Shape Sorter
Drag each shape into the correct bin according to their types and symmetries.
Area and Perimeter of a Rectangle
Questions on the areas and perimeters of rectangles which will test your problem solving abilities.
Area Builder
An interactive workspace in which to make shapes using square tiles with given areas and perimeters.
Area of a Triangle
Calculate the areas of the given triangles in this self marking quiz.
Area and Perimeter of a Parallelogram
Many different ways to practise your skills finding the areas and perimeters of parallelograms.
Tangram Table
Use the pieces of the tangram puzzle to make the basic shapes then complete the table showing which shapes are possible.
Area and Perimeter of a Kite
A short exercise to practise using the formulae for area and perimeter of a kite.
Polygon People
Name the polygons and other geometrical shapes that make up the Polygon People.
Online Curve Stitching
Create curves with straight lines using this online alternative to needle and thread.
Area of a Trapezium
Check that you can find the area of a trapezium and use the trapezium area formula for problem solving.
Area and Perimeter
Show that you know the area and perimeter formulas of basic shapes.
Angles in a Triangle
A self marking exercise involving calculating the unknown angle in a triangle.
Area Maze
Use your knowledge of rectangle areas to calculate the missing measurement of these composite diagrams.
Polygons
Name the polygons and show the number of lines and order of rotational symmetry.
Angle Parallels
Understand and use the relationship between parallel lines and alternate and corresponding angles.
How Many Squares? 2
How many different sets of four dots can be joined to form a square?
Without Lifting The Pencil
Can you draw these diagrams without lifting your pencil from the paper? This is an interactive version of the traditional puzzle.
How Many Triangles?
A self marking step by step approach to calculating the number of triangles in a design.
Quad Areas
Calculate the areas of all the possible quadrilaterals that can be constructed by joining together dots on this grid.
Online Logo
An online version of the Logo programming language with 30 mathematical challenges.
Shapes In The Stars
Join up the stars to find the hidden regular polygons.
Fractal Mosaic
Follow the precise instructions to create the ever-growing fractal mosaic pattern.
Circles
Practise using pi to calculate various circle measurements. There are six levels of difficulty.
Polygon Angles
A mixture of problems related to calculating the interior and exterior angles of polygons.
Xmas Ornaments
A hands on activity requiring students to arrange Christmas ornaments in a square box.
Optical Illusions
Don't let your brain be fooled by these geometric optical illusions in this online quiz.
Polygon Pieces
Arrange the nine pieces of the puzzle on the grid to make different polygons.
Polybragging
The Transum version of the Top Trumps game played online with the properties of polygons.
Areas of Composite Shapes
Find the areas of combined (composite) shapes made up of one or more simple polygons and circles.
Tantrum
A game, a puzzle and a challenge involving counters being placed at the corners of a square on a grid.
Sheep Herding
Arrange the sheep in the field according to the instructions. An introduction to loci.
Polygon Properties
Connect the names of the polygons with the descriptions of their properties.
Formulae Pairs
Find the matching pairs of diagrams and formulae for basic geometrical shapes.
The Great Dodecahedron
Pupils are not allowed to use their hands to point but must describe fully any shapes they can see in this picture.
Mathterpieces
Memorise eight pictures made up of geometrical shapes then sort them into order.
Congruent Triangles
Test your understanding of the criteria for congruence of triangles with this self-marking quiz.
Congruent Pairs
Match the congruent shapes, those with the same shape and size.
Faces, Edges and Vertices
Calculate the number of faces, edges and vertices on 3D Shapes.
Similar Shapes
Questions about the scale factors of lengths, areas and volumes of similar shapes.
Geometry Toolbox
Create your own dynamic geometrical diagrams using this truly amazing tool from GeoGebra.
Congruent Parts
Use the colours to dissect the outlines into congruent parts.
Similar Parts
Use the colours to dissect the outlines into similar parts.
Yes No Questions
A game to determine the mathematical item by asking questions that can only be answered yes or no.
Area Builder
An interactive workspace in which to make shapes using square tiles with given areas and perimeters.
How Many Sides?
How many different polygons can you make on a 3 by 3 pin board? What about larger pin boards?
Tridots
Find all the triangles that can be drawn by joining dots on a 3 by 3 grid of dots.
Polygon Areas
Investigate which polygons have an area of 4 square units on this interactive dotty grid.
Area shapes
Investigate polygons with an area of 4 square units. This is your starting point, you can decide how to proceed.
Tetrominoes Investigation
A tetromino is a shape made of four squares joined edge to edge. How many different tetrominoes are there?
Pin Board
Rows and columns of dots that can be joined using straight lines to create shapes.
Tessellations
Drag the shapes onto the canvas to create tessellating patterns then try the tessellations quiz.
How Many Rectangles?
Investigate the number of rectangles on a grid of squares. What strategies will be useful in coming up with the answer?
Tantrum
A game, a puzzle and a challenge involving counters being placed at the corners of a square on a grid.
