Parallel and Perpendicular
We see lines everywhere around us all the time, for example on buildings, books, televisions, photo frames, roads etc.
We learnt how to identify some different types of lines in yesterday’s lesson and today we are going to look more closely at identifying parallel lines and perpendicular lines in shapes.
Parallel lines are two lines that are always the same distance apart and never meet, just like railway tracks.
To show that two lines are parallel, you draw matching arrows on each line facing the same direction.
Perpendicular lines are lines that meet at a right angle (90°), like a corner of a room or the edge of a book.
To show that two lines are perpendicular, you draw the right-angle sign in the corner where the two lines meet.
Example 1:
Look at the trapezium below.
The top and bottom lines are parallel because they will never meet and will stay the same distance apart, no matter how long the lines go on for!
The parallel lines have been marked with matching arrows.
The trapezium also has perpendicular lines, which have formed two right angles. They are marked with the small square symbol in the corners.
Example 2:
This parallelogram has no right angles so no perpendicular lines, but it does have two sets of parallel lines.
The two sets of matching arrows show you which lines are parallel.
How many parallel and perpendicular lines can you see around your house?
Visit the BBC Bitesize page to see videos and activities on recognising the different lines.
