KS2 SATs Maths: Geometry and Measurement Guide

Properties of shapes

Know the names and properties of 2D shapes (number of sides, angles, symmetry) and 3D shapes (faces, edges, vertices). A cube has 6 faces, 12 edges and 8 vertices.

Angles

Angles on a straight line add up to 180°. Angles around a point add up to 360°. Angles in a triangle add up to 180°, and in a quadrilateral they add up to 360°.

Perimeter and area

Perimeter is the distance around the outside of a shape — add up all the sides. Area of a rectangle is length × width. For compound shapes, split them into rectangles and add the areas together.

Converting units

Know your conversions: 1 cm = 10 mm, 1 m = 100 cm, 1 km = 1000 m, 1 litre = 1000 ml, 1 kg = 1000 g.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up perimeter (adding) and area (multiplying).
• Forgetting to convert units before comparing or calculating with them.
• Using the wrong pair of sides when calculating the area of a triangle (it's half of base × height, not any two sides).