A rectangle with its sides in the 'Golden Ratio' or 1 : 1.618...
Try this Drag the orange dots on each vertex to reshape the rectangle. Note that its sides always remain in the 'golden ratio'. The Golden rectangle has been known since antiquity as one having a pleasing shape, and is frequently found in art and architecture as a rectangular shape that seems 'right' to the eye. It is mentioned in Euclid's Elements and was known to artists and philosophers such as Leonardo da Vinci. One of the interesting properties of the golden rectangle is that if you cut off a square section whose side is equal to the shortest side, the piece that remains is also a golden rectangle. In the figure below, the yellow rectangle is in the same proportion as the original larger rectangle after the gray square is cut off. Both the rectangles ABCD and PBCQ are golden rectangles. COMMON CORE Math Open Reference now has a Common Core alignment. See which resources are available on this site for each element of the Common Core standards. Check it out The Golden Rectangle From Latin: rectus "right" + angle Reset Print Full screen Hide details For more There has been a great deal written about the significance of the "golden ratio". A good place to start is http://www.goldennumber.net/golden-ratio/. Related polygon topics General Polygon general definition Quadrilateral Regular polygon Irregular polygon Convex polygons Concave polygons Polygon diagonals Polygon triangles Apothem of a regular polygon Polygon center Radius of a regular polygon Incircle of a regular polygon Incenter of a regular polygon Circumcircle of a polygon Parallelogram inscribed in a quadrilateral Types of polygon Square Diagonals of a square Rectangle Diagonals of a rectangle Golden rectangle Parallelogram Rhombus Trapezoid Trapezoid median Trapezium Kite Inscribed (cyclic) quadrilateral Inscribed quadrilateral interior angles Inscribed quadrilateral area Inscribed quadrilateral diagonals Area of various polygon types Regular polygon area Irregular polygon area Rhombus area Kite area Rectangle area Area of a square Trapezoid area Parallelogram area Perimeter of various polygon types Perimeter of a polygon (regular and irregular) Perimeter of a triangle Perimeter of a rectangle Perimeter of a square Perimeter of a parallelogram Perimeter of a rhombus Perimeter of a trapezoid Perimeter of a kite Angles associated with polygons Exterior angles of a polygon Interior angles of a polygon Relationship of interior/exterior angles Polygon central angle Named polygons Tetragon, 4 sides Pentagon, 5 sides Hexagon, 6 sides Heptagon, 7 sides Octagon, 8 sides Nonagon Enneagon, 9 sides Decagon, 10 sides Undecagon, 11 sides Dodecagon, 12 sides