Shapes and terms used to describe them

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Maths Quiz - Shapes 2 (Difficult) (Questions)

This 11 Plus Maths quiz explores tessellations and complex shapes. Pupils discover how repeated patterns appear in nature, art, and architecture around the world.

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Fascinating Fact:

A tessellation is a pattern of shapes that fit together without gaps or overlaps, like tiles on a floor or scales on a fish.

In 11 Plus Maths, pupils learn about symmetry, angles, and how shapes combine to fill space perfectly. Understanding tessellations helps explain design in buildings, mosaics, and even honeycomb structures in nature.

Key Terms

Tessellation: A pattern of shapes that fit together without gaps or overlaps.
Symmetry: When one half of an object is a mirror image of the other.
Vertex: A point where two or more sides of a shape meet.

Learn more about 11 Plus courses in our guide for parents.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What shapes can make a tessellation?

Regular polygons like triangles, squares, and hexagons can make tessellations because their angles fit neatly together without leaving any gaps.

Where do tessellations appear in everyday life?

Tessellations appear in floor tiles, brick walls, woven fabrics, and natural forms such as honeycomb and turtle shells.

What is the purpose of studying tessellation in maths?

Studying tessellations helps pupils understand geometric relationships, angles, and how shapes fill space—skills used in design, construction, and art.

Try These Related Quizzes

Which shape has the following properties?
All its interior angles are 120^o
The sum of its interior angles is 720^o
It can be split into six equilateral triangles
It has six vertices

[ ]	A regular hexagon
[ ]	A regular quadrilateral
[ ]	A regular pentagon
[ ]	A regular triangle

What do we call a regular triangle?

[ ]	A right-angle triangle
[ ]	An equilateral triangle
[ ]	An isosceles triangle
[ ]	A scalene triangle

What is the name of the shape that has the following properties?
All points on its surface are the same distance from its centre
The distance from its centre to its surface is called its radius
The formula for its surface area is 4πr²
It is perfectly symmetrical around its centre

[ ]	A circle
[ ]	An ellipse
[ ]	A sphere
[ ]	A cytlinder

What is the name of the shape that has the following properties?
It has six faces
All its internal angles are 90^o
Its height, width and depth are all equal
It has eight vertices

[ ]	A pyramid
[ ]	A square
[ ]	A prism
[ ]	A cube

What is the sum of the interior angles of a triangle?

[ ]	180^o
[ ]	360^o
[ ]	540^o
[ ]	720^o

Which of the following shapes not a quadrilateral?

[ ]	Square
[ ]	Cube
[ ]	Trapezium
[ ]	Kite

What is the name given to a five-sided shape whose sides are all the same length and whose interior angles are all the same size?

[ ]	A regular heptagon
[ ]	A regular hexagon
[ ]	A regular pentagon
[ ]	A regular quadrilateral

What is the name of the shape that has the following properties?
It has two pairs of opposite sides equal in length
It has two pairs of opposite angles equal in size but not 90^o
It is a quadrilateral

[ ]	Kite
[ ]	Trapezium
[ ]	Rectangle
[ ]	Parallelogram

What is the name of the shape that has the following properties?
It is a polyhedron
It has two ends called “bases”
Its bases are the same size and shape
It has three or more straight edges

[ ]	A pyramid
[ ]	A prism
[ ]	A tube
[ ]	A cylinder

10.

What is another name for an oval shape?

[ ]	Arc
[ ]	Sector
[ ]	Curve
[ ]	Ellipse

Maths Quiz - Shapes 2 (Difficult) (Answers)

Which shape has the following properties?
All its interior angles are 120^o
The sum of its interior angles is 720^o
It can be split into six equilateral triangles
It has six vertices

[x]	A regular hexagon
[ ]	A regular quadrilateral
[ ]	A regular pentagon
[ ]	A regular triangle

A hexagon is a polygon with six sides and six corners

What do we call a regular triangle?

[ ]	A right-angle triangle
[x]	An equilateral triangle
[ ]	An isosceles triangle
[ ]	A scalene triangle

Equilateral triangles have sides of equal length and interior angles of 60^o

[ ]	A circle
[ ]	An ellipse
[x]	A sphere
[ ]	A cytlinder

The formula for the area of a circle is ?r²

What is the name of the shape that has the following properties?
It has six faces
All its internal angles are 90^o
Its height, width and depth are all equal
It has eight vertices

[ ]	A pyramid
[ ]	A square
[ ]	A prism
[x]	A cube

A cube is, of course, a 3-D square

What is the sum of the interior angles of a triangle?

[x]	180^o
[ ]	360^o
[ ]	540^o
[ ]	720^o

The sum of the interior angles of a quadrilateral is 360^o. You can cut a quadrilateral in half to make two triangles: 360^o ÷ 2 = 180^o

Which of the following shapes not a quadrilateral?

[ ]	Square
[x]	Cube
[ ]	Trapezium
[ ]	Kite

Quadrilaterals are 2-D shapes with four sides. There are plenty of different quadrilaterals: kites parallelograms, rhomboids, rectangles, oblongs, squares, and trapeziums for example

What is the name given to a five-sided shape whose sides are all the same length and whose interior angles are all the same size?

[ ]	A regular heptagon
[ ]	A regular hexagon
[x]	A regular pentagon
[ ]	A regular quadrilateral

The term 'regular' is used for any polygon with equal sides and internal angles

[ ]	Kite
[ ]	Trapezium
[ ]	Rectangle
[x]	Parallelogram

The word "parallelogram" comes from the Greek for “bounded by parallel lines”.
Rectangles are parallelograms in which the internal angles are equal to 90^o