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Polygon Geometry: Pentagons, Hexagons, and Dodecagons
Two-dimensional regular polygons are everywhere
By Ted French Ted French Writer Former Lifewire writer Ted French is a Microsoft Certified Professional who teaches and writes about spreadsheets and spreadsheet programs. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on November 3, 2019 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email MS Office Excel Word Powerpoint Outlook Few geometric shapes are as diverse as polygons. They include the familiar triangle, square, and pentagon, but that is only the start. In geometry, a polygon is any two-dimensional shape that meets the following conditions: Is made up of three or more straight lines Is closed with no openings or breaks in the shape Has pairs of lines that connect at the corners or vertices where they form angles Has an equal number of sides and interior angles Two-dimensional means flat like a piece of paper. Cubes are not polygons because they are three-dimensional. Circles are not polygons because they don't contain straight lines. A special kind of polygon can have angles that aren't all equal. In this case, it's called an irregular polygon. About Polygons
De Agostini / A. Dagli Orti / Getty Images The name polygon comes from two Greek words: Poly, which means manyGon, which means angle Shapes That Are Polygons Trigon (triangle): 3 sidesTetragon (square): 4 sidesPentagons: 5 sidesHexagon: 6 sidesHeptagon: 7 sidesOctagons: 8 sidesNonagon: 9 sidesDecagon: 10 sidesUndecagon: 11 sidesDodecagons: 12 sides How Polygons Are Named
Lifewire / Ted French The names of individual polygons are derived from the number of sides or corners the shape possesses. Polygons have the same number of sides and corners. The common name for most polygons is the Greek prefix for "sides" attached to the Greek word for corner (gon). Examples of this for five and six-sided regular polygons are: Penta (Greek meaning five) + gon = pentagonHexa (Greek meaning six) + gon = hexagon There are exceptions to this naming scheme. Most notably with words more commonly used for some polygons: Triangle: Uses the Greek prefix Tri, but instead of the Greek gon, the Latin angle is used. Trigon is the correct geometrical name but is rarely used.Quadrilateral: Derived from the Latin prefix quadri, meaning four, attached to the word lateral, which is another Latin word meaning side. Square: Sometimes, a four-sided polygon (a square) is referred to as a quadrangle or tetragon. N-Gons
Polygons with more than 10 sides are encountered infrequently but follow the same Greek naming convention. So, a 100-sided polygon is referred to as a hectogon. However, in mathematics, pentagons are sometimes more conveniently referred to as n-gons: 11-gon: Hendecagon12-gon: Dodecagon20-gon: Icosagon50-gon: Pentecontagon1000-gon: Chiliagon1000000-gon: Megagon In mathematics, n-gons and their greek-named counterparts are used interchangeably. Polygon Limit
Theoretically, there is no limit to the number of sides a polygon can have. As the size of the interior angles of a polygon gets larger, and the length of its sides gets shorter, the polygon approaches a circle, but it never quite gets there. Classifying Polygons
Lifewire / Ted French Regular vs Irregular Polygons
Polygons are classified based on whether or not all angles or sides are equal. Regular polygon: All of the angles are of equal size, and all the sides are equal in length.Irregular polygon: Does not have equal-sized angles or sides of equal length. Convex vs Concave Polygons
A second way to classify polygons is by the size of their internal angles. Convex polygons: Have no internal angles greater than 180°.Concave polygons: Have at least one internal angle that is greater than 180°. Simple vs Complex Polygons
Another way to classify polygons is the way the lines forming the polygon intersect. Simple polygons: The lines connect or intersect only once — at the vertices.Complex polygons: The lines intersect more than once. The names of complex polygons are sometimes different from those of simple polygons with the same number of sides. For example: A regular-shaped hexagon is a six-sided, simple polygon.A star-shaped hexagram is a six-sided, complex polygon created by overlapping two equilateral triangles. Sum of the Interior Angles Rule
Ian Lishman / Getty Images As a rule, each time a side is added to a polygon, such as: From a triangle to quadrilateral (three to four sides)From a pentagon to a hexagon (five to six sides) another 180° is added to the total of the interior angles. This rule can be written as a formula: (n - 2) × 180° where n equals the number of sides of the polygon. So the sum of the interior angles for a hexagon can be found by using the formula: (6 - 2) × 180° = 720° How Many Triangles in That Polygon
The above interior angle formula is derived by dividing a polygon into triangles, and this number can be found with the calculation: n - 2 In this formula, n is equal to the number of sides of the polygon. A hexagon (six sides) can be divided into four triangles (6 - 2) and a dodecagon into 10 triangles (12 - 2). Angle Size for Regular Polygons
For regular polygons, in which angles are all the same size and sides are the same length, the size of each angle in a polygon can be calculated by dividing the total size of angles (in degrees) by the total number of sides. For a regular six-sided hexagon, each angle is: 720° ÷ 6 = 120° Some Well-Known Polygons
Scott Cunningham / Getty Images Well-know polygons include: Trusses
Roof trusses are often triangular. Depending on the width and pitch of the roof, the truss might incorporate equilateral or isosceles triangles. Because of their great strength, triangles are used in the construction of bridges and bicycle frames. They are prominent in the Eiffel Tower. The Pentagon
The Pentagon — the headquarters for the U.S. Department of Defense — takes its name from its shape. The building is a five-sided, regular pentagon. Home Plate
Another well-known five-sided regular pentagon is the home plate on a baseball diamond. The Fake Pentagon
A giant shopping mall near Shanghai, China, is built in the shape of a regular pentagon and is sometimes called the Fake Pentagon. Snowflakes
Every snowflake starts out as a hexagon, but temperature and moisture levels add branches and tendrils so that each one ends up looking different. Bees and Wasps
Natural hexagons also include beehives, where each cell in a honeycomb that the bees construct to hold honey is hexagonal. The nests of paper wasps also contain hexagonal cells where they raise their young. The Giant' s Causeway
Hexagons are also found in the Giant's Causeway located in northeast Ireland. It is a natural rock formation composed of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns that were created as the lava from an ancient volcanic eruption slowly cooled. The Octagon
The Octagon — the name given to the ring or cage used in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bouts — takes its name from its shape. It is an eight-sided regular octagon. Stop Signs
The stop sign — one of the most familiar traffic signs — is another eight-sided regular octagon. Although the color, wording, or symbols on the sign may vary, the octagonal shape for the stop sign is used in many countries around the world. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Create Polygons and Stars in InDesign 10 Best Free Photo Editing Programs Mesh vs. NURBS: Which 3D Model Is Best for 3D Printing? 5 Ways to Create 3D Art Using the Paint 3D Toolbar Common Pitfalls of Beginning Modelers Polygonal 3D Modeling: Common Box and Edge Modeling Workflows Use the Excel RIGHT Function to Extract Characters Make a Custom Gradient in GIMP How to Use Excel's MROUND Function What Is a Wireframe in 3D Animation? How to Sum Columns or Rows in Google Sheets How to Place Stereo Speakers for the Best Performance How To Measure a Computer Screen Revolving Curves In Maya The 5 Best Softbox Lighting Kits of 2022 The 7 Best Outdoor and Backyard Speakers of 2022 Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies