How do we calculate the perimeter of polygons?

🏆Practice perimeter of a triangle

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 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.

Educational chart comparing perimeter formulas of polygons—triangle, rectangle, square, parallelogram, and rhombus—with labeled orange shapes and corresponding perimeter equations

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Test yourself on perimeter of a triangle!

Given the parallelogram:

444222AAABBBDDDCCC

Calculate the perimeter of the parallelogram.

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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.

Example: Calculating the perimeter of a parallelogram

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).

Additional examples:

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.

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Examples with solutions for Perimeter of a Triangle

Exercise #1

Given the parallelogram:

444222AAABBBDDDCCC

Calculate the perimeter of the parallelogram.

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

To find the perimeter of the parallelogram, we follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Identify the given side lengths from the diagram: AB=4 AB = 4 units and AD=2 AD = 2 units.
  • Step 2: Use the perimeter formula for a parallelogram, which is P=2(a+b) P = 2(a + b) .
  • Step 3: Substituting the given values into the formula: a=4 a = 4 and b=2 b = 2 .

Proceeding with the calculation:

P=2(4+2)=2×6=12 P = 2(4 + 2) = 2 \times 6 = 12 .

Therefore, the perimeter of the parallelogram is 12 units.

Answer

12

Exercise #2

Find the perimeter of the triangle ABC

333444555AAABBBCCC

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

To find the perimeter of triangle ABC \triangle ABC , we need to sum the lengths of its sides:

  • Side AB=3 AB = 3
  • Side BC=4 BC = 4
  • Side CA=5 CA = 5

Using the formula for the perimeter of a triangle:

Perimeter=AB+BC+CA \text{Perimeter} = AB + BC + CA

Substitute the known values:

Perimeter=3+4+5 \text{Perimeter} = 3 + 4 + 5

Perimeter=12 \text{Perimeter} = 12

Thus, the perimeter of triangle ABC \triangle ABC is 12\mathbf{12}.

From the multiple-choice options provided, the correct choice is option 1: 12.

Answer

12

Exercise #3

Look at the rectangle below.

Side AB is 2 cm long and side BC has a length of 7 cm.

What is the perimeter of the rectangle?
222777AAABBBCCCDDD

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

Given that in a rectangle every pair of opposite sides are equal to each other, we can state that:

AB=CD=2 AB=CD=2

AD=BC=7 AD=BC=7

Now we can add all the sides together and find the perimeter:

2+7+2+7=4+14=18 2+7+2+7=4+14=18

Answer

18 cm

Exercise #4

Look at the following rectangle:

AAABBBCCCDDD95

Find its perimeter.

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

Since in a rectangle all pairs of opposite sides are equal:

AD=BC=5 AD=BC=5

AB=CD=9 AB=CD=9

Now we calculate the perimeter of the rectangle by adding the sides:

5+5+9+9=10+18=28 5+5+9+9=10+18=28

Answer

28

Exercise #5

Look at the trapezoid in the figure.

Calculate its perimeter.

2.52.52.510.410.410.45.35.35.3666

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve this problem, we'll follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Identify all given side lengths of the trapezoid.
  • Step 2: Apply the formula for the perimeter of the trapezoid.
  • Step 3: Sum up the lengths to find the perimeter.

Now, let's work through each step:
Step 1: The problem gives us the lengths of the trapezoid's sides:
- AB=2.5 AB = 2.5
- BC=10.4 BC = 10.4
- CD=5.3 CD = 5.3
- DA=6 DA = 6

Step 2: We use the formula for the perimeter of a trapezoid:

P=AB+BC+CD+DA P = AB + BC + CD + DA

Step 3: Plugging in the given values, we calculate:

P=2.5+10.4+5.3+6 P = 2.5 + 10.4 + 5.3 + 6

Calculating further, we have:

P=24.2 P = 24.2

Therefore, the perimeter of the trapezoid is 24.2 24.2 .

Answer

24.2

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