A regular polygon is a polygon where all sides are congruent (have the same length), and all interior angles are congruent (have the same measure).

Some examples of regular polygons are shown below.

Some examples of polygons that are NOT regular are as follows:

  • The rectangle below is NOT regular since the sides are not all congruent.
  • The rhombus below is NOT regular since the interior angles are not all congruent.
  • A 30^\circ - 60^\circ - 90^\circ triangle is NOT regular since neither the sides nor the angles are all congruent.
FLAG

Which of the shapes below is a regular polygon?

EXPLANATION

A regular polygon is a polygon that has the following properties:

  • All sides have the same length (i.e., congruent).

  • All angles have the same measure (i.e., congruent).

With that in mind, let's look at each polygon in turn:

  • Polygon I is regular. Its sides and angles are all congruent.

  • Polygon II is regular. Its sides and angles are all congruent.

  • Polygon III is not regular. Its sides and angles are not all congruent.

Therefore the answer is "I and II only."

FLAG

Which of the shapes above is a regular polygon?

a
I only
b
I and II only
c
II and III only
d
III only
e
II only

Which of the shapes above is NOT a regular polygon?

a
II and III only
b
II only
c
III only
d
I and III only
e
I only

Consider the regular pentagon above. What is the measure of each interior angle?

Recall that the sum of the interior angles of a polygon with n sides equals 180^\circ \cdot (n-2).

All interior angles in a regular polygon are congruent. So, to calculate the measure of each interior angle, we find the sum of the interior angles and divide by the number of angles.

A pentagon has n=5 sides. Therefore, the sum of its interior angles is

180^\circ \times (5 - 2) = 540^\circ.

Therefore, the measure of each interior angle is \dfrac{540^\circ}{5} = 108^\circ,

as shown below.

FLAG

The hexagon ABCDEF is regular. Find the value of x.

EXPLANATION

A regular hexagon is a 6 -sided polygon where all the interior angles have the same measure.

The sum of the measures of its interior angles is

180^\circ \times (6 - 2) = 720^\circ.

Therefore, the measure of \angle BAF is

m\angle BAF = \dfrac{720^\circ}{6} = 120^\circ.

The angles \angle QAB, \angle BAF, and \angle FAP form a straight angle. Therefore, \begin{align*} m\angle QAB + m\angle BAF + m\angle FAP & = 180^\circ\\[5pt] x + m \angle BAF + x & = 180^\circ\\[5pt] 2x + 120^\circ & = 180^\circ\\[5pt] x & = 30^\circ. \end{align*}

FLAG

Determine the measure of each interior angle of a regular hexagon.

a
$108^\circ$
b
$144^\circ$
c
$135^\circ$
d
$140^\circ$
e
$120^\circ$

The octagon $ABCDEFGH$ is regular. Find the value of $y.$

a
$35.5^\circ$
b
$22.5^\circ$
c
$45.5^\circ$
d
$32.5^\circ$
e
$27.5^\circ$

Consider the regular hexagon above. What is the measure of each exterior angle?

Note the following:

  • The exterior angles in a regular polygon are all congruent.

  • The sum of the exterior angles of any convex polygon equals 360^\circ.

So, to find the measure of the exterior angles of a regular polygon, we divide 360^\circ by the number of sides.

Since a regular hexagon has n=6 sides, the measure of each exterior angle is \dfrac{360^\circ}{6} = 60^\circ,

as shown below.

FLAG

In a regular polygon, all the exterior angles have a measure of 20^\circ. How many sides does the polygon have?

EXPLANATION

The sum of the exterior angles of any polygon is 360^\circ.

For a regular polygon, all exterior angles have the same measure.

Therefore, the number of exterior angles is \dfrac{360^\circ}{20^\circ} = 18\,.

The number of sides, then, is also 18.

FLAG

What is the measure of each exterior angle of a regular hexagon?

a
$20^\circ $
b
$45^\circ $
c
$30^\circ $
d
$18^\circ $
e
$60^\circ $

In a regular polygon, all the exterior angles have a measure of $45^\circ.$ How many sides does the polygon have?

a
$9$
b
$8$
c
$6$
d
$10$
e
$7$

The diagram shows a regular octagon and a regular triangle. Find the measure of the shaded angle.

EXPLANATION

The shaded angle is the sum of the measures of exterior angles of a regular octagon and a regular triangle.

For any polygon, the exterior angles sum to 360^\circ. In a regular octagon, there are 8 equivalent exterior angles, so each has a measure of \dfrac{360^\circ}{8} = 45^\circ .

Likewise, in a regular triangle, there are 3 equivalent exterior angles, so each has a measure of \dfrac{360^\circ}{3} = 120^\circ .

Therefore, the given angle has the following measure:

45^\circ + 120^\circ = 165^\circ

FLAG

The diagram shows a regular octagon and a square. Find the measure of the shaded angle.

a
$120^\circ$
b
$105^\circ$
c
$75^\circ$
d
$145^\circ$
e
$135^\circ$

The diagram shows an equilateral triangle, a regular hexagon, and a regular octagon. Find the measure of the shaded angle.

a
$55^\circ$
b
$45^\circ$
c
$30^\circ$
d
$25^\circ$
e
$15^\circ$
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