 12 cm = 48 cm

Is a Square a Rhombus?
Yes, because a square is just a rhombus where the angles are all right angles.

Names
It is more common to call this shape a rhombus, but some people call it a rhomb or even
a diamond.

The plural is rhombi or rhombuses. Very rarely rhombbi (with a double b) is used.
The name "rhombus" comes from the Greek word rhombos: a piece of wood whirled on a string
to make a roaring noise! What we might call a "bullroarer".

Mathopolis:Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10
QuadrilateralsGeometry Index

Perimeter
Perimeter is the distance around a two-dimensional shape.

Imagine the distance to walk

all the way around the edge of a field.

Example: the perimeter of this rectangle is 7+3+7+3 = 20

Example: the perimeter of this regular pentagon

 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 5×3 = 15

The perimeter of a circle is called the circumference:

Circumference = 2 π × radius
Example: A circle has radius 4 cm, what's its circumference?

Using π ≈ 3.1416, and then rounded to 2 decimals:

π π
Circumference = 2 r = 2 × 4 = 8 π
≈ 25.13 cm

Perimeter Formulas

Triangle
Perimeter = a + b + c

Square
Perimeter = 4 × a
a = length of side

Rectangle
Perimeter = 2 × (a + b)
 Quadrilateral
Perimeter = a + b + c + d

Circle

Circumference = 2 πr
r = radius

Sector
Perimeter = r(θ+2)
r = radius
θ = angle in radians

Ellipse
Perimeter = very hard!

Try It Yourself
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Geometry Index

What is Area?
Area is the size of a surface!

Example:

These shapes all have the same area of 9:

 It helps to imagine how much paint would cover the shape.

Area of Simple Shapes

There are special formulas for certain shapes:

Example: What's the area of this rectangle?

The formula is:

Area = w × h
w = width
h = height

The width is 5, and the height is 3, so we know w = 5 and h = 3:

Area = 5 × 3 = 15
Learn more at Area of Plane Shapes.

Area by Counting Squares

We can also put the shape on a grid and count the number of squares:
 The rectangle has an area of 15
Example: When each square is 1 meter on a side, then the area is 15
m2 (15 square meters)

Square Meter vs Meter Square

The basic unit of area in the metric system is the square meter, which is a
square that has 1 meter on each side:

1 square meter

Be careful to say "square meters" not "meters squared":

There are also "square mm", "square cm" and so on, learn more at Metric
Area.

Approximate Area by Counting Squares

Sometimes the squares don't match the shape exactly, but we can get an
"approximate" answer.

ONE WAY IS:

 more than half a square counts as 1

 less than half a square counts as 0

Like this:
 This pentagon has an area of approximately 17

OR WE CAN COUNT ONE SQUARE WHEN THE AREAS SEEM TO ADD UP.

Example: Here the area marked "4" seems equal to about 1 whole square
(also for "8"):

This circle has an area of approximately 14

BUT USING A FORMULA (WHEN POSSIBLE) IS BEST:

Example: The circle has a radius of 2.1 meters:

The formula is:

Area = π × r2
Where:

 π = the number pi (3.1416...)

 r = radius

The radius is 2.1m, so:

Area =3.1416... × (2.1m)2=3.1416... × (2.1m × 2.1m)=13.854... m2

So the circle has an area of 13.85 square meters (to 2 decimal places)

Area of Difficult Shapes

We can sometimes break a shape up into two or more simpler shapes:

Example: What's the area of this Shape?

Let's break the area into two parts:

Part A is a square:

Area of A = a2 = 20m × 20m = 400m2

Part B is a triangle. Viewed sideways it has a base of 20m and a height of

14m.

Area of B = 12 × b × h = 12 × 20m × 14m = 140m2

So the total area is:

Area = Area of A + Area of B
Area = 400m2 + 140m2
Area = 540m2

Area by Adding Up Triangles

We can also break up a shape into triangles:

Then measure the base (b) and height (h) of each triangle:

Then calculate each area (using Area = 12× b × h) and add them all up.
Area by Coordinates
When we know the coordinates of each corner point we can use the Area of
Irregular Polygons method.

