Unit 02.5 Geometry

UNIT 8
Geometry
Unit 8 Geometry
Introduction
Geometry is the study of angles, lines, shapes and solids. The word is
derived from the Greek words ‘geo’ (earth) and ‘metria’ (measurement),
and geometry has been used for thousands of years for measuring land,
navigating, and mapping the world and the stars. It is now used in many
different applications, from global positioning satellites to computer
graphics and cosmology (the study of the physical universe as a whole).
A number of ancient Greek mathematicians laid the foundations of
geometry. You may have heard of one of the foremost of them.
Euclid was a Greek mathematician who worked in the city of

Alexandria in Egypt in the third century bc. Little is known about
his life other than that he produced ten works, of which five have
survived to the present day. His reputation as a mathematician is
Much of the content of based on his main work, the Elements, which was the standard
Euclid’s Elements was the introduction to mathematics for over two thousand years. It is
core of school geometry in the claimed to be the best-selling mathematics book of all time, and is
UK until about 1970.
one of the most frequently printed books ever.
The following activity looks at Euclid’s Elements.
Video Activity 1 Learning about Euclid’s Elements
Watch the video Euclid’s Elements.
One reason why the Elements was so important was that it introduced
generations of mathematicians to ideas of rigorous proof. It starts with a
small number of axioms (truths that were taken as self-evident), such as
the fact that a straight line can be drawn between any two points. It then
proceeds to prove theorems, such as Pythagoras’ Theorem (which you will
meet in Section 3), using nothing more than the axioms and previously
proven theorems. This approach was very influential in the development of
mathematics.
Although it isn’t possible to take such a formal approach here, you will see
some examples of proving geometric theorems by using definitions and
previously established results. This will give you a taste of the way that
geometry was developed in Euclid’s Elements.
Section 1 introduces you to some geometric terminology and some
important properties of angles between straight lines that you will be using
throughout the rest of the unit. Section 2 concentrates on the properties of
polygons – shapes with straight sides – and symmetry. In both Sections 1
and 2, you will be referred to some dynamic geometry software that allows
you to explore geometric diagrams interactively, before looking at more
rigorous proofs.
Section 3 considers when two shapes are essentially the same and
introduces the ideas of congruency and similarity. These are useful both in
practical applications such as constructing buildings and bridges, and in
proving general properties of shapes.
8
1 Angles
The perimeters and areas of shapes are considered in Section 4. A modern

application discussed here is the detection of abnormal cells in tissue
samples by computer-assisted classification. You will also see Archimedes’
method for calculating approximations for the constant π, which occurs in In 1706 the English
the formulas for the perimeter and area of a circle. mathematician William Jones
introduced the use of π to
Finally, Section 5 looks at how to calculate the volume and the surface mean the ratio of the
area of a solid object. circumference of a circle to its
diameter, but the symbol
If you would like some extra practice with some of the ideas in this unit, didn’t come into general use
then have a look at Maths Help Module 7: Geometry. until it was popularised by
Leonhard Euler in his
Introductio in analysin
infinitorum in 1748.
1 Angles
1.1 Angles and lines

A D
This subsection introduces some terminology and notation that are useful
for explaining geometric ideas clearly and concisely. You may like to make
a note of any terms that you have not met before, so that you can refer to C F
them easily as you work through the unit.
B E
Let’s start with some definitions. In geometry, a point has a position but
no size. For example, the place where two lines cross (or two line segments
meet) is a point. In Figure 1, six points are labelled with the upper-case Figure 1 Points and line
letters A, B, C, D, E and F . segments
A line is a straight line, as normally understood, but one that extends In MU123 you may assume that
infinitely far in both directions. A finite portion of a line, which is all that any line segment drawn in a
you can draw in practice, is called a line segment. There are several line diagram is a straight line, even
where a point along its length is
segments in Figure 1, such as the one between the points A and B, which identified. For example, in
is referred to as AB (or BA). Line segments are often just called lines, for Figure 1, assume that ACE and
brevity. A point where two line segments meet or cross is called a vertex. BCD are both straight lines.
So in Figure 1 there are vertices at A, B, C and E. The plural of vertex is vertices.
Angles are a measure of rotation and can be measured in degrees. There
C
are 360 degrees (written as 360◦) in a full turn, and therefore there are 180◦ F
in a half-turn and 90◦ in a quarter-turn or right angle. In Figure 1, if the
line segment EF is rotated through a quarter-turn anticlockwise, then it
E
lies in the same direction as the line segment EC, so the angle between
EF and EC is a right angle. This angle can be referred to as ∠F EC or
% (or ∠CEF or C EF % ). Figure 2 Two angles
F EC
determined by the line
In fact, there are two angles determined by the line segments F E and EC, segments F E and EC
one of 90◦ and one of 270◦, as indicated by the small arcs in Figure 2. The % are both read
% refer to the smaller angle. ∠F EC and F EC
notations ∠F EC and F EC as ‘angle F E C’.
Finally, a plane is a flat surface that extends infinitely far in all directions.
A D
For example, a flat piece of paper is part of a plane.
θ ψ a
Sometimes it is cumbersome to use several letters to refer to a line segment φ F
or angle, and in Figure 3 some line segments and angles have been labelled C b
with single letters. The letters a and b have been used to label two line
segments, and the Greek letters θ, φ and ψ have been used to label three B E
angles, which are also marked with small arcs to help you to identify them.
Also included in the diagram is the special square symbol that indicates a Figure 3 Line segments and
right angle. It has been used to mark ∠CEF as a right angle. angles labelled with single
letters
9
Unit 8 Geometry
Greek letters are often used to label angles. Some Greek letters that are
used frequently are listed in Table 1, with their spellings and
pronunciations. A full table of Greek letters is included in the Handbook.
Table 1 Some Greek letters

