Education Technology


Properties of Special Quadrilaterals

Activity Overview

Explore properties of some special quadrilaterals using segments to build quadrilaterals and explore their angles.

Objectives

  • Students will recognize the types of quadrilaterals formed when opposite sides are congruent.
  • Students will recognize that there are special quadrilaterals in which consecutive angles are supplementary and opposite angles are congruent.
  • Students will recognize that for some special quadrilaterals, opposite sides are parallel.

Vocabulary

  • parallelogram
  • square
  • rhombus
  • rectangle

About the Lesson

This lesson involves properties of parallelograms. Students manipulate endpoints of a set of segments or manipulate angles formed by two segments. As a result, students will:

  • Make a quadrilateral (parallelogram) when opposite sides are congruent.
  • Investigate a given quadrilateral (parallelogram) to observe that consecutive angles are supplementary and opposite angles are congruent.
  • Investigate a given quadrilateral formed by parallel lines.
  • Visualize different types of quadrilaterals.
  • Infer about the properties of different special quadrilaterals.
  • Describe consequences of all segments being congruent.