There's an Area of a Polygon by Drawing Tool that can help too.

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Garden Area Activity
Area of Plane ShapesGeometry Index

Polygons

A polygon is a plane shape with straight sides.

Is it a Polygon?
A polygon is a flat 2-dimensional (2D) shape made of straight lines. The sides
connect to form a closed shape. There are no gaps or curves.

Polygon
(straight sides)
 Not a Polygon
(has a curve)

Not a Polygon
(open, not closed)

Polygon comes from Greek. Poly- means "many" and -gon means "angle".

Example: Stop Sign

A stop sign is an example of a regular polygon.

It has eight equal sides and angles, making it a regular octagon.

Can you think of more polygons in real life?

Types of Polygons
Regular or Irregular

A regular polygon has all angles equal and all sides equal. Otherwise it
is irregular

Regular Irregular

Concave or Convex

A convex polygon has no inward-pointing angles: internal angles are at most

180°.

If any internal angle is greater than 180° then the polygon is concave.
(Think: concave has a "cave" in it)

Convex Concave

Simple or Complex

A simple polygon has a single, unbroken boundary, and it doesn't cross over
itself. A complex polygon has sides that intersect, making many polygon
rules invalid.

Simple Polygon Complex Polygon

(this one's a Pentagon) (also a Pentagon)

More Examples
 Irregular Hexagon

Concave Octagon

Complex Polygon
(a "star polygon",
in this case a pentagram)

Play With Them!

Try Interactive Polygons ... make them regular, concave or complex.

Names of Polygons
If it is a Regular Polygon...

Name Sides Shape Interior Angle

 Triangle (or Trigon) 3 60°

Quadrilateral (or Tetragon) 4 90°

Pentagon 5 108°

Hexagon 6 120°

Heptagon (or Septagon) 7 128.571°

Octagon 8 135°

Nonagon (or Enneagon) 9 140°

 Decagon 10 144°

Hendecagon (or
11 147.273°
Undecagon)

Dodecagon 12 150°

Triskaidecagon 13 152.308°

Tetrakaidecagon 14 154.286°

Pentadecagon 15 156°

Hexakaidecagon 16 157.5°

Heptadecagon 17 158.824°

Octakaidecagon 18 160°

Enneadecagon 19 161.053°

Icosagon 20 162°

Triacontagon 30 168°

Tetracontagon 40 171°

Pentacontagon 50 172.8°

Hexacontagon 60 174°

Heptacontagon 70 174.857°

Octacontagon 80 175.5°

Enneacontagon 90 176°
 Hectogon 100 176.4°

Chiliagon 1,000 179.64°

Myriagon 10,000 179.964°

Megagon 1,000,000 ~180°

Googolgon 10100 ~180°

n-gon n (n−2) × 180° / n

You can make names using this method:

Sides Start with...

Sides ...end with
20 Icosi...
+1 ...henagon
30 Triaconta...
+2 ...digon
40 Tetraconta...
+3 ...trigon
50 Pentaconta...
+4 ...tetragon
60 Hexaconta...
+5 ...pentagon
70 Heptaconta...
+6 ...hexagon
80 Octaconta...
+7 ...heptagon
90 Enneaconta...
+8 ...octagon
100 Hecto...
+9 ...enneagon
etc..

Example: a 62-sided polygon is a Hexacontadigon

BUT, for polygons with 13 or more sides, it is OK (and easier) to write "13-
gon", "14-gon" ... "100-gon", etc.

Remembering
Quadrilateral (4 Sides)

A Quad Bike has 4 wheels

Pentagon (5 Sides)

The "Pentagon" in Washington DC has 5 sides

Hexagon (6 Sides)
 Honeycomb has Hexagons

Septagon (7 Sides)

Think Septagon is a "Seven-agon"

Octagon (8 Sides)

An Octopus has 8 tentacles

Nonagon (9 Sides)

Think Nonagon is a "Nine-agon"

Decagon (10 Sides)

Think Decagon has 10 sides,

just like our Decimal system has 10 digits

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Interactive PolygonsInterior Angles of PolygonsExterior Angles of Polygons2D
Shapes (simpler page)
 Properties of Regular Polygons
A polygon is a plane shape (two-dimensional) with straight sides.

