Can You Get a Perfect Score on This Basic Shapes Quiz?

By: Olivia Cantor
Estimated Completion Time
2 min
Can You Get a Perfect Score on This Basic Shapes Quiz?
Image: Pixabay by Tama66

About This Quiz

There are many shapes that come in, well, various sizes and shapes, of course! Oh, you know what we're saying! Can you name at least half of the basic shapes featured in this screenshot quiz? And for a bigger challenge, can you also name some of the three-dimensional shapes mentioned here? We challenge you!

This quiz is not as hard as you think. If you have a keen sense of abstract reasoning, then it's a sure bet that you will be able to determine the various shapes we'll present here. Why? Simple: these shapes are obviously all around us, all the time!

When we were still at the preschool level, we were always trained to find the two-dimensional simple shapes all around us. This was done to help us evaluate and categorize the various shapes that may not have appeared very obvious to our yet-untrained eye at that time. But eventually, we were able to immediately and automatically identify simple basic shapes everywhere in our world. Later on, we learned the three-dimensional types as seen in our environment. 

That's why this quiz will really be easy for you -- or anyone, for that matter. Try your luck and check this quiz out!

square What do you call this four-sided shape?
Square
Cylinder
Trapezoid
Rhombus
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It's interesting how the shape of a square has also been translated into different concepts totally unrelated to geometry. The most notable example is how "square" became slang for people who are generally seen as "not cool" or "not hip," which evolved during the early Jazz Age in the U.S.

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circle How about this round shape?
Torus
Octahedron
Pyramid
Circle
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The circle has long been known as a symbol of equality. Perhaps the most famous iteration of this idea is the "Knights of the Round Table" concept in the legendary story of King Arthur.

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rectangle How about this four-sided long shape?
Dodecahedron
Sphere
Rectangle
Kite
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A rectangle is very familiar to people who design buildings, as many structures look like this basic flat shape. There are buildings that look like a rectangle standing on its end, while some buildings mimic the shape of a rectangular shoebox in design. And, of course, many doors are rectangular.

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oval How about this all-too-common shape?
Pentagon
Oval
Heptagon
Nonagon
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The "Oval Office" is perhaps the most popular usage for the shape of the oval. For those who are not familiar, this is where U.S. presidents go to do their work in an office setup.

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pentagon Can you name this five-sided shape?
Pentagon
Cone
Cuboid
Cube
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Perhaps the pentagon is the most famous polygon of all, thanks to the U.S. Department of Defense taking its shape for its office building. The Pentagon was built that way to conform to certain restrictions of the time, namely the topography of the area where it was originally supposed to be built.

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triangle This three-sided shape is called what?
Cone
Triangle
Cylinder
Star
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A triangle is a basic shape, but it could also pertain to a particular musical instrument that takes this exact shape or form. This versatile shape has many applications in different fields, such as the method of triangulation used to determine the exact location of a point by assessing distances using a series of triangles.

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octagon What do you call this eight-sided shape?
Bolt
Crescent
Octagon
Ring
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

An octagon has eight sides, all with equal measurements. In UFC fights, this octagon is seen as a more flexible and fair shape than the traditional square ring of boxing.

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star This five-pointed shape is normally called what?
Semicircle
Sphere
Parallelogram
Star
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This flat shape is called a star, and it usually has five points. But there are different kinds of star patterns as well, with more points.

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cross What is this shape, often seen as a religious symbol?
Trapezium
Cross
Equal sign
Trapezoid
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Two bars that intersect each other at right angles, with the vertical bar usually longer, form a cross. In mathematical equations, though, when the two bars are of equal length, the symbol is a plus sign.

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heart This shape is universally known as what?
Diamond
Kite
Heart
Irregular quadrilateral
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This is the symbol of the human heart in a figurative sense, even though it's rather far from the organic heart's real shape. But this approximation has been embraced by all cultures of the world, and it has come to symbolize love as well.

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arrow What do you call this basic shape?
Arrow
Decagon
Quatrefoil
Trefoil
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A combined triangle and rectangle can form the shape of an arrow. This universal shape is recognizable in many places in modern life, such as maps and road signs.

