Polygons Properties

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A Review of Polygons --- properties and areas:
1. Define polygons: The word "polygon" derives from the Greek poly, meaning
"many," and gonia, meaning "angle." Review, find examples or draw pictures of
polygons, and then discuss with students (and record explanations) the
following:
o What is a polygon? (answer: it is a flat, 2- dimensional closed geometric

shape bounded by 3 or more straight line segments (called sides), and an
equal number of points (called vertices) --- note: a circle is not a polygon
because it does not have straight sides).
o A vertex (plural “vertices”) is a corner. A side joins one vertex with

another.
o An angle is the amount of turn between two straight lines that have a
common end point (the vertex).
o A convex polygon has no angles pointing inwards. More precisely, no

internal angle can be more than 180°.
o If any internal angle is greater than 180° then the polygon is concave.
(Think: concave has a "cave" in it)
o For two-dimensional figures, any side can be a base. Typically, however,

the bottom side, on which the polygon 'sits,' is called the base.
o Equilateral means all sides are equal in length. Equiangular means all
angles are equal in measurement.
o A regular polygon has all angles equal and all sides equal, otherwise it is
irregular.
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o Polygons are named for their number of sides and angles:

 3: Triangle
 4: Quadrilateral
 5: Pentagon
 6: Hexagon
 7: Heptagon
 8: Octagon
 9: Nonagon
 10: Decagon
 11: Undecagon
 12: Dodecagon
 n: n-gon
2. Types of triangles: (a polygon with 3 sides)…. See examples below (remember

some triangles belong to more than one category of triangle)
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3. The sum of the interior angles in a triangle always equals 180 degrees.
How can you show the sum of the interior angles in any triangle is 180°? See
example below:
4. Types of quadrilaterals (a polygon with four sides) …. See examples below

(remember some quadrilaterals belong to more than one category of
quadrilaterals). There are 5 special quadrilaterals: Rectangles, Squares,
Parallelograms, Rhombuses, and Trapezoids. (Note: a kite is a Rhombus if all sides
are equal in length and a kite is a Square if all sides & angles are equal).
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5. Interior angles of quadrilaterals equal 360 degrees:

How can you show the sum of the interior angles in any quadrilateral is 360°?
See folding example below:
Color or label the vertices of a quadrilateral.
Cut off the corners, and then fit the vertices together showing they all fit around a
point. The sum of the interior angles in any quadrilateral is 360°.

6. Interior Angles of Regular Pentagons:
To find the central angle
use a hinged mirror 
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The central angle of a regular pentagon is found also by noticing it can be split into five
regular triangles that meet up in the center whose angles add to 360 degrees.
That means one central angle is  360°/5 = 72°
7. Polygons from other polygons:

o How can you make one type of triangle out of another type? (pass out
various paper triangles, fold them, check) --- e.g., fold an isosceles
triangle in half to make two smaller right triangles.
o How can you make one type of quadrilateral out of another type? (Pass
out paper quadrilaterals, fold them, check) --- e.g., see illustrations below:
o How can you make a triangle from a quadrilateral? Vice versa? (e.g.,
experiment with folding different polygons to make them into other
polygons). Here is an illustration:
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Quadrilateral into a triangle(s) 
Cut a rectangle along diagonal line to form 2 triangles.
Triangles into a quadrilateral 
Fold an equilateral triangle as shown below to create a trapezoid (& another

triangle):
…. …. ….
o If you have one shape, such as a pentagon, could you fold it to make
other polygons? (Pass out a variety of different paper shapes, fold them,
check).
o Can you make one larger polygon from smaller polygon shapes?
(Pass out paper shapes, fold them, check).
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8. Define Area:
o The area of a polygon is the number of square units inside that polygon.
o The area of a triangle is ½ (base)(height). This is determined from the

fact that a parallelogram can be divided into 2 triangles. The area of a
parallelogram is (base)(height). For instance, in the parallelogram below,
the area of each triangle equals ½ the area of the parallelogram. The base
and height of a triangle must be perpendicular to each other.
o How could you find the area of a regular pentagon?
(answer: one way is to deconstruct it into triangles, find the areas of those, and then
add their areas to reconstruct the original larger shape). For example let’s find the area
of a regular pentagon, having each side 6 units in length and an apothem of
approximately 4 units (the apothem is the line from the center of the pentagon to a side,
intersecting the side at a 90º right angle) —see illustration below where the pentagon is
split into 5 identical equilateral triangles, and then into 10 equivalent right triangles:
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o How could you find the area of a regular hexagon?

(answer: again, one way is to deconstruct it into triangles, find the areas of those, and
then add their areas to reconstruct the original larger shape). For example:
Use trigonometry to find the value of the apothem in a regular pentagon and regular
hexagon, for instance, when the side value is known (not required to teach at this grade
level, but just noted as a way to find the approximate apothem value).
9. What is meant by surface area? (answer: The surface area of a solid object is a
measure of the total area that the surface of an object occupies). The surface
area for polyhedra (i.e., objects with flat polygonal faces), is the sum of the areas
of its faces. The surface area of curved surfaces involves more than just adding
up areas of flat surfaces.
o Ask students to contemplate: How do soccer balls roll when their surface
area is not smooth: it is made up of hexagons and pentagons? How might
you estimate the surface area of a soccer ball? What strategies could you
use?
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A Review of Polygons --- properties and areas:

o What is a polygon? (answer: it is a flat, 2- dimensional closed geometric

o A vertex (plural “vertices”) is a corner. A side joins one vertex with

o A convex polygon has no angles pointing inwards. More precisely, no

o For two-dimensional figures, any side can be a base. Typically, however,

o Polygons are named for their number of sides and angles:

2. Types of triangles: (a polygon with 3 sides)…. See examples below (remember

4. Types of quadrilaterals (a polygon with four sides) …. See examples below

5. Interior angles of quadrilaterals equal 360 degrees:

Color or label the vertices of a quadrilateral.

6. Interior Angles of Regular Pentagons:

To find the central angle

use a hinged mirror 

That means one central angle is  360°/5 = 72°

7. Polygons from other polygons:

Quadrilateral into a triangle(s) 

Cut a rectangle along diagonal line to form 2 triangles.

Triangles into a quadrilateral 

Fold an equilateral triangle as shown below to create a trapezoid (& another

o The area of a triangle is ½ (base)(height). This is determined from the

o How could you find the area of a regular pentagon?

o How could you find the area of a regular hexagon?

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