Math: GEOMETRY Vocab

geometry

the branch of math that deals with measurement, properties, and relationships of points, lines, angles, planes and two and three dimensional figures

point

an exact location in space; a point has no length or width

line

an infinite set of points in opposite directions forming a straight path; it has only on dimension: length

line segment

the set of points on a line consisting of two fixed points and all of the points in between

parallel lines

lines in the same plane that never intersect no matter how far they extend; they are always the same distance away from each other

intersecting lines

two lines that share exactly one point

ray

part of a line that has one end point and extends infinitely in the other direction

vertex

(1) the common endpoint of two sides of a polygon(2) the common endpoint of two rays that form an angle(3) the common endpoint where two or more edges of a three dimensional figure meet

side

a line segment joining two adjacent vertices of a polygon(the segment that connects two angles of a polygon)

angle

a geometric figure formed by two rays that have a common endpoint

right angle

an angle that is formed by two perpendicular lines; it measures exactly 90 degrees

perpendicular

line segments or rays that intersect to form right angles

acute angle

angle whose measure is greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees

obtuse angle

an angle whose measure is greater than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees

straight angle

an angle whose measure is exactly 180 degrees

polygon

a closed, plane figure formed by three or more line segments(the interior angles of a triangle equal 180 degrees)

triangle

a polygon with three sides and three angles

right triangle

a triangle with one right angle

equilateral

having equal sides (An equilateral triangle has all sides equal)

acute triangle

a triangle in which all three angles are acute

isosceles triangle

a triangle with two sides that are equal

scalene triangle

a triangle with no sides equal

obtuse triangle

a triangle with one obtuse angle

quadrilateral

a polygon with 4 sides and 4 angles

parallelogram

a quadrilateral with two PAIRS of parallel sides

square

a rectangle with all 4 sides equal; it has four 90 degree angles

rectangle

a quadrilateral with 4 right angles(the interior angles of a rectangle equal 360 degrees)

trapezoid

a quadrilateral with exactly one pair or parallel sides

rhombus

a parallelogram with 4 equal sides (it does not have 90 degree angles)

pentagon

a polygon with five sides and five angles

hexagon

a polygon with six sides and six angles

heptagon

a polygon with seven sides and seven angles

octagon

a polygon with eight sides and eight angles

nonagon

a polygon with nine sides and nine angles

decagon

a polygon with ten sides and ten angles

corresponding sides

sides in the same relative position on two congruent or similar figures; (the corresponding sides of congruent figures are equal, and the corresponding sides of similar figures are proportional)

congruent

two or more shapes having exactly the same size and shape;(they form a perfect match when one is placed atop the other)

similar figures

figures that have the same shape, but are not necessarily the same size

corresponding angles

angles in the same relative position on two congruent or similar figures; the angles are equal

line of symmetry

a line that divides a figure into two equal halves that are mirror images of each other; a simple test to determine if a figure has a line of symmetry is to fold the figure along the imagined line of symmetry to see if the two sides match Some shapes have more than one line of symmetry!

symmetry

the property of having the same size and shape across a dividing line

formula

a mathematical statement, equation or rule that shows a relationship between two or more amounts

perimeter

the measure of the distance around the outside of a closed figure; P = (2 X L) + (2 X W) or P = s + s + s + s