Polygon

A polygon is a geometric figure in two dimensions with three or more sides. The name comes from two Greek words, poly, meaning "many,"

and gon, meaning "angle." A polygon always has as many angles as it has sides. And in general, polygons are named to indicate the number of sides or angles they contain. Thus, a hexagon has six ( hexa- means "six") sides and six angles.

Terminology used in describing polygons

Parts and properties of polygons.

Side: Any one of the straight lines that make up the polygon.

Vertex: A point where any two of the sides of a polygon meet to form an angle.

Angle: A figure formed by the intersection of two sides.

Diagonal: A line that joins any two nonadjacent (not next to each other) vertices.

Perimeter: The sum of the length of all sides.

Area: The space enclosed within the polygon.

Types of polygons.

Equilateral: A polygon in which all sides are equal in length.

Equiangular: A polygon in which all angles are the same size.

Regular: A polygon that is both equilateral and equiangular.

Examples of polygons

The most common kinds of polygons include:

Parallelogram: A quadrilateral (four-sided figure) in which both pairs of sides are parallel and equal.

Rhombus: A parallelogram in which all four sides are equal.

Rectangle: A parallelogram in which all angles are right angles.

Square: A rectangle in which all four sides are equal.