A quadrilateral is any shape with four straight sides. Squares, rectangles, rhombuses, parallelograms and trapezoids are all quadrilaterals.
We tell them apart by their properties. A square has four equal sides and four right angles. A rectangle has four right angles. A rhombus has four equal sides. A trapezoid has exactly one pair of parallel sides. A square is also a rectangle and a rhombus, because it has all their properties.
Worked example
Which quadrilateral has four equal sides but no right angles?
- Four equal sides: a square or a rhombus.
- A square has right angles, so it is not a square.
Answer:a rhombus
Key words
- quadrilateral
- a shape with four straight sides
- parallel
- lines that never meet
- property
- a fact about a shape, like its number of sides
Practise this
New questions every time.
Common Core-referenced: 3.G.A.1