A hexagon is a two-dimensional plane geometric figure that consists of six sides, six vertices, and six angles. It falls under the category of polygons.
Types of Hexagon
1. Regular Hexagon
A hexagon is said to be regular if all of its sides are equal in length.
2. Irregular Hexagon
A hexagon that does not consist of equal length sides is known as an irregular hexagon.
Properties of Hexagon
1. All the interior angles measure 120°.
2. The sum of all the interior angles of a regular hexagon is equal to 720°.
3. A regular hexagon can be split into 6 equilateral triangles that are congruent in nature.
4. Regular hexagons of equal magnitude can fit with each other without any gaps. Such a formation is known as tessellations.
Examples of Hexagon
1. Honeycomb
One of the most common and naturally occurring examples of a hexagon is a honeycomb. The six sides, six vertices, and six angles of each cell of a honeycomb make it a perfect example of a hexagon.
2. Nut
Nuts are the mechanical tools used in combination with bolts and washer to fasten two metallic pieces together. If you look at a nut closely, you can observe the hexagonal shape formed by its sides.
3. Snow Flakes
A snowflake is a hexagonal crystalline form of ice. A snowflake consists of six sides and six-fold symmetry. Hence, it is one of the best examples of the hexagonal objects present around us.
4. Tie Knot
If you look closely at a properly tied knot of a tie, you can easily visualize the hexagonal geometric figure because a tie knot typically consists of six sides, six vertices, and six angles.
5. Pencil Base
The base of a pencil is yet another example of hexagon-shaped objects used in real life; however, there are other shapes in which a pencil can be manufactured such as triangular, rectangular, etc.
6. Stop Signs
The stop signs installed on the roadside are usually constructed in the shape of a regular hexagon or an octagon. These signboards possess a geometric shape that is easy to differentiate from the other signboards. The drivers facing the back of the sign get alert due to the familiar shape of the stop signs. This improves driving quality and safety.
7. Sections on a Soccer Ball
A soccer ball or a football is made up of a number of the pentagon and hexagon-shaped sections aligned one next to the other. Hence, one of the prime examples of the hexagon geometric figure can be observed by looking at the lighter sections of a soccer ball.
8. Medals & Insignia
Medals are small pieces of metals that consist of markings on both sides. They are given as an award or a token of appreciation. Medals are manufactured in a variety of shapes and sizes out of which the hexagonal shape is most common.
9. Clock
Some of the clocks are shaped like a hexagon. Also, if you observe the dial of some of the wristwatches you can easily get a picture of the hexagon geometric figure.
10. Clusters
While designing the GSM distribution of a city or a state, the locality is divided in the shape of hexagons. The hexagon shape of the cells helps the engineers locate the best position to place the tower. The adequate placing of the tower is necessary so that the signal gets radiated evenly in all directions. Hence, the hexagon geometric shape finds its application in communication engineering.
11. Cookies
Food industries also make use of hexagon shape to manufacture a number of products such as cookies, biscuits, chocolates, etc.
12. Gems and Minerals
The crystals of gems and minerals like algodonite, apatite, aquamarine, benitoite, etc., are hexagonal in shape. Some of the other gems can also be transformed into hexagonal shapes Hence, one can easily observe the hexagonal shape while visiting a jewellery shop.
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