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  • Maths
  • Class 5
  • 10 min
  • Medium

Loop Lagoon

Imagine walking along a shape’s edge. If you return to your starting point without jumping across a gap, the boundary is closed. If the path stops at a different end, it is open. An open path can have several straight pieces; having many pieces does not make it closed.

Before you try

Can two different shapes both have six sides?

Try it out

Interactive activity

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What happened?

Move a control to see what changes and why.

The game practises one idea at a time with simple drawn pictures. Check the same idea with real objects and your NCERT textbook (Chapter 2: Shapes and Angles, pages 16–17).

Try these ideas

  • Make a triangle and a five-sided shape.
  • Keep six sides but choose different pegs.
  • Undo the closing side and describe what changes.

Why it works

Imagine walking along a shape’s edge. If you return to your starting point without jumping across a gap, the boundary is closed. If the path stops at a different end, it is open. An open path can have several straight pieces; having many pieces does not make it closed.

A side is one straight part between corners. When two sticks lie along the same straight line, their meeting point does not create a turning corner. In our peg games the sides turn at the pegs. A simple closed polygon has the same number of sides and corners. Changing its openings can give it a different outline even when the side count stays the same.

Make two closed six-sided shapes. One may look wide and another tall. Describe both using side count, then explain how their corners differ. Avoid crossing your own lines while building these simple boundaries.

Worked example: A path joins A → B → C → D → A. Is it closed, and how many sides does it have? The last point is A, which is also the first point: the path closes. Count AB, BC, CD and DA: four sides. There are four turning corners in this simple shape.

Check your understanding

Question 1 of 2

A five-piece path has two separate ends. It is…

Do all closed six-sided shapes look identical?

Explain it in your own words

What changed? Why did it happen? Where might you notice this in everyday life?

What will you discover next?

Try Jelly Joint next.

Continue learning

For parents & teachers

  • String boundaries · 5 minutes. Use string to make a closed loop. Open it at one place. Ask your child to explain the difference without naming the shape.
  • Same count, new shape · 8 minutes. Arrange six card strips into two different closed outlines. Count sides, then compare the corners. Keep the examples free of crossings.

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