In geometry, a line segment from the center of a regular polygon perpendicular to one of its sides; the shortest distance from the center to any side.
From Greek apo- (from, away) and thema (thing placed or position). The term was applied in mathematics because it represents the distance placed away from the center toward the side.
The apothem is super useful in geometry because if you know the apothem length and the number of sides, you can calculate the area of any regular polygon—it's one of those elegant math tricks that feels like cheating!
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