2D and 3D Shapes for Kids | Geometry for Kids | Twinkl USA

In geometry, a shape can be defined as a form characterized by its number of sides, the size of its angles, and its dimensions. Depending on the properties, the shapes in math can be defined as a 2D or 3D shape, or a regular or an irregular shape. But today, we're going to focus on recognizing 2D and 3D shapes and study their properties. What's the difference between 2D and 3D shapes? One of the easiest ways to understand the difference between 2D and 3D shapes is by identifying how 2D shapes are flat and 3D shapes are solid. For example, if you place a 2D shape on a table, it will lie flat on the surface. If you place a 3D shape on a table, it might roll or stand upright. Furthermore, a 2D shape has only two measurements, length and height. A 3D shape has three measurements, length, height, and depth or width. Now, let's take a look at some 2D shapes. Circles only have one side and no corners. Here are some real life examples. Triangles have three sides and three corners. All the sides are the same in a regular triangle. A square is a regular shape. It has four straight sides and four corners. All the sides are the same length. Rectangles have four sides and four corners. They have two long sides and two short sides. A pentagon has five straight sides and five corners. All the sides are the same length in a regular pentagon. A hexagon has six sides and six corners. All the sides are the same in a regular hexagon. An octagon has eight sides and eight corners. All the sides are the same in a regular octagon. Ovals only have one side and no corners. A rhombus has four straight sides and four corners. All the sides are the same length. Parallelograms have four sides and two pairs of parallel lines. The sides are not necessarily of equal length or have congruent angles. A trapezoid has four straight sides and four corners. It has two long sides and two short sides. Now that we've learned a few 2D shapes, let's move on to 3D shapes. Every three-dimensional object has three measurements. These are length, height, and width. Faces are the flat sides on an object. This cuboid has two square faces and four rectangle faces. Edges are the lines where two faces meet. A triangular prism has nine edges. Vertices are the corners of a 3D object where three or more edges meet. This is a square-based pyramid. Square-based pyramids have a square base, four triangular faces that make a sharp point, five faces, five vertices, and eight edges. Here's a real-life example. This is a hexagonal pyramid. Hexagonal pyramids have seven faces, one hexagonal face, six triangular faces, 12 edges, and seven vertices. This is a cylinder. Cylinders have two flat and one curved surface, no vertices, and two curved edges. This is a cube. Cubes have six square faces, 12 edges, eight vertices, and edges that are all the same length. This is a cone. Cones have one flat face, which is a circle, one apex, one edge, and one curved surface. This is a triangular prism. Triangular prisms have five faces, two triangular faces, three rectangular faces, six vertices, and nine edges. This is a sphere. Spheres are perfectly round, have no edges, have no vertices, and have one curved surface. This is a rectangular prism. Rectangular prisms have six rectangular faces, 12 edges, eight vertices, and edges that are not all the same length. That's all we have time for today. For more information and resources related to 2D and 3D shapes, head to twinkle.com.