A regular pentagon is a five-sided polygon where all sides and angles are equal. To find the measure of each exterior angle, we can use a simple formula related to polygons.
The sum of all exterior angles of any polygon is always 360 degrees, regardless of the number of sides. Since a regular pentagon has 5 equal exterior angles, we can calculate the measure of each exterior angle by dividing the total sum by the number of angles:
Measure of each exterior angle = Total exterior angle sum / Number of sides
So for a regular pentagon:
Measure of each exterior angle = 360 degrees / 5 = 72 degrees
This means that each exterior angle of a regular pentagon measures 72 degrees.
Understanding this concept is essential, especially if you’re studying geometry or involved in activities like architecture and design, where geometrical shapes frequently play a critical role.