Rectangle

Rectangle

Quadrilateral in which opposite sides are congruent and the four angles are right angles.

The length of a rectangle is the longer of its two dimensions. The width is the shorter dimension..

For measurement purposes, a distinction is sometimes made between the base b and the height h of a rectangle :

Either side of a rectangle may be used as a base; the adjacent side will then be the corresponding height.

Properties

Based on its properties, a rectangle belongs to the larger category of convex quadrilaterals, which are trapezoids and parallelograms.

  • Its two diagonals are congruent.
  • Its opposite sides are parallel and congruent.
  • A rectangle has two lines of symmetry.
  • A rectangle is equiangular.

Formulas

  • The perimeter P of a rectangle with a length of l and a width of w is : P = 2 × (l + w).
  • The area A of a rectangle with a length of l and a width of w is : A = l × w.

Example

The opposite sides of this rectangle are congruent.
Its four angles are right angles.

Educational note

  • A rectangle is a quadrilateral, since it is a parallelogram. Like a parallelogram, its sides are parallel in pairs. A parallelogram is also a trapezoid, as it has at least one pair of parallel sides.
  • It may also be noted that a square is a rectangle, as all the angles in a square are right angles.

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