As long as we are dealing with a shape characterized by straight lines, the perimeter calculation will be performed by adding together all of the side lengths. This is a simple arithmetic operation that does not require any special skills. For example:
The perimeter of a shape with sides of 5, 9, 4, 6 and 7, will be 31. All you need to do is simply add up all of the sides.
Why can such a question be challenging? Owing to the fact that in tests, they don't want to examine you on arithmetic operations like addition, but rather on your proficiency in the properties of specific shapes. Therefore, you need to know the properties of polygons as they are.
Calculate the perimeter of the following parallelogram:
Incorrect
Correct Answer:
36
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Geometry problems require you to answer various questions:
What is the perimeter of a shape.
Calculating the area of a shape.
Finding the length of a side and more...
How do we calculate the perimeter of polygons?
As long as we are dealing with a shape characterized by straight lines, the perimeter calculation will be performed by adding together all of the side lengths. This is a simple arithmetic operation that does not require any special skills. For example:
The perimeter of a shape with sides of 5, 9, 4, 6 and 7, will be 31. All you need to do is add up all the sides.
Why can such a question be challenging? Owing to the fact that in tests, they don't want to examine you on arithmetic operations like addition, but rather on your proficiency in the properties of specific shapes. Therefore, you need to know the properties of polygons as they are.
For example, you may encounter a question as seen below.
Given a parallelogram with sides of 5 and 6, determine the perimeter of the parallelogram.
In order to correctly answer this question, you need to know the properties of a parallelogram. We know that parallel sides in a parallelogram are equal, thus you can conclude that the length of the other sides are 5 and 8. Therefore, the perimeter of the parallelogram in this case will be 26 (5 + 8 + 5 + 8).
Question: Given an isosceles triangle with a perimeter of 48. Leg a = 12. Determine the value of the base? Answer: Given that this is an isosceles triangle, leg b is also equal to 12. Therefore, the base equals 24. (12+12 = 24)
Question: Given an isosceles triangle with a base of 26. The length of side a is 8. What is the perimeter of the triangle? Answer: Since the triangle is isosceles, side b is also equal to 8. Therefore, the perimeter is 8 + 8 + 26 = 42.
Question: Given an equilateral triangle with side a equal to 9. What is the perimeter of the triangle? Answer: Since the triangle is equilateral, all sides are equal. Therefore, the perimeter of the triangle is 27.
Question: Given a rectangle with adjacent sides of length 7 and 9. Determine the perimeter of the rectangle? Answer: Since in a rectangle opposite sides are equal, we can conclude that the other sides are equal to 7 and 9. Therefore, the perimeter of the rectangle is 32.