SEAGReady
Shape and SpaceP6 level24 questions in the full course

Describe Shape PropertiesSEAG Practice Questions

Describing 2D shapes using properties: number of sides, vertices, types of angles, parallel sides, equal sides.

Where your child meets this in real life: Describing shapes precisely when giving instructions or solving puzzles

What your child needs to know

SEAGReady breaks describe shape properties into 3 steps, taught in order so each skill builds on the last.

  1. 1

    Count Sides and Vertices

    Count and state the number of sides and vertices in 2D shapes

  2. 2

    Identify Side Relationships

    Identify parallel sides and equal-length sides in 2D shapes

  3. 3

    Describe Angle Properties

    Identify and describe the types of angles within 2D shapes

Try these SEAG-style questions

Three free sample questions from our describe shape properties course. Every question comes with a full explanation, and hints that guide without giving the answer away.

Question 1Confidence builder

Aaron is describing shapes for a quiz at his school. How many sides does a pentagon have?

A five-sided polygon with its five corner points labelled A to E.
Answer choices for question 1
Question 2Confidence builder

Niamh is looking at a rectangle on her classroom wall. How many pairs of parallel sides does the rectangle have?

A rectangle with a different matching arrow mark on each pair of opposite sides.
Answer choices for question 2
Question 3Confidence builder

Thomas is looking at a square tile in his kitchen. How many right angles does a square have?

A square with a small right-angle marker drawn at each of its four corners.
Answer choices for question 3

Try the lesson: Count Sides and Vertices

This is the exact interactive worked example your child sees in SEAGReady. Step through it and watch the method build up.

A pupil is describing a shape for a guessing game.

How many sides and vertices does a hexagon have?

Count the sides
1

A side is a straight edge of the shape

Step 1 of 4

Prefer to read? See every step written out

A pupil is describing a shape for a guessing game.

How many sides and vertices does a hexagon have?

  1. 1

    Count the sides

    • A side is a straight edge of the shape
    • Count each edge around the hexagon6 sides
  2. 2

    Count the vertices

    • A vertex is a corner where two sides meet
    • Count each corner point6 vertices

A hexagon has 6 sides and 6 vertices.

The key insight: In any polygon, the number of sides always equals the number of vertices!

Common mix-up: A hexagon has 6 sides and 8 vertices. Confusing sides with vertices - vertices are only the corner points, not the edges.

Mistakes to watch for

These are the misconceptions we see most often in describe shape properties, including the ones our practice questions are specifically designed to catch.

  • Confusing vertices with sides
  • Not recognising parallel sides
  • Thinking all angles in a shape are the same

Build these skills first

Struggling with describe shape properties? The real gap is often in one of these earlier topics.

Name 2D ShapesLine Types and Properties

More shape and space practice

Classify TrianglesClassify QuadrilateralsUnderstand PolygonsLines of SymmetryName 3D ShapesDescribe 3D Shape Properties
24 questions on this topic alone

Master describe shape properties and everything it unlocks

SEAGReady finds the exact step where your child gets stuck, teaches it with worked examples like the one above, and brings it back for review so it sticks.

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