Can a quadrilateral have only one right angle?

That Lone Right Angle: Quirks of the Quadrilateral World

Quadrilaterals, those four-sided figures we all know and (maybe) love from geometry class, can be pretty interesting. You might wonder, can one of these shapes have just one right angle? Turns out, the answer is yes! Forget about squares and rectangles for a moment. All you need is four sides, four angles that add up to 360 degrees, and boom – you’ve got yourself a quadrilateral.

Quadrilateral 101: The Basics

So, what is a quadrilateral anyway? Simply put, it’s a closed shape with four straight sides and, you guessed it, four angles. Here’s a fun fact: those angles always add up to 360 degrees. Why? Because you can chop any quadrilateral into two triangles, and each triangle’s angles add up to 180 degrees. Makes sense, right?

The Odd One Out: The Single Right Angle

Now, about that single right angle. You sometimes hear these quadrilaterals called “right quadrilaterals,” but that’s not really a common term. More often than not, they’re just lumped in with the “irregular” crowd. Think of it this way: squares and rectangles are the well-behaved, predictable quadrilaterals. Irregular ones? Not so much. They’re the rebels of the geometry world, with sides and angles all over the place.

Meet the One-Right-Angle Crew

Okay, so what does a quadrilateral with a single right angle actually look like? Well, there’s no official club, but here are a few examples of shapes that can rock just one 90-degree angle:

• The Misfit Irregular Quadrilateral: This is your catch-all category. Just draw any four-sided shape you like, make one angle a perfect 90 degrees, and you’re golden. Just make sure the other three angles add up to 270 degrees to keep the total at 360!
• The Kooky Kite: Kites, with their two pairs of equal adjacent sides, can sport a right angle, though it’s not a defining feature.
• The Tricky Trapezoid: Trapezoids (or trapeziums, depending on where you’re from) have at least one pair of parallel sides. Usually, if a trapezoid has one right angle, it’ll have two. But get creative with those angles and side lengths, and you can totally make one with just a single right angle.

So, Why No Special Name?

Ever wonder why there isn’t a fancy name for these single-right-angle wonders? Probably because they aren’t that special. Unlike their symmetrical cousins, they don’t have a lot of unique properties or show up much in real-world applications. They’re just… there.

The Bottom Line

So, can a quadrilateral have just one right angle? Absolutely! It might not be the star of the geometry show, but it’s a quirky reminder that even in the world of shapes, there’s always room for a little bit of weirdness.