A quadrilateral is a four sided shape. The internal angles for all quadrilaterals add up to 360 degrees. All shapes made up of four straight sides are quadrilaterals but some are special and are given special names. They are shown in the table below, along with their properties.
Name | Example | Properties |
Square |
| All the internal angles are right angles and all the sides are the same length. Diagonals cross at right angles. Vertical and horizontal axes of symmetry, and diagonals through opposite corners are also axes of symmetry. Rotational symmetry of order 4. |
Rectangle |
| All the internal angles are right angles and opposite sides are the same length. Vertical and horizontal axes of symmetry, Rotational symmetry of order 2. |
Kite |
| Adjacent sides are the same length. Diagonals cross at right angles. One axis of symmetry (vertical on kite at left). No rotational symmetry. One pair of equal angles. |
Trapezium |
| No symmetry in general. One pair of parallel sides. No rotational symmetry in general. |
Parallelogram |
| Two pairs of parallel sides. Rotational symmetry of order 2. No axes of symmetry. Opposite internal angles are equal. |
Rhombus |
| Four equal sides. Opposite angles are equal. Vertical and horizontal axes of symmetry. Rotational symmetry of order 2. Diagonals cross at right angles. |
