Types Of Polygon - Cuemath

Types of Polygon

A polygon is a two-dimensional closed figure which has at least three straight sides, three angles, and three vertices. The term 'Poly' means many and the term 'gon' refers to angle. For example, atriangle has three sides, three vertices, and three angles. So it can be termed as a polygon. There are many types of polygons. The classification of polygons is made on the basis of the number of angles, their sides, and also according to whether a polygon is regular or irregular. 

1.	What are the Different Types of Polygons?
2.	Types of Polygons Based on the Number of Their Sides
3.	Types of Polygons Based on Their Angles
4.	Types of Polygons Based on the Measurement of Sides and Angles
5.	Types of Polygons Based on the Boundary of Polygon
6.	Solved Examples on Types of Polygon
7.	Practice Questions on Types of Polygon
8.	FAQs on Types of Polygon

What are the Different Types of Polygons?

A polygon is a closed shape. There can be any number of sides and angles for a polygon. Some important terms associated with polygons are vertices, edges, and diagonals. The sides of a polygon are called edges, the point at which two edges of a polygon meet are called vertices, and a line segment joining two opposite vertices of a polygon is called a diagonal. Polygons can be classified based on the number of sides and the angles. The polygons are classified on the basis of:

• Number of sides
• Angles (Concave or Convex Polygons)
• Measurement of sides and angles (Regular or Irregular Polygons)
• The boundary of the polygons (Simple or Complex Polygons)

Let us look at the types of polygons. 

Types of Polygons Based on the Number of Their Sides

A polygon has a minimum of 3 sides and angles. The table shown below lists 10 polygons and their description based on their number of sides. A polygon that has more than 20 sides is referred to as 'n-gons'. There is no specific name for a polygon that has more than 20 sides. It is generally called 'A polygon with n sides.

There are polygons that have more than 15 sides also. Polygons that have more than 20 sides are called n-gons. 

Types of Polygons Based on Their Angles

A polygon can also be classified based on the angles formed by the adjacent sides of a polygon. The measure of the angle may be less than 180° or more than 180°. Based on this, the polygons are classified as convex polygons and concave polygons. The interior angles of an 'n' sided polygon are given by the formula ((n-2)180°)/n.

Convex polygons

These polygons have the measure of their interior angles to be always less than 180°. A regular hexagon, which has 6 sides can be termed a convex polygon. Also, the vertices of the convex polygon are protruding or pointing outwards.

Concave polygons

They are the opposite of convex polygons, in which at least one of the interior angles measure more than 180°. Also, in a concave polygon, the vertices can be pointing both inwards and outwards. 

The figure given below shows a convex and a concave polygon.

Types of Polygons Based on the Measurement of Sides and Angles

A polygon need not necessarily always have the same measurement of sides and angles. Thus, polygons can be differentiated on the basis of the measurement of sides and angles. They are classified as:

Regular Polygon

A polygon that has all equal sides and angles is called a regular polygon. In other words, regular polygons are equilateral and equiangular. For example, a square has all of its four sides to be equal and all of its angles are equal to 90°, so a square is an example of a regular polygon.

Irregular Polygon

An irregular polygon is a figure that has unequal sides and unequal angles. For example, a rectangle has all of its angles equal to 90° but all four sides are not equal. So it can be termed as an irregular polygon. 

Types of Polygons Based on the Boundary of Polygon

A polygon may or may not intersect on the boundary. Thus, the types of polygons on the basis of the boundary of the polygon are given as:

Simple Polygons

A simple polygon is a polygon that does not intersect itself. A simple polygon consists of one boundary.

Complex Polygons

A polygon that intersects itself and has more than one boundary is called a complex polygon.

Topics Related to Types of Polygons

Check out some interesting articles related to types of polygons.

• Interior Angles of a Polygon Calculator
• Triangle
• Quadrilateral
• Pentagon Shape
• Hexagon
• Polygons Worksheets