Polygons are all around us, from doors and windows to stop signs. Let's
explore what makes some of them ‘regular’ and why that matters!

Regular
A regular polygon has:

 all sides equal and

 all angles equal

Otherwise it is irregular.

Regular Pentagon

Irregular Pentagon

Regular polygons have some cool properties, let's explore them.

Properties of Regular Polygons
So what can we know about regular polygons? First of all, we can work
out angles.

Exterior Angle

The Exterior Angle is the angle between any side of a

shape,
and a line extended from the next side.

All the exterior angles of a polygon add up to 360°, so:

Each exterior angle must be 360°/n

(where n is the number of sides)

Press play button to see.

Imagine walking around the edge of a building, turning at each corner. By

the time you return to where you started, you've turned a full 360°

Example: What is the exterior angle of a regular octagon?

 Exterior Angle
(of a regular octagon)

An octagon has 8 sides, so:

Exterior angle =360° / n=360° / 8=45°

Interior Angles
The Interior Angle and Exterior Angle are measured from the same line, so
they add up to 180°.

Interior Angle = 180° − Exterior Angle

Since we already know the Exterior Angle is 360°/n:

Interior Angle = 180° − 360°/n

Which can be rearranged like this:

Interior Angle= 180° − 360°/n= (n × 180° / n) − (2 × 180° / n)= (n−2) ×

180°/n

So we also have this:

Interior Angle = (n−2) × 180° / n

Example: What is the interior angle of a regular octagon?

A regular octagon has 8 sides, so:

Exterior Angle = 360° / 8 = 45°

Interior Angle = 180° − 45° = 135°

Interior Angle
(of a regular octagon)

Or we could use:

Interior Angle= (n−2) × 180° / n= (8−2) × 180° / 8= 6 × 180° / 8= 135°

Same answer.

Example: What are the interior and exterior angles of a regular

hexagon?

A regular hexagon has 6 sides, so:

Exterior Angle =
360° / 6 = 60°
Interior Angle =
180° − 60° = 120°

Some polygons have special circles hidden inside and around them! Let's
explore them and their names:

"Circumcircle, Incircle, Radius and Apothem ..."

Sounds quite musical if you repeat it a few times, but they are just the
names of the "outer" and "inner" circles (and each radius) that can be drawn
on a polygon like this:

The "outside" circle is called a circumcircle, and it connects all vertices

(corner points) of the polygon.

The radius of the circumcircle is also the radius of the polygon.

The "inside" circle is called an incircle and it just touches each side of the
polygon at its midpoint.

The radius of the incircle is the apothem of the polygon.

(Not all polygons have those properties, but all triangles and regular
polygons do).

Breaking into Triangles

We can learn a lot about regular polygons by breaking them into triangles
like this:

Notice that:

 the "base" of the triangle is one side of the polygon

 the "height" of the triangle is the "Apothem" of the polygon

Now, the area of a triangle is half of the base times height, so:

Area of one triangle =

base × height / 2
=
side × apothem / 2

To get the area of the whole polygon, just add up the areas of all the little
triangles ("n" of them):

Area of Polygon = n × side × apothem / 2

And since the perimeter is all the sides = n × side, we get:

Area of Polygon = perimeter × apothem / 2

A Smaller Triangle
By cutting the triangle in half we get this:
 (Note: The angles are in radians, not degrees)

The small triangle is right-angled and so we can use sine, cosine and
tangent to find how the side, radius, apothem and n (number of sides) are
related:

sin(π/n) = (Side/2) / Radius Side = 2 × Radius × sin(π/n)

cos(π/n) = Apothem / Radius Apothem = Radius × cos(π/n)

Side = 2 × Apothem ×
tan(π/n) = (Side/2) / Apothem
tan(π/n)

There are a lot more relationships like those (most of them just "re-
arrangements"), but these are the most useful ones.

