Shapes All Around Us

Shapes are everywhere — in windows, wheels, and road signs! Flat shapes are called 2D shapes. The straight edges of a shape are called sides, and the points where two sides meet are called corners (sometimes called vertices).

A triangle has 3 sides and 3 corners. A square has 4 equal sides and 4 corners. A circle is special: it has no straight sides and no corners — it is perfectly round.

Not every four-sided shape is a square. A rectangle has 4 corners and 4 sides, but only its opposite sides are equal — two long sides and two short sides. A square is a special rectangle where all 4 sides are exactly the same length.

Some shapes are not flat — they are solid 3D shapes you can hold. A ball is a sphere, a dice is a cube, and a party hat is a cone. A tin of beans is a cylinder, and a tissue box is a cuboid.

3D shapes have faces (the flat surfaces), edges (where two faces meet), and vertices (the pointy corners). A cube has 6 square faces, 12 edges, and 8 vertices. Try counting them on a dice!