2D and 3D shapes
2D shapes
A 2D shape is a flat shape. We are learning about the following 2D shapes -
circle, square, rectangle, triangle, pentagon, hexagon, octagon.
When we talk about the properties of these shapes we
look at the number of sides that each shape has and the
number of corners. A corner is where 2 sides meet. E.g. a
triangle has 3 straight sides and 3 corners, whereas a
circle has 1 curved side but no corners.
3D shapes
A 3D shape is a blown up shape. We are learning about the following 3D shapes
– sphere, cube, cuboid, cylinder, cone, square based pyramid, triangular based
pyramid.
When we talk about the properties of these shapes we
look at the number of faces, the number of edges and the
number of corners each shape has. Another word for
corners is vertices. A face is the part of the shape that
has the largest surface area – some can be flat, some can
be curved e.g. a cube has 6 flat faces whereas a cylinder
has 2 flat faces and 1 curved face. An edge is where 2 faces meet, again some
can be straight, some can be curved e.g. a cube has 12 straight edges whereas a
cylinder has 2 curved edges. A corner is where 3 edges meet. A cube has 8
corners, as does a cuboid. A sphere has no edges and therefore no corners. It
has one curved face that goes all the way around. A square based pyramid, a
triangular based pyramid and a cone have a point at the top.
