shapes

Everything we see around us in the world we say has its shape. The shapes appear in the object and nature we see around us, as the sun, the mountains, clouds, windows, desk, photo frames, houses, books, rings, boxes, balls…they are simply everywhere.  I have my shape, you have your shape. Shapes can be very different from each other. To easier understand them, they are divided into some groups, depending on some common characteristics they have. In this lesson we are going to learn:

• What are shapes?
• What are the types of shapes?
• How do they look?
• How can we recognize them?

Shapes

A shape is a form of an object (something or someone), outline, contours, outer boundary, or surface. All the shapes are divided into two types of shapes, called geometric shapes and freeform shapes. Let's find out more about them. 

• Geometric shapes

Geometric shapes are very precise, and for describing them we use mathematical formulas. Each of them has a specific name. For example circle, square, triangle, oval, rectangle, octagon, and parallelogram. They have their own definition. In geometry, a shape is defined as the form of an object or a figure closed by a boundary that is created by combining a specific number of lines, curves, and points. 

• Freeform shapes

These shapes, we can say that they are irregular and uneven shapes. These shapes are also known as “organic” shapes. Organic shapes generally do not have a name associated with them. A freeform shape is unconventional in shape or design, especially in being asymmetric and irregular. Freeform shapes are used for drawing these images below. 

 

Now we will discuss a little bit more about the first group, the geometric shapes.

Geometric shapes 

Geometric shapes are also divided into two main groups. We can say that there are two basic types of geometric shapes: 

• Two-dimensional (2D). These shapes have two measurements - length and width.

• Three-dimensional (3D). 3D shapes are also known as forms because they are three-dimensional. Just like the shapes, they have length and width, but they have depth (height) too. 

2D shapes

To understand better, let us introduce parts of 2D shapes. Here is one geometric shape:

• side can be defined as the line segment that joins two vertices
• vertex is a point where two lines meet
• An angle is formed when two lines meet at a shared point

So, if we observe the above illustration, we can conclude that this form has 3 sides, 3 vertices, and 3 angles. This shape is called a triangle!

Let us learn about some other 2D shapes!

• Circle. A circle is a perfectly round shape. In a circle, there are no angles to be found. Do you know why? It is because there are no lines that are meeting in a shared point!
   
• A Square is a geometric shape with four equal sides (same length) and four right angles. Do you know what are right angles? Well, angles are measured in degrees. The full angle has 360 degrees. And, an angle that has exactly 90 degrees is called a right angle. Actually, when two lines meet like this, a right angle is formed.  
  
  
• The rectangle is a geometric shape with four sides and four right angles. It is similar to a square. Opposite sides of a rectangle are the same length, with one pair being longer than the other pair. 
   
• Pentagon is a shape with five sides and five angles. 
   
• A hexagon is a shape with six sides and six angles. 
   
• An octagon is a shape with eight sides and eight angles. 

 

3D forms

To understand better, let us introduce parts of the 3D form. Here is one 3D geometric form:

• faces are the flat surfaces of the 3D shapes
• edges are the lines where two faces meet
• vertices are the places where two or more edges meet

So, if we observe the above illustration, we can conclude that this form has 6 faces, 8 vertices, and 12 edges. The faces of this form are squares. This 3D form is called a cube!

Let us learn about some other 3D forms!

• Cuboid. A cuboid is a 3D shape that has 6 faces, 12 edges, and 8 vertices. The faces of a cuboid are rectangles.
   
• Sphere. Spheres are the most basic three-dimensional objects that you will encounter. A sphere is defined much like a circle, except it is in 3 dimensions (length, width, height). 
   
• Cylinder. A cylinder is a 3D shape that contains two parallel bases connected by a curved surface. A cylinder is round and has a top and bottom in the shape of a circle. The top and bottom are flat and always the same size.
   
• Cone. A cone is a three-dimensional shape with a round base (in a form of a circle) that narrows until it becomes a point.
   
• Pyramid.  It has a base (in form of a triangle, square, pentagon, etc) and flat (triangular) sides, that join at a common point.  For example, if the pyramid is with a square base and four triangular sides it is called a square pyramid, if it is with a triangle base and three triangular faces it is called a triangular pyramid, etc. 

 

From what we learned above, we can do some activities. 

Activity 1

We will try to identify if some objects have a freeform shape/form or geometric shape/form.

Object	Freeform	Geometric

You can continue with identifying the shapes and forms of other objects, by adding them to a table like this one.  

*Try to name the geometric shapes of the objects from the above table. 

Activity 2

In this activity, we are going to practice geometric shapes. We are going to identify if the shape is 2D or 3D, and after that, we will try to guess the name of the shape, Let's try!

 

Shape	2D	3D	Name
			Cube
			Triangle
			Circle
			Cylinder
			Rectangle

It is your turn. Make your own table, draw other shapes, and fill the table!

Now we have learned a lot about shapes. We know:

• That everything around us has its shape, even you!
• How to make a difference between free-form and geometric shapes.
• How to make a difference between 2D and 3D shapes/forms.
• To identify the shape of the object around us.

 

A clue to activity 1: "Try to name the geometric shapes of the objects from the above table."

• object: ball - form: sphere
• object: box - form: cube
• object: birthday hat - form: cone