In a regular polygon like the hexagon, the apothem is the shortest distance from the center to any of its sides.
The apothem is shown in purple in the image. It is the perpendicular segment that runs from the center of the hexagon to the midpoint of any side:
The apothem is key to finding the area of a regular hexagon. Once you know the apothem and the perimeter, the area is: A = (P × a) / 2, where P is the perimeter and a is the apothem.
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