What is a parallelogram?

A parallelogram is a four-sided shape whose opposite sides are parallel. Opposite sides are equal in length, opposite angles are equal, and angles next to each other add up to 180°. Rectangles, rhombuses and squares are all parallelograms with extra rules: a rectangle adds right angles, a rhombus adds equal sides, and a square adds both.

Examples

• A shape with sides of 6 cm and 4 cm and angles of 70° and 110° is a parallelogram.
• A rectangle is a parallelogram with four right angles.
• Area of a parallelogram: base times perpendicular height.

Quick facts

• The diagonals of a parallelogram cut each other in half.
• Any two angles next to each other in a parallelogram add up to 180°.
• A trapezium is not a parallelogram, because it has only one pair of parallel sides.