More Area Formulas

We can use that to calculate the area when we only know the Apothem:

Area of Small Triangle= ½ × Apothem × (Side/2)

And we know (from the "tan" formula above) that:

Side = 2 × Apothem × tan(π/n)

So:
Area of Small Triangle= ½ × Apothem × (Apothem × tan( π/n))= ½ ×
Apothem2 × tan(π/n)

And there are 2 such triangles per side, or 2n for the whole polygon:

π
Area of Polygon = n × Apothem2 × tan( /n)

When we don't know the Apothem, we can use the same formula but re-
worked for Radius or for Side:

Area of Polygon = ½ × n × Radius2 × sin(2 × π/n)

π
Area of Polygon = ¼ × n × Side2 / tan( /n)

A Table of Values
And here is a table of Side, Apothem and Area compared to a Radius of "1",
using the formulas we have worked out:

Side
Name when Interior Radiu Apothe
Type s Shape Side Area
Regular Angle s m
(n)

1.73
Triangle Equilateral 1.299
3 60° 1 2 0.5
(or Trigon) Triangle (¾√3)
(√3)

1.41
Quadrilateral 0.707
Square 4 90° 1 4 2
(or Tetragon) (1/√2)
(√2)

Regular 1.17
Pentagon 5 108° 1 0.809 2.378
Pentagon 6
 2.598
Regular 0.866
Hexagon 6 120° 1 1 ((3/2)√3
Hexagon (½√3)
)

Heptagon Regular 128.571 0.86

7 1 0.901 2.736
(or Septagon) Heptagon ° 8

Regular 0.76 2.828

Octagon 8 135° 1 0.924
Octagon 5 (2√2)

... ...
Regular
Pentacontago 0.12
Pentacontago 50 172.8° 1 0.998 3.133
n 6
n
(Note: values correct to 3 decimal places only)

Graph

And here is a graph of the table above, but with number of sides ("n") from 3
to 30.

Notice that as "n" gets bigger, the Apothem is tending towards 1 (equal to
the Radius) and that the Area is tending towards π = 3.14159..., just like a
circle.

What is the Side length tending towards?

Mathopolis:Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10
PolygonsDiagonals of PolygonsSine, cosine and tangentGeometry Index

Properties of Regular Polygons

A polygon is a plane shape (two-dimensional) with straight sides.

Polygons are all around us, from doors and windows to stop signs. Let's
explore what makes some of them ‘regular’ and why that matters!

Regular
A regular polygon has:

 all sides equal and

 all angles equal

Otherwise it is irregular.

Regular Pentagon

Irregular Pentagon
Regular polygons have some cool properties, let's explore them.

Properties of Regular Polygons

So what can we know about regular polygons? First of all, we can work
out angles.

Exterior Angle

The Exterior Angle is the angle between any side of a

shape,
and a line extended from the next side.

All the exterior angles of a polygon add up to 360°, so:

Each exterior angle must be 360°/n

(where n is the number of sides)

Press play button to see.

Imagine walking around the edge of a building, turning at each corner. By

the time you return to where you started, you've turned a full 360°

Example: What is the exterior angle of a regular octagon?

 Exterior Angle
(of a regular octagon)

An octagon has 8 sides, so:

Exterior angle =360° / n=360° / 8=45°

Interior Angles
The Interior Angle and Exterior Angle are measured from the same line, so
they add up to 180°.

Interior Angle = 180° − Exterior Angle

Since we already know the Exterior Angle is 360°/n:

Interior Angle = 180° − 360°/n

Which can be rearranged like this:

Interior Angle= 180° − 360°/n= (n × 180° / n) − (2 × 180° / n)= (n−2) ×

180°/n

So we also have this:

Interior Angle = (n−2) × 180° / n

Example: What is the interior angle of a regular octagon?

A regular octagon has 8 sides, so:

Exterior Angle = 360° / 8 = 45°

Interior Angle = 180° − 45° = 135°

Interior Angle
(of a regular octagon)

Or we could use:

Interior Angle= (n−2) × 180° / n= (8−2) × 180° / 8= 6 × 180° / 8= 135°

Same answer.

Example: What are the interior and exterior angles of a regular

hexagon?

