Mathematical Shapes Trivia Quiz

Answer: 2-D

A circle is one of the simplest plane shapes. It is a curve which is always the same distance from a central point.

In everyday life, circles are probably most commonly seen as wheels on cars or other vehicles.

Answer: 2-D

Unless they are parallel to each other, two straight lines will always meet at a point. If a third straight line, which is not parallel to either of the first two, is drawn the three lines will intersect at three points, and the space between them, bounded by the three lines, is a triangle.

Many traffic signs are triangular. In the United Kingdom the shape is used for warning signs, such as the shape of a road junction ahead, or the fact there will be a low bridge. Many motorists in Europe also carry a red warning triangle in their car, which can be placed behind it if they break down, and want to warn other motorists about their vehicle being stationary.

Answer: 2-D

A flat shape with four straight edges is a quadrilateral. If the sides all meet with right angles, it is a rectangle, and if those sides are also all the same length it is a square.

Squares and rectangles are often used as the shape of paving slabs, since it is very easy to lay them side by side to fill a space. Rectangles (or squares) are usually the shapes for used for pages in a book, greetings cards and most of the world's flags.

Answer: 2-D

A hexagon is a plane shape with six edges. A regular hexagon has all the edges, and the internal angles, the same as each other. If six equilateral triangles are laid together with one point of each meeting in the middle, the resultant shape is a regular hexagon.

The honeycomb found in a beehive is made from a series of regular hexagons.

Answer: 2-D

A heptagon, sometimes called a septagon, is a seven sided shape.

Some countries have coins which are based on regular heptagons. These include Barbados which has a heptagonal $1 coin, and the United Kingdom which uses the shape for its 20p and 50p coins. In both countries the edges are slightly curved to allow the coins to roll through vending machines.

Answer: 3-D

A tetrahedron is the simplest of the five regular platonic solids. It has four faces, each of which is an equilateral triangle. All the platonic solids are regular shapes and can be used as dice in different games.

The tetrahedron can be described as a triangular based pyramid. The pyramids seen in Egypt and Central and South America usually have four triangular sides rising from a square base.

Answer: 3-D

An octahedron has eight faces which are equilateral triangles. It is another platonic solid shape. It could be formed by sticking the squares of two square based pyramids together.

The octahedron is used as a die in many different games. 'Jumanji' is a game which involves escaping from wild animals in the jungle. 'Battleball' is based on American football. 'Take Off!' uses two of them with a mixture of colours, jet symbols, and 'take off', and is designed to teach geography as players travel round the world in their jets.

Answer: 3-D

An icosahedron is the most complicated shape which can be made with equilateral triangles as faces. It has twenty of them. It is another of the platonic solids.

Apart from being used in 'Dungeons and Dragons', an icosahedron is the shape used in the game 'Scattergories'. The game involves thinking of things in different categories which begin with the same letter, and the die is used to select which letter; it excludes Q, U, V, X, Y, and Z.

Answer: 3-D

A cube is a solid shape with six square faces. It is another of the platonic solid shapes.

The shape is the most common one to be used as a die in many different board games. Usually the faces have the numbers from 1 to 6 on them, but sometimes other designations appear. When the numbers are used, it is usual for the numbers on the opposite faces to add up to seven; so if the die lands showing '6' on the top, the hidden face at the bottom will have '1' on it.

Answer: 3-D

A dodecahedron is a shape made with twelve regular pentagons as faces. It is the last of the five platonic solids.

The popular 'Dungeons and Dragons' uses all five of the platonic solids, as well as some other shapes. The tetrahedron is known as a D4, the cube is a D6, the octahedron a D8, the dodecahedron a D12, and the icosahedron is a D20. The other dice used are D10 and, occasionally a D100!