Math Story : Introduction To Polygons And Non-Polygons

The Polygon Mess

“Oh no! This is bad”, says Triho while peeping through the window. It looks like Atriho and his gang are stealing something from Uncle Math’s Lab. But what and why?

Uncle Math is in trouble. He cannot tackle the gang of bad robots alone. “Atriho and his gang are stealing my polygons so that they can construct their weapons using them. We need to stop them. Will you help me?” says Uncle Math. 

But the kids do not understand anything. “Polygon? What is a polygon, Uncle Math? Is it your new gadget?” Cirha questions. “A polygon is a closed 2D shape with straight sides”, he explains. Without any hesitancy, the kids agree to help him.

As they enter the polygon lab, they notice that Atriho and his gang are loading the polygons in their cartons to take them away. Immediately, Squarho runs to attack them. He jumps on one of the gang members with full strength making him fall. Seeing this other gang members run away to save themselves.

But to stop them, Triho attacks with full power. Scared, they run swiftly leaving their cartons of polygons behind.

“Cirha, Cirho! Hurry up! Let us grab the cartons and keep them safely inside”, says Uncle Math taking the advantage of the situation.

“Oh no! It looks like everything is jumbled here. Bad robots have messed up everything”, says Uncle Math as he sees the cartons. He is disappointed. “Relax Uncle Math! All of us can do this together. Just tell us how can we help you?” says Cirha. 

Uncle Math instructs the kids to separate polygons and non-polygons from the cartons. Taking out a shape, Triho says, “Oh, it is a triangle. Triangle is a polygon as it is a closed shape and has straight sides”. Uncle Math agrees with him. Following him Cirho, Cirha keeps a square and rectangle also on the polygon side

The kids find many closed shapes with 5,6,7,8,9, and 10 sides in the cartons. They are surprised to see the new shapes. “What do we call such shapes?” questions Squarho. “A shape with 5 sides is called a pentagon, 6 sides is a hexagon, 7 sides is a heptagon, 8 sides is an octagon, 9 sides is nonagon and 10 sides is a decagon”, explains Uncle Math.

The kids loved the names of new shapes. Quickly, Squarho finds a weird V shape in the carton. “Oh this is also a polygon as it has two straight sides”, he says. “But is it a closed shape? No right? This weird V shape is a non- polygon as it is not a closed shape”, explains Triho

Cirha finds another weird shape. “Oh! This is also a non-polygon. Though it is a closed shape, it does not have straight lines. Am I correct?” she says. Uncle Math agrees with her.

Quickly the kids separate all the polygons and non-polygons. Finally, Uncle Math is elated. 

He thanks them for helping him. “Uncle Math, you never hesitate to ask for help and save our town. We now know that asking for help is not a bad thing. Thanks for teaching this”, say the kids together. Undoubtedly, Uncle Math is a great teacher.

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We Learnt That…

• A polygon is a closed 2D shape with straight sides.
• Polygons with different sides are: Triangle : 3 sides, Square and Rectangle: 4 sides, Pentagon: 5 sides Hexagon: 6 sides, Heptagon: 7 sides, Octagon: 8 sides Nonagon: 9 sides, Decagon: 10 sides 
• When things seem out of control, it is always okay to ask for help.

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Let’s Discuss

• What were Atriho and the gang doing?
• What is a polygon? Can you spot polygons around you? 
• Can you give examples of non-polygons? 
• Without wasting a minute, Uncle Math asked for help. Is it okay to ask for help?
• We immediately agreed to help Uncle Math. Should we always help others? Why or why not?

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• Basic 2D Shapes