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The world around us is full of shapes! From the round wheels on your bike to the triangular slices of pizza you had for lunch, shapes are all around us. But how well do you know these shapes? Let’s explore ten basic two-dimensional shapes, how many sides they have, and some examples of where we see them in everyday life.
10 Shapes we see in everyday life
1. Circle
A circle is a perfectly round shape with no corners and one continuously curved boundary. It has 0 sides! It is nature’s perfect loop, appearing everywhere from the colossal sun in the sky to the tiny buttons on your shirt. Its smooth, unbroken curve defines it, with every point the same distance from the centre. Look around! You’ll see circles in bicycle wheels, clocks, coins, and even the delicious centre of a donut.
2. Triangle
A triangle has three straight sides and three angles. The sum of the angles in a triangle will always equal 180 degrees. Encountered everywhere, triangles form the building blocks of countless objects. From the eye-catching yield signs guiding our commutes to the satisfyingly thick slices of a sandwich, triangles are there. Even the roofs sheltering us from the elements often take on a triangular form, providing a strong and stable structure.
3. Square
A square is a quadrilateral (four-sided shape) with all four sides equal in length and all four angles right angles (90 degrees). The square, a champion of stability and uniformity, is a common sight in our everyday lives. The tiny squares adorning a die, the colourful squares of a Rubik’s Cube waiting to be solved, and the smooth squares of floor tiles under our feet – all exemplify the functionality and order this shape brings to the world.
4. Rectangle
A rectangle is also a quadrilateral, but unlike a square, it doesn’t have all sides equal. Rectangles still have four right angles, though – all four corners meet at a crisp 90 degrees. Our homes are filled with rectangles – the doorways we pass through, the windows framing the outside world, and the tabletops where we gather – all owe their functionality and familiar form to the trusty rectangle.
5. Pentagon
A pentagon is a five-sided shape with five straight sides and five angles. It takes its name from the Greek words “penta” (five) and “gon” (corner). Unlike triangles and squares, pentagons aren’t as common in everyday objects, but they hold a special place nonetheless.
A football/soccer ball has 12 black pentagons on it. The iconic stop sign, with its bold red form catching our attention at intersections, is a classic pentagon. Even more impressively, the United States Department of Defense calls a pentagon home – the Pentagon building itself is a five-sided structure, showcasing the shape’s potential for both function and symbolism.
6. Hexagon
A hexagon has six straight sides and six angles. Look closely at a honeycomb – the waxy structure bees create to store honey – and you’ll see a perfect arrangement of hexagons. Even the delicate snowflakes falling from the sky often exhibit a hexagonal structure, a testament to the elegance of this shape in nature. And if you take a closer look at your next peanut or the head of a bolt, you might be surprised to find a tiny hexagon hiding there!
7. Heptagon
A heptagon is a seven-sided shape with seven straight sides and seven angles. It takes a slightly less frequent bow on the stage of everyday objects. But keep your eyes peeled! The humble pencil, with its ergonomic design for comfortable writing, often boasts a heptagonal barrel. And some less common stop signs, designed to stand out from the crowd, might surprise you with their seven-sided form. Also, some pill organisers have a heptagon shape to remind users to take a pill each day of the week.
8. Octagon
An octagon has eight straight sides and eight angles. While stop signs seem to be the shape shifters of the traffic world, appearing in everything from pentagons to heptagons, some also sport a classic octagonal form. Baseball diamonds, with their base paths creating a perfect octagon, are a prime example. And for the thrill-seekers out there, some trampolines have embraced the octagon shape, offering a unique bouncing experience.
9. Nonagon
This less common shape, a nonagon, has nine straight sides and nine angles. While not as common in man-made objects, nature provides some fascinating examples. Take a slice of kiwi – the fuzzy brown exterior often resembles a nonagon, with its nine slightly rounded sides. Some starfruit varieties, known for their unique star-like shape, can also exhibit a nonagonal form when sliced.
10. Decagon
Rounding out our list, a decagon has ten straight sides and ten angles. Traffic signs, those undeniable shape-shifting champions, can appear in decagonal glory too! Gazebos, those elegant garden structures with open sides and often a domed roof, can sometimes be decagonal, creating a spacious and airy feel. Even in your next handful of nuts, you might find a decagon hiding in plain sight – some chestnuts, with their slightly flattened, rounded form, can exhibit ten sides.
Conclusion
From the ever-present circle to the intriguing nonagon, this exploration has shown us that our world is brimming with geometric shapes. These shapes aren’t just abstract concepts – they form the building blocks of countless objects we encounter every day. From the stability of squares in our homes to the efficiency of hexagons in nature, each shape offers unique properties and a surprising presence in our lives. So next time you look around, take a moment to appreciate the shapes that surround you. You might just discover a pentagon hiding in a stop sign, or a decagon disguised as a humble nut. The world of geometry is truly all around us, waiting to be explored!
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