Similar Shapes

Similar shapes are like a picture and a smaller copy of it. They look alike but can be bigger or smaller. Their angles are exactly the same. Their sides are in the same order. One is just a zoomed in or zoomed out version of the other.

How Similar Shapes Work

If you have a small triangle and a big triangle with the same angles, they are similar. The big one might have sides that are twice as long. That means it is twice as big, but the shape is the same. The number you multiply by is called the scale factor. Similar shapes follow the same rules, just at different sizes.

Similar Shapes in Real Life

Maps are similar to the real places they show, just much smaller. A toy car can be similar to a real car. Artists use similar shapes when they draw things bigger or smaller. Builders use them to make models of houses. Similar shapes help us plan things before we build them big.

Fun Facts

• All circles are similar to each other.
• All squares are similar because they have the same angles.
• The scale on a map tells you how much smaller the map is.

Did You Know?

A globe is similar to Earth. Even though the globe is tiny, it has the same shape and shows where countries are.