How_To_Be_Good_At_Math

GEOMETRY • TYPES OF 3D SHAPE 225

All the faces

are squares

Faces are

squares

Faces are

equilateral triangles

Faces are

equilateral triangles

Faces are

regular pentagons

The triangular

faces meet at

the highest

vertex, called

the apex

Cube

A cube is a special kind of cuboid.

It also has six faces, eight vertices, and

12 edges, but all its edges are the same

length and all its faces are square.

Square-based pyramid

A square-based pyramid sits on a

square face. The other faces are triangles.

It has five vertices and eight edges.

Tetrahedron

4 faces

4 vertices

6 edges

Cube

6 faces

8 vertices

12 edges

Octahedron

8 faces

6 vertices

12 edges

Dodecahedron

12 faces

20 vertices

30 edges

Icosahedron

20 faces

12 vertices

30 edges

Regular polyhedrons

A regular polyhedron is a 3D shape with faces that are

regular polygons of the same shape and size. In geometry,

there are only five regular polyhedrons. They are called the

Platonic solids, after the Ancient Greek mathematician Plato.

Faces are

equilateral triangles

Most 3D shapes are made

of faces, edges, and vertices,

except the sphere – it has

no edges or vertices.

224_225_3D_Types_of_3D_shapes.indd 225 29/02/2016 18:05