α alpha θ theta (pronounced ‘thee-ta’)
β beta (pronounced ‘bee-ta’) φ phi (pronounced ‘fy’)
γ gamma ψ psi (pronounced ‘sigh’)
δ delta ω omega (pronounced ‘oh-meh-ga’)
The notation and symbols used for line segments and angles are also used
to refer to the lengths of line segments and to the sizes of angles. So you
can ask questions about Figure 3 such as: ‘Is AB equal to BC?’ or ‘Is θ
equal to 60◦ ?’
Angles can be classified into different types, as described in Table 2.
Table 2 Types of angle

Angle Diagram Description
Acute angle Greater than 0◦ and less than 90◦

The mathematician and
astronomer Hipparchus of
Nicea (ca. 180–125 bc) is
thought to have chosen 360
for the number of degrees in a
full turn. Earlier, Babylonian Right angle Equal to 90◦
astronomers had divided the
day into 360 parts.
Obtuse angle Greater than 90◦ and less than 180◦
C Straight angle Equal to 180◦
30◦
Reflex angle Greater than 180◦ and less than 360◦
B
D
Angles on a straight line
Since a straight angle is 180◦, any angles that together make up a straight
Figure 4 Two angles that angle add up to 180◦. For example, in Figure 4, ∠ABC and ∠CBD
add up to 180◦ together add up to 180◦. So, since ∠ABC = 30◦,
∠CBD = 180◦ − 30◦ = 150◦.
In Figure 5, the three angles α, β and γ add up to 180◦; that is,
γ β
α
α + β + γ = 180◦.
The general result is summarised below.
Figure 5 Three angles that
add up to 180◦ Angles on a straight line add up to 180◦.
10
1 Angles
Many of the activities in this unit, and many of the applications of

geometry, involve using a geometric diagram to deduce the sizes of angles
or the lengths of line segments. When you do this, it is important to set
out your solution clearly, justifying your results, as shown in the example
below.
Example 1 Calculating angles
(a) Calculate ∠ABD in the diagram below.
E 80◦
45◦ B
(b) Calculate the angle θ in the diagram below.
θ
θ 60◦
θ
Solution
(a) State the facts that you are going to use.
ABC is a straight line, and angles on a straight line add up to 180◦.
Write down an equation involving the unknown angle, and
solve it.
So
45◦ + 80◦ + ∠ABD = 180◦
∠ABD = 180◦ − 80◦ − 45◦
∠ABD = 55◦.
(b) Angles in a full turn add up to 360◦. So
θ + θ + θ + 60◦ = 360◦
3θ + 60◦ = 360◦
3θ = 300◦
θ = 100◦.
You can write solutions to problems like those in Example 1 a little more
concisely if you wish. For example, the solution to part (a) could be
written with the justification in brackets like this:
ABC is a straight line. So
∠ABD = 180◦ − 80◦ − 45◦ (angles on a straight line)
= 55◦.
11
Unit 8 Geometry
The following activities tie together some of the ideas that you’ve met in
this subsection.
Activity 2 Calculating angles
This question is about the diagram below.
B
A
65◦
◦
50
C
D
E
(a) Mark ∠ACB as α and calculate its value.

