An Eye for Geometry Trivia Quiz

Answer: 2-D Quadrilaterals

A rhomboid is a quadrilateral with two sets of parallel sides but no right angles. A rhombus is a variety of rhomboid, but all sides are equal in length as well. A rhomboid does not necessarily have to have equal sides (all rhombuses are rhomboids, not all rhomboids are rhombuses).

The rhomboid muscles are in the upper back, between the spine and the shoulder blades. They do resemble the shape of the rhomboid, giving them the name.

Answer: 2-D Quadrilaterals

A trapezoid (American English) is a quadrilateral with at least one set of parallel sides. It can be defined exclusively, meaning that ONLY one set of parallel sides must exist for it to be considered a trapezoid, excluding all other quadrilaterals under the definition. The trapezoid is known as a trapezium in British English.

The trapezoid bone is the smallest distal bone found in the hand. Because of it's small size and relative protection within the hand, it is rarely fractured.

Answer: 2-D Quadrilaterals

The trapezium (British English) is a quadrilateral with at least one set of parallel sides. This definition can be used inclusively, meaning that "at least one" set means there can also be two. Under this definition, the trapezium can include other quadrilaterals containing parallel sides. The rhombus, rhomboid, square, and rectangle, therefore, are all examples of a trapezium. The trapezium is known as the trapezoid in American English.

Unlike in math, however, the trapezium bone is NOT the same as the trapezoid bone, and is situated on the outside of the palm, below the bones that begin the thumb.

Answer: 3-D Shapes

A cuboid is a three-dimensional hexahedron (it has six faces) that are quadrilateral. The cuboid is basically a three-dimensional inclusive trapezoid; this means that other three-dimensional shapes that are not "square" also fit this category. A cube, with sides all equaling the same length, is a cuboid, then, but not every cuboid is a cube.

Unlike the two dimensional named bones in the hand, the cuboid bone is a tarsal bone, one of seven found in the foot.

Answer: 3-D Shapes

A cone, as you may be familiar with as an ice cream receptacle, is a circular two-dimensional figure that then tapers upwards into a singular point, creating a three-dimensional shape. Cones do not have to be perfectly aligned with the apex centered above the circle. They can be oblique, with the apex anywhere above the circle, or they can be elliptical, where the "circular" base is not a perfect circle.

The cone is also a cell that helps us see. The photoreceptor cell is active during periods of brighter light, such as in the daytime (the rod cell is the opposite, and helps us see in dim light).

Answer: 3-D Shapes

The helix is a corkscrew-esque shape, considered a "three-dimensional curve". Imagine wrapping a ribbon around an ice cream cone, and you have made a helix. DNA is also a well-known double helix; that is, two helices working in tandem around a cylindrical space.

The helix on the body is the rim of the auricle, or the visible outside part of the ear.

Answer: 1-D Lines

The radius, in math, is the line drawn from the outside of a circle to the center of the circle. It is half of the diameter, being that the diameter is the distance from one side of the circle to the other, whilst passing through the center. While the circle itself is a two-dimensional figure, the radius itself, being a line segment, is one-dimensional.

The radius is a bone in the forearm; one of two alongside the ulna.

Answer: 1-D Lines

An axis is a singular one-dimensional line that plays a roll in all dimensions of shapes. A common axis in math is one found on a graph. Imagine plotting points on a graph, there are two axes, the x-axis and the y-axis. These are lines that help represent where certain points may fall on the graph. A graph is not tied to the second dimension, of course; add a z-axis to make a cuboid space to graph points across three axes!

When discussing a spine, we typically refer to the axis as the C2. This is the vertebra just below the atlas, the first (C1) of seven, and the one on which the head sits.

Answer: 1-D Lines

The vertex is a point where two lines meet to create an angle. A line consists of two points that define the length of the line, and the vertex joins the line with another. For this reason, a vertex is often referred to as a corner, especially when defining two- or three-dimensional vertices. However, because the vertex is really only a singular point, it is technically a zero-dimensional figure; that is, you cannot see it from any direction on a plane (unlike a line that can be seen from one direction, or a square that can be seen from two, etc.). However, as a part of a line or a ray, it does, in that regard, become one-dimensional. Isn't math fun (did I say confusing)?

Vertex has a very different meaning on the body. The very top of your head is called a vertex. In essence, the point where the outline of your body meets, to make it geometrical once more, is the vertex. Young growers take note - you will always get the highest pen mark on the door measuring your height at the vertex!

Answer: Units of Length

A rod is a unit of length, traditionally used in surveying. The length is defined as a quarter of a surveyor's chain; this equates to 16 1/2 feet, 1/320 of a mile, or 5 1/2 yards (or very specifically 5.0292 meters). When surveying, a perfect acre measures 40 rods by 4 rods, a total of 160 square rods. You'd be hard pressed trying to draw a geometric figure using the rod as the length of the sides. It was internationally agreed upon in 1959 to phase out the rod in favor of the yard. Though the rod is still used in some applications (and used in surveying into the 21st century), it really has no practical applications today.

The rod is also a cell in the eye, much more useful to us than a surveyor's length. The photoreceptor cell helps us see at night, as it reacts to dim light. The rod's opposite, the cone cell, allows us to see with brighter light during the day.

Answer: Units of Length

A hand is a unit of length equal to exactly four inches. It originally was named after the standard length of a clenched fist, or the breadth of a male hand (which, of course, varies from the four inches before it was standardized). The measurement is not a standard SI unit of measurement, and the international inch (adopted in 1959) is used in far more applications. The hand is still used today, though you'll be once again hard-pressed to use it to create any sort of geometric shape; it is most commonly used nowadays to measure the height of a horse. Try drawing a triangle using horse heights, I dare you!

As you may be aware, the hand is found at the end of our upper body appendages, found just past the forearm. It is attached with a wrist joint, and can do many things. One thing it may not be able to do, however, is draw an equilateral triangle with Secretariat-sized sides on it.

Answer: Units of Length

A foot is a unit of length equal to twelve inches, or 0.3048 meters (as decided by an international agreement in 1959). With that, we finally have a unit of length you may actually draw a geometrical shape based on. Feet are widely used in this aspect, and, depending on the dimensions, can be squared or cubed to fill a shape.

Looking below you, to the very end of your body, you'll see two feet at the bottom of your legs. Please do not use these to measure your twelve inch square. While some people's feet might be exactly one foot long, it really is not the standard way of measuring your geometric shapes.