Wood Technology & Processes

Rectangles

Woodworkers use their knowledge of rectangles to determine the most efficient way to cut cabinet parts from panel stock such as plywood. A rectangle is a polygon with four right angles and four sides. The opposite sides of a rectangle are equal to each other.

In a rectangle, diagonals drawn between opposite corners are equal in length. The woodworker can use this information to check an area for squareness; that is, to check whether the lines are straight and true.

<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=gif::::/sites/dl/free/007894094x/300500/6_2.gif','popWin', 'width=NaN,height=NaN,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (4.0K)</a>

Practice Exercise

Find the missing angle in the rectangle.

The missing angle is 90 degreees.

Find the missing sides in the rectangle.

1.		In Figure A, the length of side y is
			A)	3''.
			B)	5''.
			C)	7''.
			D)	12''.
2.		What is the missing angle in Figure A?
			A)	30º
			B)	45º
			C)	60º
			D)	90º
3.		In Figure A the length of side x is
			A)	12''.
			B)	24''.
			C)	7''.
			D)	14''.

4.		Figure B is not a rectangle because
			A)	it is missing an angle.
			B)	all four sides are not equal.
			C)	the opposite sides are not equal.
			D)	there are no diagonals.

5.		Figure C represents a wall. How can a carpenter figure whether the wall is “square,” meaning that the sides of the wall are straight and meet at right angles?
			A)	Side a equals side b.
			B)	Side b is larger than side a .
			C)	Diagonal c equals diagonal d .
			D)	Diagonal c is larger than side b.