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Question from Connor, a student:

Why do some polygons have two names and what are they?. Thanks

Hi Connor,

I'm not sure what is expected for this question but here are a couple of ideas.

In the answer to a previous question we gave a list of names of polygons. Some on the list have two names. Also at the end of this note is the statement "After about 6 sides mathematicians usually refer to these polygons as n-gons." Thus for example a dodecagon is also called an 12-gon.

Another possibility for an answer is a square and a rectangle. We are often asked "Is a square a rectangle?" Our response is yes and in fact if you read the answer that Penny gave you will see that a square is also a parallelogram.

I hope this helps,
Harley

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