Polygons Facts for Kids – 5 Powerful Facts About Polygons

What is a polygon shape? Let’s learn five powerful polygons facts for kids.

Polygons Facts for Kids Fact Number 1: Polygons Can Be Either Irregular or Regular

All sides and angles are congruent on a regular polygon, whereas irregular polygons have two or more sides or angles that are different. Congruent means that all sides and angles on a regular polygon are identical. An example of a regular polygon is an equilateral triangle or quadrilateral. An example of an irregular polygon is a scalene triangle or a rectangle.

Polygons Facts for Kids Fact Number 2: A Polygon Is a 2-dimensional Shape

Any closed 2-D shape with three or more sides is considered a polygon. A polygon has straight sides not curved. There are two types of polygons, convex and concave. A convex polygon has no angles pointing inwards. Every interior angle of a convex polygon is less than 180°. An example of a convex polygon is a signpost or a kite. A concave polygon is the opposite of a convex polygon. A concave polygon has one or more internal angles greater than 180°. One or more of a concave polygons’ interior angles point inwards. An example of a concave polygon is a star or a cross.

Polygons Facts for Kids Fact Number 3: A Complex Polygon Intersects Itself

Complex polygon is a polygon whose sides cross over each other one or more times. A complex polygon is also known as a self-intersecting polygon. An example of a complex polygon would be a star polygon or pentagram. The opposite is  a simple polygon, which has only one boundary and its sides do not cross over each other.

Polygons Facts for Kids Fact Number 4: Polygons Are Named After The Amount of Sides They Have

A polygon’s name will reflect how many sides it has. Depending on how many sides a polygon has the name of a polygon will change. The most commonly known polygons are 5-sided,which is known as a pentagon, a 6-sided polygon is called a hexagon, a 7-sided polygon is known as a heptagon and finally an 8-sided polygon is called an octagon.

Polygons Facts for Kids Fact Number 5: Regular Polygons Have Rotational Symmetry

Rotational symmetry is when a shape still looks the same no matter how many times you rotate it. For example, if you were to rotate a square, equilateral triangle or octagon they would all look the same no matter what side you turn it on. Regular polygons are also symmetrical and some have more than one line of symmetry. This means that if you were to fold the shape in half the two sides would match perfectly.

We hope you enjoyed learning about polygons, come and check out these articles about some other shapes: Cylinders and Cuboids.

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