Angles of Polygons

In these lessons, we will learn

 how to calculate the sum of interior angles of a polygon using the sum of angles in a
triangle
 the formula for the sum of interior angles in a polygon
 how to solve problems using the sum of interior angles
 the formula for the sum of exterior angles in a polygon
 how to solve problems using the sum of exterior angles

All the polygons in this lesson are assumed to be convex polygons.

The following diagrams give the formulas for the sum of the interior angles of a polygon
and the sum of exterior angles of a polygon. Scroll down the page if you need more
examples and explanation.

Sum of Interior Angles of a Polygon

We first start with a triangle (which is a polygon with the fewest number of sides). We know
that

The sum of interior angles in a triangle is 180°.

This is also called the Triangle Sum Theorem. Click here if you need a proof of the Triangle
Sum Theorem.

Next, we can figure out the sum of interior angles of any polygon by dividing the polygon
into triangles. We can separate a polygon into triangles by drawing all the diagonals that
can be drawn from one single vertex.
In the quadrilateral shown below, we can draw only one diagonal from vertex A to vertex B.
So, a quadrilateral can be separated into two triangles.

The sum of angles in a triangle is 180°. Since a quadrilateral is made up of two triangles the
sum of its angles would be 180° × 2 = 360°

The sum of interior angles in a quadrilateral is 360º

A pentagon (five-sided polygon) can be divided into three triangles. The sum of its angles
will be 180° × 3 = 540°

The sum of interior angles in a pentagon is 540°.

A hexagon (six-sided polygon) can be divided into four triangles. The sum of its angles will
be 180° × 4 = 720°

The sum of interior angles in a hexagon is 720°.

Formula for the sum of interior angles

We can see from the above examples that the number of triangles in a polygon is always
two less than the number of sides of the polygon. We can then generalize the results for a
n-sided polygon to get a formula to find the sum of the interior angles of any polygon.

If n is the number of sides of the polygon then,

Sum of interior angles = (n - 2) × 180°

For a regular polygon,

Each interior angle (of a regular polygon) =

Example:

Find the sum of the interior angles of a heptagon (7-sided)

Solution:

Step 1: Write down the formula (n - 2) × 180°

Step 2: Plug in the values (7 - 2) × 180° = 5 × 180° = 900°

Answer: The sum of the interior angles of a heptagon (7-sided) is 900°.

Example:

Find the interior angle of a regular octagon.

Solution:

Step 1: Write down the formula

Step 2: Plug in the values

Answer: Each interior angle of an octagon (8-sided) is 135°.

Formula for the sum of exterior angles

The sum of exterior angles of any polygon is 360°.

The exterior angle of a regular polygon is