Stadium (geometry)

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Stadium (geometry)

Summary

A stadium in geometry is a two-dimensional shape formed by taking a rectangle and attaching a semicircle to each of its opposite sides, creating a figure that resembles a running track or a capsule. It is also known as a capsule or discorectangle. The shape has two straight parallel sides and two curved ends that are parts of a circle with the same radius. Stadiums are useful in mathematics because they combine properties of rectangles and circles, making their area and perimeter easy to calculate by adding the contributions of both shapes. 

The perimeter consists of the two straight segments plus the circumference of a full circle, while the area is found by adding the rectangle’s area and the circle’s area. Stadiums appear in many real-world designs, including sports tracks, roads, architectural structures, and rounded mechanical components. Their simple yet flexible geometry makes them an important example of how basic shapes can be combined to create more complex forms.

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