Apothem

High school (ages 12+)
Mathematics & Numbers

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/apothem

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How big is Apothem?Area = (1/2) Perimeter Apothem, a fundamental formula for regular polygons
2. What is an apothem?An apothem is a line that starts at the center of a regular polygon and ends at the middle of one of its sides. It is always at a right angle to that side.
3. Why does the apothem only exist in regular polygons?Regular polygons have all sides and angles the same, so every apothem is the same length. In irregular polygons the sides and angles differ, so a single consistent apothem cannot be defined.

Regular Polygon: A polygon characterized by equal side lengths and equal interior angles.
Congruent: Identical in form; coinciding exactly when superimposed.
Radius (of a polygon): The line segment from the center of a regular polygon to one of its vertices.