Search Rectangle Educational Resources

A rectangle is one of the basic shapes in geometry. After a circle, a square and a triangle, a rectangle is the next shape that children as young as preschool usually learn. Like a square, a rectangle has four right angles, but unlike a square, a rectangle has unequal adjacent sides, which means that not all sides are of equal length. Understanding the basic differences between a square and a rectangle will greatly expand your child’s grasp of basic polygons. Our worksheets and other resources are a great way to master this concept.

A rectangle is one of the quadrilateral shapes. A quadrilateral is a polygon that has four sides, four corners and all angles add up to 360 degrees. In addition to a rectangle, other types of quadrilaterals are:

• Square
• Rhombus
• Parallelogram
• Trapezoid
• Kite

A square, rectangle and rhombus are also considered parallelograms, meaning they are a flat shape, with opposite sides that are parallel and equal in length.

Special properties of a rectangle

• It has four right angles measuring 90 degrees each
• Opposite sides of a rectangle are parallel and of equal length
• The angles of a rectangle are congruent, meaning they’re all the same size and measure
• A rectangle has two diagonals that are equal in length and intersect in the middle

Common equations used in rectangles

• Area: To find the area of a rectangle, simply multiply the width times the height
  Area = w × h
• Perimeter: The perimeter is the distance around the edges. To find the perimeter of a rectangle, add the width and height and multiply by 2.
  Perimeter = 2 (w + h)
• Diagonal: The diagonal of a rectangle can be measured as the square root of width squared plus height squared.
  Diagonal = √(w² + h²)

A basic understanding of rectangles builds the foundation for other, more complex shapes in geometry. Check out our resources to help your child gain confidence in learning all about them.