Introduction to Geometric Shapes
Geometric shapes are practically all around. No matter where you look or go, you will find almost everything made up of geometry. For example, the wall decals in your home are square, pentagon or rectangular. Similarly, a truss bridge is structured majorly in squares, rectangles, and triangles. Also if you have noticed, your favorite snowman is composed of circles, with a cone-shaped carrot nose. These shapes, both 2D and 3D, are quite important concerning Math learning too. With various examples of geometric shapes, we are also able to understand their usability, function and how to better implement them for our use.
List of Geometric Shapes
Here is a list of all geometric shapes that you will encounter. You must know that there are 2-dimensional shape areas followed by 3-dimensional shape areas. Different types of geometrical shapes have different shapes, sizes and properties as well. Understanding Math geometrical figures will help you to recognize different 2d & 3d shapes and know the distinctive properties of different 2d & 3d shapes as well the interior angles of regular polygons.
Geometric Shapes Definition with Examples
Here is a list of types of geometric shapes that you will frequently encounter in daily life. You will also find geometric shapes names that you might not be familiar with. Check below for different geometric shapes, along with an explanation, images and examples of where you can find them in everyday life.
Square- The Square is the most common geometric figure that can be easily spotted in different spheres of everyday life. This geometric shape has 4 equal straight sides and 4 right angles. E.g., floor tile, room type, chessboard, wall clock, waffles etc.
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Triangle- A figure with three straight sides. Triangle is of different types with different measures of sides and angles. E.g., truss bridge, pyramids, sandwich, nachos cut diagonally.
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Rectangle- A rectangle has four straight sides and four right angles with opposites of different lengths and widths. E.g., deck of cards, hopscotch board, scale etc.
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Circle- A geometric figure which is completely round in shape and has the same radius from a definite point in the center is known as a circle. E.g., cake, cookie, wheels of a bike.
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Semicircle- A circle that is cut in exactly half along its diameter is what we call a semicircle. E.g., half a pizza, half a cardboard, diameter of compass set, diyas etc.
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Oval- A vertically extended form of a circle in which the radius is shorter on one axis than the other. E.g., oval mirror, eggs, hot dog buns etc.
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Cylinder- A 3-dimensional figure has parallel sides and a circular cross-section. E.g., pipe, test tube, cold drink cans, drinking glass etc.
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Parallelogram- A Four-sided polygon that has two pairs of parallel sides opposite to each other. E.g., laptop, building blocks, women’s clutch purses etc.
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Rhombus- A kind of parallelogram that consists of equal sides of length. E.g., kites, crystals of some sort and baseball diamonds.
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Pentagon- Basic geometric shape with five straight sides, essentially of equal length. E.g., sections of the soccer ball design, school crossing signs and honeycomb etc.
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Hexagon- Type of geometric shape having six straight sides, essentially of equal length. E.g., snowflakes, ice crystals, turtle shells etc.
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Heptagon- Heptagon is what we see of a figure with seven straight sides, essentially having an equal length. E.g., serving plate, antique coin, covers for a cookie bin etc.
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Trapezoid- A Four-sided geometric figure that has only one pair of parallel sides. E.g. a pyramid with a cut-off top, a popcorn can.
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Crescent- A curved sickle shape is tapered to a point. E.g., the moon during certain periods, curved shapes on the national flags of countries like Turkey and Pakistan.
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Prism- A 3-dimensional figure where one pair of opposite sides of similar shape, linked by straight, parallel lines/sides. E.g., skyscraper buildings, birthday presents, aquariums and notebooks etc.
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Pyramid- A 3-dimensional geometric figure with one flat side and edges appearing to all meet together at a point. E.g., Toblerone chocolate, the Great Pyramid of Giza etc.
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List of 2D & 3D Shapes
Difference between 2D Shapes & 3D Shapes
Properties
To learn more about geometric shapes, access free resources available on the Vedantu website. There you will get access to free CBSE materials, solved questions, ICSE, state board and competitive exams.
FAQs on Geometric Shapes
1. What is Meant by the Polygons and Polyhedrons?
"Geometric figures" is a more general term that takes into account all the different types of geometric shapes. Nevertheless, if you seek to be more particular, the shapes that are only in 2D (like a square) can be termed as polygons. That's typically described as a plane figure with a minimum of three straight sides, essentially forming an enclosed shape.
When you take that into the 3D geometric figures, for example with a cube, it becomes a solid figure that you call a polyhedron. The suffixes with -gon and -hedron can then be used to describe the number of sides or edges, such as a decagon and a decahedron.
2. What is the Purpose of Different Geometrical Shapes?
Some of the Math figures with geometric shapes are interchangeable. This is to say that a serving tray might not always be a rectangle, as there are certainly circular trays, oval trays and even pentagon trays and other types possible. The list of math geometrical shapes you will find here is also not exhaustive either, as there are many other 2D and 3D geometric shapes.
The purpose of having examples of geometric shapes names and geometric shapes is so that you can understand how these simple geometric shapes are significant in daily life. This way, you can convey clear information regarding practical applications of geometric figures to anyone you're educating.
3. What are the types of Triangles?
Triangle is a plane closed figure with three sides and three angles. There are 6 types of triangles as follows:
equilateral triangle
scalene triangle
isosceles triangle
right-angled triangle
Obtuse angle triangle
acute angle triangle
An equilateral triangle is a triangle where all three sides are of equal length.
A scalene triangle is a triangle where all three sides have different lengths.
In the isosceles triangle, the length of any two sides is equal and different from the third side.
In a right angle triangle, one of the angles of the triangle is 90 degrees.
In an obtuse angle triangle, one of the angles is more than 90 degrees.
In an acute angle triangle, all the angles of the triangle are less than 90 degrees.
4. Is a circle a Polygon?
The circle is a two-dimensional closed plane figure in which all the points on the circle are equidistant from a single point called the centre. A circle is not a polygon. Polygon is a figure that is formed from line segments that are connected end to end. The circle is a curved shape and hence it can not form any line segments into it. A circle cannot satisfy the requirement of any figure to be a polygon. Hence circle cannot be determined as a polygon. However, a circle can be thought of as an infinite sided polygon.
5. What are the types of Polygons?
Polygon is a plane closed figure with at least three sides and three angles. And they typically have 5 or more sides and angles. There are different types of polygons depending upon the number of sides of the polygon, which are as follows:
Number of sides | Name of the polygon |
3 | Triangle |
4 | Quadrilateral |
5 | Pentagon |
6 | Hexagon |
7 | Septagon |
8 | Octagon |
9 | nonagon |
10 | decagon |
… and many more |