Question 592934: I need help with the whole concept of formulas involving the following:
-how to recognize a certain shape and name it
-knowing a shapes formula.. (There are so many!!!!)
Answer by richard1234(7193)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! If you are referring to "shape" as in "geometric shape," I can give you some tips:
1. Recognizing what shape it is shouldn't be that difficult; if it's a polygon, just count the number of sides. Also, the names for the polygons (triangle, quadrilateral, pentagon) contain the Greek prefixes tri-, quad-, penta-, meaning 3,4,5, so pay attention to those. Also, know how certain polygons (square, rectangle, trapezoid, parallelogram) are defined.
2. Never bluntly memorize a formula! Too many students try to memorize a formula without knowing where it comes from or how to derive it. My advice is, try to prove a formula or know how to prove it, then you will understand it more thoroughly. This is useful especially in higher-level math.
However, some formulas you might want to wait for now. For example, finding the area of a circle requires a bit of calculus (mostly limits). Also, the proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra (which states that any n-degree polynomial has n complex roots) is not very fundamental, nor is the proof algebraic (e.g. it can be proven using field theory).
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