Have you ever heard about tangram?
It's an old Chinese puzzle that is used to make many shapes of animals, people, and things.
The set of 7 pieces shown below is a 7-piece tangram.
You can use these pieces together to make some very interesting shapes.
In this mini-lesson, we will learn about geometric shapes definition, geometric shapes examples, geometric shapes list, geometry, and types of geometric shapes in the concept of Geometric shapes.
You can check out the interactive simulations to know more about the lesson and try your hand at solving a few interesting practice questions at the end of the page.
Lesson Plan
What Are Geometric Shapes?
Geometric Shapes: Definition
Geometrical shapes are the figures or objects that we see around us everywhere.
These different shapes of geometry are made up of lines, curves, angles, and surfaces.
The shapes in geometry can be either open or closely bound.
Open Shapes
Lines or curves that do not connect at any one point are called open shapes.
Closed Shapes
In closed shapes, all the lines and curves are connected with each other.
What Are the Basic Geometric shapes?
Have you noticed the shape of a pizza? It is round in shape.
If we cut out a slice from the pizza, the slice is triangular in shape.
The handkerchief you carry is square in shape.
What Are the Different Types of Geometric Shapes?
Some of the common basic shapes in Maths are listed below.
1. Circle
A circle is a closed two-dimensional figure which is round in shape.
A circle does not have any sides or corners.
Can you spot any figure with the shape of a circle around you?
Here are some familiar objects that have the shape of a circle.
A square is a two-dimensional shape that consists of four sides which are all equal.
Can you think of any figure or object that is square in shape?
Do you play chess or carrom?
Imagine the shapes of a chessboard and a carrom board.
You can see that all four sides of these boards are equal.
Thus, they are squares.
3. Triangle
A triangle is a closed two-dimensional shape with three sides.
Do you like nachos?
Have you ever observed the shape of a nacho?
It is triangular in shape.
Have you observed the shape of a slice of pizza?
Do you think it is triangular in shape?
Yes, you are right, it is triangular in shape.
4. Rectangle
A rectangle is a four-sided, two-dimensional shape in which the length of the opposite sides is equal.
A square is also a type of rectangle.
Rectangular shape can have two variations in their forms: either the length or the breadth can be greater.
Now look around and identify objects that are rectangular in shape.
5. Oval
An oval is similar to a circle but its shape is slightly elongated in nature.
An oval also does not have any sides or corners.
Observe the shape of a badminton racket.
What shape does it have?
Yes, it is an oval!
Experiment with the simulation below to sort the objects according to their shape.
Different Geometric Shapes Formulas with Example Solutions
Geometric Shapes List
Similar to the shapes described above, there are several two-dimensional shapes in geometry.
Now, let's summarize all of them.
- Two-dimensional shapes that have four sides like square, rectangle, kite, trapezoid, etc are called quadrilaterals.
- Quadrilateral shapes are four-sided closed figures made with straight lines.
- Polygons are closed shapes made of straight lines. They are named after the number of sides they have.
Solved Example
| Example 1 |
How many sides are there in the given shape?
Is it a closed or open shape?
Solution
Count the number of straight lines in the star.
There are \(10\) straight lines.
We can trace the outline of this star without any break.
Hence, it is a closed shape.
| It is a closed shape with \(10\) sides. |
| Example 2 |
Sam ordered a sandwich at a restaurant.
He requested the waiter to cut the sandwich into two pieces.
What was the shape of those two pieces?
Solution
The two pieces of the sandwich were cut in the shape of a triangle.
| So, it's a triangle shape. |
| Example 3 |
Mia and Emma are playing a game where Mia will make a shape using the matchsticks and Emma has to make the same shape without looking at it, but she can ask questions.
This is what Mia draws using matchsticks.
Emma asked her about the number of sides and if it closed or an open shape.
Mia told her that it is a closed shape with 6 sides.
Is this a unique closed shape with 6 sides?
Solution
This is not a unique shape with 6 sides.
Emma can have closed shapes with 6 sides as shown below.
These shapes are not the same as the one made by Mia.
This is because when angles change, shapes also change.
| No, it is not a unique closed shape. |
| Example 4 |
What shape is the given figure? How many sides does it have?
Solution
The given shape has 4 sides.
It is a quadrilateral.
| It is a quadrilateral with \(4\) sides. |
| 1. | Is the given shape a quadrilateral? |
 |
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| 2. | How many triangles are there in this figure? |
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Interactive Questions
Here are a few activities for you to practice. Select/Type your answer and click the "Check Answer" button to see the result.
Let's Summarize
The mini-lesson targeted the fascinating concept of Geometric Shapes. We hope you enjoyed learning about the geometric shapes definition, geometric shapes examples, geometric shapes list, and types of geometric shapes going through various examples and scenarios.
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Be it worksheets, online classes, doubt sessions, or any other form of relation, it’s the logical thinking and smart learning approach that we, at Cuemath, believe in.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Is a straight line a geometric shape?
Yes, straight line an open geometric shape.
2. What is the name of a 5 sided shape?
A 5-sided shape is called a pentagon.
3. What is a 200 sided shape?
The 200-sided shape is called a dihectogon.