How to draw a perfect five-pointed star

Part of Learn & revise

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A one-minute video on how to draw a perfect five-pointed star.

How to draw a five-pointed star slideshow

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WHAT YOU NEED: Compass, ruler, scissors, pencil and paper.
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STEP 1 - CIRCLE AND DIAMETER: Draw a circle and a vertical line through its centre.
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STEP 2 - BISECT DIAMETER: Set your compass to the diameter of the circle. Put the compass spike at the bottom of the circle and draw an arc that touches the top of the circle and extends more than half way down each side...
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...then keeping the compass width the same, put the spike at the top of the circle, and draw another arc that crosses the first one. Join the points where the arcs cross to bisect the circle.
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STEP 3 - BISECT RADIUS: Set the compass width to the radius of the circle. Put the spike on the left of the circle and draw an arc that crosses the circle twice. Join the two crossing points to bisect the radius...
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...then set the compass width to half the radius, put the spike of the compass at the mid-point of the radius, and draw a circle. Draw a line from the bottom of the original circle, through the centre of the small circle to its edge.
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STEP 4 - ARCS FOR STAR POINTS: Put the spike of the compass at the bottom of the circle and set the width to the NEAREST point on the small circle. Draw an arc with this radius and mark the points where it crosses the original circle. These are two points of your star...
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...then set the width to the FURTHEST point on the small circle and draw an arc. Mark the points where it crosses the original circle - these are two more points of your star. The final point is the top of the original circle.
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Finally join the five points to make your perfect five-pointed star. You can cut it out and turn it over to hide the construction lines. You've done it!

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