A regular hexagon has 6 sides, so:

Exterior Angle =
360° / 6 = 60°
Interior Angle =
180° − 60° = 120°

Some polygons have special circles hidden inside and around them! Let's
explore them and their names:

"Circumcircle, Incircle, Radius and Apothem ..."

Sounds quite musical if you repeat it a few times, but they are just the
names of the "outer" and "inner" circles (and each radius) that can be drawn
on a polygon like this:

The "outside" circle is called a circumcircle, and it connects all vertices

(corner points) of the polygon.

The radius of the circumcircle is also the radius of the polygon.

The "inside" circle is called an incircle and it just touches each side of the
polygon at its midpoint.

The radius of the incircle is the apothem of the polygon.

(Not all polygons have those properties, but all triangles and regular
polygons do).

Breaking into Triangles

We can learn a lot about regular polygons by breaking them into triangles
like this:

Notice that:

 the "base" of the triangle is one side of the polygon

 the "height" of the triangle is the "Apothem" of the polygon

Now, the area of a triangle is half of the base times height, so:

Area of one triangle =

base × height / 2
=
side × apothem / 2

To get the area of the whole polygon, just add up the areas of all the little
triangles ("n" of them):

Area of Polygon = n × side × apothem / 2

And since the perimeter is all the sides = n × side, we get:

Area of Polygon = perimeter × apothem / 2

A Smaller Triangle
By cutting the triangle in half we get this:
 (Note: The angles are in radians, not degrees)

The small triangle is right-angled and so we can use sine, cosine and
tangent to find how the side, radius, apothem and n (number of sides) are
related:

sin(π/n) = (Side/2) / Radius Side = 2 × Radius × sin(π/n)

cos(π/n) = Apothem / Radius Apothem = Radius × cos(π/n)

Side = 2 × Apothem ×
tan(π/n) = (Side/2) / Apothem
tan(π/n)

There are a lot more relationships like those (most of them just "re-
arrangements"), but these are the most useful ones.

More Area Formulas

We can use that to calculate the area when we only know the Apothem:

Area of Small Triangle= ½ × Apothem × (Side/2)

And we know (from the "tan" formula above) that:

Side = 2 × Apothem × tan(π/n)

So:
Area of Small Triangle= ½ × Apothem × (Apothem × tan( π/n))= ½ ×
Apothem2 × tan(π/n)

And there are 2 such triangles per side, or 2n for the whole polygon:

π
Area of Polygon = n × Apothem2 × tan( /n)

When we don't know the Apothem, we can use the same formula but re-
worked for Radius or for Side:

Area of Polygon = ½ × n × Radius2 × sin(2 × π/n)

π
Area of Polygon = ¼ × n × Side2 / tan( /n)

A Table of Values
And here is a table of Side, Apothem and Area compared to a Radius of "1",
using the formulas we have worked out:

Side
Name when Interior Radiu Apothe
Type s Shape Side Area
Regular Angle s m
(n)

1.73
Triangle Equilateral 1.299
3 60° 1 2 0.5
(or Trigon) Triangle (¾√3)
(√3)

1.41
Quadrilateral 0.707
Square 4 90° 1 4 2
(or Tetragon) (1/√2)
(√2)

Regular 1.17
Pentagon 5 108° 1 0.809 2.378
Pentagon 6
 2.598
Regular 0.866
Hexagon 6 120° 1 1 ((3/2)√3
Hexagon (½√3)
)

Heptagon Regular 128.571 0.86

7 1 0.901 2.736
(or Septagon) Heptagon ° 8

Regular 0.76 2.828

Octagon 8 135° 1 0.924
Octagon 5 (2√2)

... ...
Regular
Pentacontago 0.12
Pentacontago 50 172.8° 1 0.998 3.133
n 6
n
(Note: values correct to 3 decimal places only)

Graph

And here is a graph of the table above, but with number of sides ("n") from 3
to 30.

Notice that as "n" gets bigger, the Apothem is tending towards 1 (equal to
the Radius) and that the Area is tending towards π = 3.14159..., just like a
circle.

What is the Side length tending towards?

Mathopolis:Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10
PolygonsDiagonals of PolygonsSine, cosine and tangent