What shape has 8 straight lines?

Answer 1

An octagon has 8 sides. You can also say "8-sided polygon".

An octagon is a simple figure : it divides the plane on which it is drawn into just two regions. These regions are normally referred to as 'inside' and 'outside'.

It is possible to draw a figure using 8 straight lines which divides the plane into more than two regions.

• Draw a pentagon. On one side of this construct a square. This figure has two insides and an outside.
• Draw a square. Place a point outside the square and above it. Join this point to the two nearest corners of the square. Place another point below the square. Join this point to the two nearest corners of the square. This figure has three insides and an outside.
• Draw a square. Draw its diagonals. From a point outside the square draw lines to the two nearest corners. This figure has five insides and an outside.

There are many more possibilities, which are easy to draw but increasingly difficult to describe in words. Almost all the non-simple figures do not have a name.