Lesson plan
Polygon
In geometry, a polygon ( ) is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its edges or sides. The points where two edges meet are the polygon's vertices or corners. An -gon is a polygon with sides; for example, a triangle is a 3-gon. A simple polygon is one which does not intersect itself. More precisely, the only allowed intersections among the line segments that make up the polygon are the shared endpoints of consecutive segments in the polygonal chain. A simple polygon is the boundary of a region of the plane that is called a solid polygon. The interior of a solid polygon is its body, also known as a polygonal region or polygonal area. In contexts where one is concerned only with simple and solid polygons, a polygon may refer only to a simple polygon or to a solid polygon. A polygonal chain may cross over itself, creating star polygons and other self-intersecting polygons. Some sources also consider closed polygonal chains in Euclidean space to be a type of polygon (a skew polygon), even when the chain does not lie in a single plane. A polygon is a 2-dimensional example of the more general polytope in any number of dimensions. There are many more generalizations of polygons defined for different purposes.
Article summary
In geometry, a polygon ( ) is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its edges or sides. The points where two edges meet are the polygon's vertices or corners. An -gon is a polygon with sides; for example, a triangle is a 3-gon. A simple polygon is one which does not intersect itself. More precisely, the only allowed intersections among the line segments that make up the polygon are the shared endpoints of consecutive segments in the polygonal chain. A simple polygon is the boundary of a region of the plane that is called a solid polygon. The interior of a solid polygon is its body, also known as a polygonal region or polygonal area. In contexts where one is concerned only with simple and solid polygons, a polygon may refer only to a simple polygon or to a solid polygon. A polygonal chain may cross over itself, creating star polygons and other self-intersecting polygons. Some sources also consider closed polygonal chains in Euclidean space to be a type of polygon (a skew polygon), even when the chain does not lie in a single plane. A polygon is a 2-dimensional example of the more general polytope in any number of dimensions. There are many more generalizations of polygons defined for different purposes.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.