Level 5-6 Shapes - Polyhedra

So, you are studying shapes in KS3 Maths. By now you'll be all to familiar with 2-Dimensional shapes like triangles, oblongs, trapeziums, octagons and the like. But what about 3-Dimensional shapes like cubes or pyramids? These are called polyhedrons or polyhedral.

Any solid, 3-Dimensional shape made by fitting polygons together is called a polyhedron. A regular polyhedron is formed from regular polygons all the same size and shape, for example a cube or a dodecahedron. Irregular polyhedrons are made up of different shapes, for example a typical prism is made from triangles and rectangles. There are certain characteristics that polyhedrons have which 2-D shapes don't - faces, edges (where 2 faces meet) and vertices (where corners meet).

To find out how well you know your polyhedrons, try this quiz. And don't forget the helpful comments which appear after each question. These often help to clear up anything you weren't sure of.