Rectangle Perimeters
The perimeter of a rectangle is 28cm. What could its area be?
Rod Triangles
Using 12 rods of varying lengths how many different triangles can you make?
Hula Hoops
If a number of Hula Hoops are dropped on the floor, what is the maximum number of regions they might form?
Polygon Hunting
Find all the polygons that can be drawn by joining dots on this seven dot grid.
This is the main Transum help video on Shape.
Area And Perimeter Video
Calculate and solve problems involving perimeter and area of rectangles, triangles, parallelograms, trapezia, kites and composite shapes.
Parallelogram
Instructional video showing how the area of a parallelogram can be determined.
Different types of Triangle
Euclid and his friends explain how many different kinds of triangle there are.
Construct a congruent triangle
Construction (with compass and straight edge) of a triangle congruent to a given triangle.
Circle Song
This song helps students remember circle terminology (radius & diameter) and the formulas for area and circumference.
Polygon Angles Video
A concise reminder about angles, both interior and exterior, in regular and irregular polygons.
Naming Polygons
An exploration of the terminology, etymology and structure of naming polygons
Folded Pentagon
Did you know that you can fold an A4 sheet of paper into a regular pentagon? This short video shows how it is done.
The 50 Cent Riddle
A 50 cent coin has 12 equal sides. If you place two coins next to each other on a table, what is the angle formed between the two coins?
Kite Maths
Can you make a kite shape from a single A4 size sheet of paper using only three folds?
Tangram Challenge
A series of tangram challenges in increasing order of difficulty. This page is designed to be projected onto a screen for a whole class to see.
Polygons
Name the polygons and show the number of lines and order of rotational symmetry.
Polygon Angles Animation
Barbara Bug walks around a regular hexagon turning through each of the exterior angles as she goes.
Pin Board
Rows and columns of dots that can be joined using straight lines to create shapes.
Optical Illusions
Don't let your brain be fooled by these geometric optical illusions in this online quiz.
The Great Dodecahedron
Pupils are not allowed to use their hands to point but must describe fully any shapes they can see in this picture.
Geometry Toolbox
Create your own dynamic geometrical diagrams using this truly amazing tool from GeoGebra.
Area Two
How many different shapes with an area of 2 square units can you make by joining dots on this grid with straight lines?
Christmas Tables
Which of the two shapes has the largest area? You will be surprised!
Goat Grazing
Find the loci of the goat's position as it eats the grass while tethered to the rope.
Hexagon
On a full page in the back of your exercise book draw a perfectly regular hexagon.
How Many Rectangles?
How many rectangles can you find in this pattern? Can you come up with a systematic method for counting them all?
How Many Squares? 1
Work out how many squares are there altogether in the given pattern then tackle the chess board.
How Many Squares? 2
How many squares can be found by joining four dots on the grid?
How Many Triangles? 1
How many Triangles can you find in the diagram?
How Many Triangles? 2
How many triangles are hidden in the pattern? What strategy might you use to count them all to ensure you don't miss any out?
How Many Triangles? 3
Find a systematic way of counting the number of triangles in the given diagram.
Mathterpiece
Memorise a picture made up of geometrical shapes
Missing Square Puzzle
The missing square puzzle is an optical illusion used to help students reason about geometrical figures.
Oblongs
Find the dimensions of a rectangle given the perimeter and area.
Overlapping Squares
If two squares overlap, what shapes can the overlapping region make?
Pentagon
On a full page in the back of your exercise book draw a perfectly regular pentagon.
Polygon Riddle 1
Solve the riddle to find the name of the polygon then sum the interior angles.
Polygon Riddle 2
A "My first is in..." type riddle leading to a polygon interior angle calculation.
Polygon Riddle 3
A 'My first is in...' riddle that describes a geometrical shape. Can you construct it?
Quad Areas
Calculate the areas of all the possible quadrilaterals that can be constructed by joining together dots on this grid.
Rows of Roses
Can you draw 4 straight lines, without taking your pencil off the paper, which pass through all 9 roses?
Square Angles
Find a trapezium, a triangle and a quadrilateral where all of the angles are square numbers.
Square Circle Kite
Write down the names of all the mathematical shapes you know.
Squared Animals
Separate three rows of three animals using three squares.
Two Squares
Using six pencils can you make two equal sized squares?
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Teachers might find the complete Shape Topic List useful.
This topic is aimed at the learners of basic geometry, which is the study of size, shape and position. More than other areas of mathematics this topic helps pupils to learn about the definitions and properties of basic shapes.
There are many activities provided ranging from simple shape naming games to applying more advanced formulas and theorems. The most popular activities however are those involving pupils to count the number of triangles or rectangles in patterns and come up with effective strategies and justifications for their answers.
The work pupils produce for this topic can make very good display material. The use of colour can enhance the diagrams and make the learning environment more conducive to study. There are many connections between the mathematics of shape and Art. There are fascinating works of art based on symmetry, tessellations and transformations.
