Rhombus

(Jump to Area of a Rhombus or Perimeter of a Rhombus)

A Rhombus is a flat shape with 4 equal straight sides.

A rhombus looks like a diamond

. All sides have equal length

Opposite sides are parallel, and opposite angles are equal (it is a Parallelogram).

The altitude is the distance at right angles to two sides

And the diagonals "p" and "q" of a rhombus bisect each other at right angles.

Play with a rhombus:

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Area of a Rhombus

The Area can be calculated by: the altitude times the side length:

Area = altitude s

the side length squared (s2) times the sine of angle A (or angle B):

Area = s2 sin(A) Area = s2 sin(B)

by multiplying the lengths of the diagonals and then dividing by 2:

Area = (p q)/2 Example: A rhombus has diagonals of 6 m and 8 m, what is its Area?
Area = (6 m 8 m)/2 = 24 m2 If you can draw your Rhombus, try the Area of Polygon by Drawing tool.)

Perimeter of a Rhombus
The Perimeter is the distance around the edges.

The Perimeter is 4 times "s" (the side length) because all sides are equal in length:

Perimeter = 4s Example: A rhombus has a side length of 12 cm, what is its Perimeter?
Perimeter = 4 12 cm = 48 cm

Is a Square a Rhombus?
Yes, because a square is just a rhombus where the angles are all right angles.

Other Names
It is more common to call this shape a rhombus, but some people call it a rhomb or even a diamond. The plural is rhombi or rhombuses, and, rarely, rhombbi or rhombbuses (with a double b). The name "rhombus" comes from the Greek word rhombos: a piece of wood apparently whirled on a string to make a roaring noise!