What are consecutive sides?

Consecutive sides are any two sides that meet at an endpoint or an angle. Recognizing consecutive sides is important for many functions in geometry, as it helps identify segments and angles.

For example, a parallelogram has four sides and four angles. If it is assumed that each angle is named in a clockwise fashion with the letters A, B, C and D, the shape can be named ABCD, for the purpose of formulating and solving geometric equations. Each side can then be identified by its two endpoints: AB, BC, CD and DA, moving clockwise around the parallelogram. The sets of consecutive sides for this shape would be AB and BC, BC and CD, CD and DA and DA and AB.