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crescent This curvy shape is universally known as what?
Cuboid
Lens
Ellipse
Crescent
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The shape of the waxing moon is universally recognizable as the crescent. It's a commonly used symbol in religious iconography as well as in logo-making.

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hexagon This polygon is known as what?
Annulus
Arch
Hexagon
Pentameter
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Don't put a hex on someone if they don't know that the hexagon is a polygon with six sides. We're mostly familiar with this shape because it looks like the shape of honeycomb design, but sometimes it's used to indicate cellular phone technology.

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swastika This very controversial shape actually has religious origins. What is it?
Swastika
Cube
Sphere
Rectangular prism
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The swastika is an ancient religious shape that takes the form of a cross, but with the edges bent, facing clockwise or counterclockwise. It was recognizable in Asian religions for thousands of years, until the Nazi Party adopted it in the early part of the 1900s for its now-controversial logo.

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trapezoid What do you call this kind of four-sided shape?
Line
Cone
Hexahedron
Trapezoid
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A trapezoid is a special type of quadrilateral. While a quadrilateral is any four-sided figure, a trapezoid is a four-sided figure in which exactly two of the opposite sides are parallel.

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rhombus This four-sided shape with a different kind of angle is called what?
Dodecahedron
Rhombus
Frustum
Equilateral triangle
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A rhombus is a shape with four equal sides, but it's not necessarily a square. While a square's inside angles are all right angles, a rhombus doesn't have to contain right angles. A rhombus can be diamond-shaped.

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parallelogram What do you call this slanted four-sided shape?
Pentagram
Nonagon
Parallelogram
Enneagram
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A parallelogram is a quadrilateral which, by its very name, signifies that the opposite sides should be parallel to each other. However, the corners don't have to be right angles.

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ring What do you call this shape that sometimes symbolizes love and romance?
Ring
Hexagon
Bolt
Arrow
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

When two circles are drawn, with a smaller one inside a bigger one, that usually symbolizes the ring shape. The ring could be simply drawn flatly like that, or it could also be rendered as a 3D image to show the surface.

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cone What do you call this very common shape?
Polyhedra
Raindrop
Cone
Prism
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A cone is a three-dimensional kind of shape in geometry. It has a circle for a base, and then the "sides" all extend and meet up to reach the point or tip, called the vertex or apex.

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cube What do you call this basic 3D shape?
Cube
Cylinder
Cone
Double star
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A cube is basically a square, only in its 3D version. Thus, instead of merely having the flat sides being all equal in measurement, all faces and sides of the 3D shape should be equal here.

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right triangle What kind of triangle is this one?
Octahedron
Icosahedron
Rhombic dodecahedron
Right triangle
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A right triangle has one right angle, meaning its measurement is 90 degrees. The two other angles are smaller than 90 degrees, sometimes both 45 degrees in measurement, sometimes not. In any case, the other two angles combined must equal 90 degrees.

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cylinder What do you call this elongated 3D shape?
Tetrahedron
Cylinder
Hexagonal pyramid
Parallelepiped
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The geometric shape known as a cylinder is usually elongated, with two of its parallel bases being circles. The curved elongated surface gives this shape the 3D look, since it appears solid, not flat.

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pyramid What do you call this pointy 3D shape?
Cone
Pentagonal prism
Pyramid
Semicircle
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A pyramid is classified as a polyhedron, which means that it is a solid kind of shape that has several plane faces. A pyramid has a polygon for a base, plus four triangular planes.

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semicircle What do you call this halved shape?
Semicircle
Hexagonal prism
Sphere
Hexahedron
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Think of this bubble as a flat shape. In two dimensions, half of a circle is a semicircle.

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kite What do you call this playful shape?
Arch
Cuboid
Kite
Ring
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You'll know you have the perfect kite when you can draw a full circle inside of it, touching all four sides. A kite shape has two pairs of equal sides that are adjacent to each other.

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Annulus
Moon
Lens
Heptagon
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A heptagon is another kind of polygon, which means it's flat. This one must have seven sides, which could be in the form of a regular or irregular heptagon.

