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The first stage is to draw two squares next to each other.

Draw a straight line at least 3 times the length you want the side of your pentagon to have, and mark two points a and b this length apart in the middle. Then set your compass to this length and mark the points c and d equal distances either side.

Set your compass wider than a to b, and using centres b and c draw a perpendicular at a.

And draw another perpendicular at b.

Set your compass to a to b again and mark and draw the first square. Set the compass to a to d and draw a second one on top.

Draw a diagonal in this rectangle.

Draw a circle in the centre of the rectangle with the same width.

The point e is the intersection of the circle with the diagonal, and the distance a to e, if a to b is 1, is the square root of 5, divided by 2, plus ½.

Set your compass to the distance between a and e, and draw two intersecting arcs centered on a and b.

Call this intersection f.

Set your compass to the distance between a and b for the last time, and draw intersecting arcs centered on a, b and f to find the last two corners.

Join the intersections and you have your pentagon.

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12th April 1998

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