Shapes with 4 sides

Watch: Shapes with four sides

Let's find out more about shapes with four sides.

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There are two sorts of lines that are used to make shapes.

These are curved lines.

These are straight lines.

A two-dimensional or 2D shape is made up of lines. Sometimes the lines are curved and sometimes the lines are straight.

The lines all join up to make shapes like these.

When the lines join to make a shape they are not called lines, they are called sides.

Some shapes are made from only straight sides.

Some shapes are made from only curved sides.

Some shapes have a mixture of curved and straight sides.

Here are three sides of a shape. If a fourth line is added, it makes a rectangle.

A rectangle has 4 sides. It has 2 short sides and 2 long sides.

A rectangle also has 4 vertices (corners). A vertex is where 2 lines meet or join together.

Here are a selection of different sizes of rectangles.

Some have been turned, some are long and thin, others are shorter and wider.

Another shape that has 4 sides and 4 vertices is a square.

The difference is that all of the sides of a square are the same length.

Squares come in all different sizes too.