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isosceles triangle What do you call this kind of triangle?
Isosceles triangle
Right triangle
Scalene triangle
Equilateral triangle
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

An isosceles triangle is easily identifiable, much like an equilateral one. While an equilateral triangle's three sides are all equal in length, the isosceles triangle has only two equal sides.

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equal sign These two scribbles form which universal formula symbol?
Less than
Greater than
Equal sign
Divided by
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Two short horizontal bars or lines of equal length, drawn parallel to each other and close together, form the universal symbol called the equal sign. In mathematical calculations, the values on each side of the equal sign must be the same. Sociologically speaking, it has also been used as a symbol by communities advocating for equality in treatment, such as the women's movement and the LGBTQ+ community.

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sphere What is this obviously 3D shape?
Cuboctahedron
Rhombicuboctahedron
Square antiprism
Sphere
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A sphere is basically a circle that's in a solid 3D format. This geometric shape is used in sports that require a round ball, such as basketball and baseball.

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scalene triangle Quick, what do you call this kind of triangle?
Triangular pyramid
Scalene triangle
Square pyramid
Triangular prism
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A scalene triangle has three sides, but all of them differ in length. Equilateral and isosceles triangles are never scalene.

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trefoil This logo-like shape overlap is called what?
Trefoil
Concave
Complex
Parallelogram
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Girl Scouts know the shape of the trefoil all too well, since it's incorporated in their logo. A trefoil is basically three circles or similar shapes of the same size, joined together in overlapping fashion to form one figure.

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decagon Can decode what this is called?
Pentagram
Enneagram
Rhomb
Decagon
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

If a decade has ten years, a decagon must have ten sides, so it's the prefix here that helps you to remember this kind of polygon. A decagon can be flat, but there is also a three-dimensional kind called a decagonal prism.

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hemisphere What do you call this 3D shape?
Diamond
Hemisphere
Quadrangle
Tetragon
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A hemisphere is easier to remember if you consider the shape of the Earth, which is basically a sphere. Imagine the equator cutting the global sphere in half, and you'll get two hemispheres - the northern and southern. Since the prime meridian cuts across the globe vertically, it divides the Earth into the eastern and western hemispheres.

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quatrefoil When three's not enough company, what do you call this kind of shape?
Quatrefoil
Cyclic
Equilateral
Convex
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A quatrefoil shape has four equal-shaped circles or simple shapes that partly overlap, forming a kind of cross-like image, but rounded. This shape is commonly used in art, architecture, heraldic designs and religious symbols.

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Equiangular
Concave
Triangular prism
Disc
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A triangular prism resembles the shape of a tent in real life - especially the simple long one you pitch when you camp out. It has triangles of equal measurement on both ends, then the sides and bottom are composed of three rectangular faces.

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obtuse What do you call this kind of seemingly squashed triangle?
Obtuse
Rhomboid
Trapezoid
Icosagon
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

An obtuse triangle contains one obtuse angle, meaning an angle that is greater than 90 degrees. A triangle can't possibly contain more than one obtuse angle, though, since the three angles of a triangle must always add up to 180 degrees.

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cuboid This box-like shape is called what?
Triskaidecagon
Octagram
Cuboid
Dodecagram
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A cuboid is generally the 3D version of a flat rectangle. The sides don't have to be squares or even equal rectangles, but there must be six flat sides in total. If all six sides are squares, then you have a cube!

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raindrop This rounded shape can be seen during weather forecasts. What does it signify?
Raindrop
Pentagram
Decagram
Hail
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The commonly recognized raindrop shape consists of a very heavy rounded bottom that tapers to a point at the top. It can also symbolize water, not just rain.

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bolt What kind of shape is this slightly diagonal image called?
Trapezium
Frustrum
Bolt
Golygon
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A common shape seen around the world is the lightning bolt, usually drawn with several diagonal lines facing the same direction, connected to each other by smaller lines. It can be drawn in an outline or in solid form, just like Harry Potter's famous forehead scar.

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