(Plane and Solid Mensuration)

Hand-out No. 2

POLYGONS

Definition. 1. Simple and Complex Polygons. A simple polygon has

A polygon is a two-dimensional closed figure only one boundary and the sides do not cross each other,
bounded by straight line segments. otherwise it is a complex polygon.
The term “polygon” is a combination of two Greek
words “poly” which means “many” and “gonia” which means
“angle”.

Parts of a Polygon
2. Concave and Convex Polygons. A convex polygon has no
1. Side or edge is one of the line segments that make up the
internal angle more than 180° and if there are any
polygon.
internal angles greater than a straight angle, then it is a
2. Vertex is a point where the sides meet.
concave polygon.
3. Diagonal is a line connecting two non-adjacent vertices.
4. Interior angle is the angle formed by two adjacent sides
inside the polygon.
5. Exterior angle is the angle formed by two adjacent sides
outside the polygon.
6. Apothem (of a regular polygon) is the segment connecting
the center of a polygon and the midpoint of a side. The 3. Regular and Irregular Polygons. Regular polygon is one
apothem is a perpendicular bisector of the opposite side. whose sides are all equal and whose interior angles are all
7. Central angle (of a regular polygon) is the angle congruent. Thus, a regular polygon is both equilateral and
subtended by a side about the center. equiangular. If, otherwise, the polygon is said to be
irregular.

Names of Polygons
Polygons are named according to their number of
sides. A polygon with n sides is called an n-gon.
Three Major Characteristics of a Polygon
1. It must be a two-dimensional figure. N (sides) Polygon N (sides) Polygon
2. A polygon must be a closed figure. 3 Triangle, trigon 18 octadecagon
3. It should be bounded by three or more straight lines.
Quadrilateral,
4 19 enneadecagon
tetragon
5 pentagon 20 icosagon
6 hexagon 30 triacontagon
7 heptagon 40 tetracontagon
8 octagon 50 pentacontagon
Nonagon,
9 60 hexacontagon
enneagon
10 decagon 70 heptacontagon
Polygons are said to be similar if their corresponding Undecagon,
11 80 octacontagon
interior angles are equal and their corresponding sides are hendecagon
proportional. They are of the same shape but not necessarily 12 dodecagon 90 enneacontagon
of the same size. 13 tridecagon 100 hectagon
14 tetradecagon 1,000 chiliagon
The following relations between two polygons are 15 pentadecagon 10,000 myriagon
obtained using the concept of ratio and proportion: 16 hexadecagon 106 Megagon
 The ratio of any two corresponding sides of similar 17 heptadecagon 10100 googolgon
polygons are equal.
𝑥1 𝑦1
=
𝑥2 𝑦2 Formulas in Polygons
 The ratio of the areas of similar polygons is the  Perimeter. Perimeter is the length around the
square of the ratio of any two corresponding sides. boundary of a closed-two-dimensional region.
𝐴1 𝑥1 2 The perimeter 𝑃 of a regular polygon is
=( ) 𝑃 = 𝑠𝑛
𝐴2 𝑥2
 The ratio of the perimeters of similar polygons is where 𝑛 is the number of sides and 𝑠 is the measure
equal to the ratio of any corresponding sides. of one side.
𝑃1 𝑥1
=  Area. Area is the amount of material that would be
𝑃2 𝑥2
needed to cover a surface completely.
Types of Polygons
 𝑠 3. If two corresponding sides of two similar polygons
𝐴 = ( ) 𝑛𝑎
2 are 8 and 16, find the ratio of their areas and
The area A of a regular polygon with an perimeters.
apothem a is given by 4. The areas of two similar polygons are 64 sq units and
1 100 sq units, respectively. If a side of the larger
𝐴 = 𝑃𝑎
2 polygon is 36 units, find the corresponding side of the
𝑠2𝑛 180° smaller polygon.
𝐴= cot ( )
4 𝑛 5. The number of diagonals of a regular polygon is 65.
A regular polygon can be subdivided into Find the perimeter of the polygon if its apothem
congruent isosceles triangles whose common vertex measures 8 inches.
lies at the center of the polygon. Thus, the area of a
regular polygon is equal to the product of the area of
one triangle and the number of sides of the polygon.

 Number of Diagonals in a Polygon

𝑛
𝑑 = (𝑛 − 3)
2

 Number of Triangles Formed by Diagonals drawn

through the same Vertex
𝑡 =𝑛−2

 Central Angle in a Regular Polygon

360°
𝜃𝑐 =
𝑛

 Each Interior Angle of a Regular Polygon

𝑛−2
𝜃𝐼 = ( ) 180°
𝑛

 Sum of Interior Angles

𝐼𝑆 = (𝑛 − 2)180°

EXAMPLES
1. The sum of the interior angles of a regular polygon is
540°. Determine the following:
a. number of sides
b. number of diagonals
c. number of triangles inside the polygon
d. central angle
e. interior angle
f. perimeter of the polygon if side is 5 cm
g. area of the polygon in f
h. apothem of the polygon in f.
2. The sum of the sides of two polygons is 11 and the
sum of its diagonals is 14. Find the number of sides of
each polygon.
3. Determine the perimeter of a regular polygon whose
one side measures 7.5 cm and each central angle is
18°.

ASSIGNMENT NO. 2
1. Find the area of a regular octagon with one edge that
measures 2 units.
2. A regular polygon has 170 diagonals and 2.4 cm side
length. What is its area?