Overview:
Polygons are geometric figures that are made up of line segments. Many of them, such as triangles, squares, and rectangles, are familiar shapes. Others, such as heptagons (7 sides) and nonagons (9 sides) are not.
How Are Polygons Constructed?
Polygons are constructed from the connection of line segments end to end, but not in a straight line. For example, the triangle ∆ABC is made up of the line segments AB, BC, and CA. Those three line segments are the sides of the triangle, and the points where they meet are called the vertices. More complex polygons are formed when more line segments are joined together.
How Are Polygons Named?
Polygons are named for the number of sides they have. While four-sided figures can be called quadrilaterals generally, squares, rectangles, trapezoids, and parallelograms all have special properties. Five-sided figures are pentagons and six-sided figures are hexagons. Polygons have special names for the number of sides up to the 10-sided decagon. After that, they are generally named for the number of sides, such as an 11-gon, a 32-gon, and even an n-gon, that has n sides.
What Are Diagonals?
Diagonals are line segments that connect vertices of a polygon that are not sides of the polygon. For example, the quadrilateral ABCD has 4 sides consisting of a line segment from A to B, one from B to C, one from C to D, and one from D to A. However, there are also 2 vertices inside the quadrilateral, one from A to C and one from B to D.
What Are Convex and Concave Polygons?
In convex polygons, the sides are joined in such a way that no diagonal is outside the boundaries of the polygon. The most common polygons are convex. However, the sides are joined in such a way in concave polygons that at least one diagonal can be drawn that is outside the boundaries of the polygon. One or two sides of the perimeter fall inside the geometric figure. For example, in this figure, the star polygon is concave, so that diagonals could be drawn to join vertices that would be outside the star figure. By contrast, the diagonals of the hexagon, a convex figure would all lie inside the hexagon.
https://schooltutoring.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2012/01/angles-of-polygons1.png
Interested in geometry tutoring services? Learn more about how we are assisting thousands of students each academic year.
SchoolTutoring Academy is the premier educational services company for K-12 and college students. We offer tutoring programs for students in K-12, AP classes, and college. To learn more about how we help parents and students in Eagan, MN visit: Tutoring in Eagan, MN