Special Quadrilaterals
Bookmark this page

A general quad lateral has four sides and the sum of its interior angles is 360; unless told otherwise, no sides are equal and no angles are equal. However there are several special cases.

SQUARE

In a square, all four sides are equal and all four angles are right angles. A square has four lines of symmetry.

RECTANGLE

In a rectangle, the opposite sides are equal and all four angles are right angles. A rectangle has two lines of symmetry.

PARALLELOGRAM

A parallelogram has opposite sides that are equal and parallel, and opposite angles that are equal. A parallelogram has no lines of symmetry but it does have rotational symmetry of order 2.

RHOMBUS

In a rhombus the opposite angles are equal, the opposite sides are parallel and all four sides are the same length. A rhombus has two lines of syuunetiy (the diagonals).

KITE

A kite has one pair of opposite angles equal and two pairs of adjacent sides equal. A kite has one line of symmetry. It has no rotational symmetry.

TRAPEZIUM

A trapezium has one pair of opposite sides parallel. Usually it has no line of symmetry.

However, in the special case when the two sloping sides are the same length there is oneline of symmetry. This is called an isosceles trapezium. Its non-parallel sides are e4ual andtwo pairs of adjacent angles are equal.

Other Notes in this Category

1. Angles
2. Areas and Volumes
3. Circle Theorems
4. Loci
5. Shapes
6. Special Quadrilaterals
7. Transformations
8. Vectors

Didn't find this useful?

• Visit Coursework.Info for over 14,000 GCSE, A-Level and University Essays