(b) Which angles in the diagram are obtuse?
(c) Label the reflex angle at B as ω and calculate its value.
Activity 3 Calculating angles of snooker balls
When a snooker ball hits the cushion of a snooker table, the angle that its
path makes with the cushion is the same after the impact as before. This
angle is marked as θ in the diagram below. The diagram shows a path
whose parts before and after impact make an angle of 110◦ with each other.
path of ball
110◦
θ θ
cushion
Calculate the angle θ in this case.
1.2 Pairs of equal angles

You have seen that you can sometimes deduce the sizes of angles from
other angles that you already know. The next activity is about how you
can do this in some particular situations. In the first part of the activity
you will look at the angles formed when two lines cross each other, and in
the second part you will consider the angles formed when a line crosses two
parallel lines. As you saw in Unit 6, lines on a flat surface are parallel if
they never cross even when extended infinitely far in each direction.
In a geometric diagram, parallel lines are indicated by putting matching
arrowheads on the lines. When a diagram contains two pairs of parallel
lines, one pair is marked with a single arrowhead on each line and the
Figure 6 Two pairs of other pair is marked with a double arrowhead on each line. Figure 6 shows
parallel lines such a diagram.
12
1 Angles
When you are looking at a geometric diagram, you should take care not to
assume properties that are not marked. For example, you should not
assume that two lines that look parallel really are parallel, unless they are
marked with matching arrowheads.
Activity 4 Exploring angles Dynamic geometry
Open the dynamic geometry resource for Unit 8.

(a) Click on the ‘Opposite angles’ tab and follow the instructions in the
left-hand panel.
(b) Click on the ‘Alternate angles’ tab and follow the instructions.
The rest of this subsection explains the results in Activity 4 in more detail,
and shows you how they can be useful.
Opposite angles
Figure 7 shows two lines, AC and DB, which cross. The angles θ and φ in
this figure are called a pair of opposite angles or, more informally, Some resources use the phrase
X angles. The angles ψ and ω form a second pair of opposite angles. ‘vertically opposite’ to describe
opposite angles, since they occur
In Activity 4(a) you saw that opposite angles seem to be equal. However, at a vertex.
looking at some examples, as you did in this activity, isn’t sufficient to
show that this result is always true. What is needed is a more formal
proof, using the same sort of rigorous argument that Euclid used.
A B
Activity 5 Proving Euclid’s proposition about opposite angles
ψ
This activity leads you through the steps in Euclid’s proof that opposite θ φ
angles are equal. ω
Consider the opposite angles θ and φ in Figure 7.
D C
(a) The angles θ and ψ lie on the straight line BD. Use this fact to find an
equation relating θ and ψ. Figure 7 Two pairs of
(b) The angles φ and ψ lie on the straight line AC. Use this fact to find an opposite angles
equation relating φ and ψ.
(c) Use algebra to show that θ = φ, by eliminating ψ from the equations
found in parts (a) and (b).
From Activity 5, we have the following result.
Opposite angles are equal.
This is a useful result, as it means that as soon as you spot a pair of angles
that are opposite to each other, you can deduce that they are equal. For
example, in Figure 7, ψ = ω.
Try using this result, and other facts that you have learned so far, in the
next activity.
13
Unit 8 Geometry
Activity 6 Finding opposite angles
Look at the diagram below, where the sizes of the angles inside triangle
ABC are given.
H E
40◦
A 70◦ 70◦ C
F G
D I
Find ∠HBE, ∠F AD and ∠BAF .
β Corresponding and alternate angles

γ Now let’s look at the angles formed when a line crosses a pair of parallel
lines, as shown in Figure 8.
α The angles α and β in Figure 8 are called corresponding angles, because
they are in corresponding positions on the two parallel lines.
These angles are equal, because if you slide angle α up then it lies exactly
on top of angle β, as you saw in Activity 4(b). Any corresponding angles
Figure 8 Corresponding and can be seen to be equal in the same way, which gives the important result
alternate angles stated below.
Corresponding angles are equal.
In Figure 9, two pairs of corresponding angles are marked on the same

diagram (and there are two more pairs, which are not marked). One pair
of corresponding angles is marked with single arcs, and a second pair is
marked with double arcs. This is a convention used frequently in geometric
diagrams when angles are not labelled with individual letters or with their
sizes: equal angles are indicated by marking them with the same number
of arcs.
Figure 9 Two pairs of The two angles marked with double arcs are part of a capital F, and so
corresponding angles corresponding angles are also known informally as F angles.
Now look at Figure 8 again. The angles α and γ are known as alternate
angles, because they are on alternate sides of the line that crosses the pair
of parallel lines. They are also known informally as Z angles, because
there is a pair of such angles in a capital Z.
14
1 Angles
You have seen that the angles α and β in Figure 8 are equal since they are
corresponding angles. Also, the angles β and γ are equal since they are
opposite angles, and hence the alternate angles α and γ are equal – you
saw this argument in Activity 4. A similar argument applies to other pairs
of alternate angles, so we have the following result. ψ
φ
Alternate angles are equal. ω θ
Not all pairs of alternate angles look like angles in a letter Z! For example,
in Figure 10 the two angles marked θ and φ are obtuse angles, but they are
alternate angles nevertheless. The angles marked ψ and ω are also Figure 10 Two pairs of
alternate angles. alternate angles
The next example illustrates how the results about angles that you have
met in this subsection can be used to find unknown angles.
Example 2 Finding corresponding and alternate angles
Calculate the angles α and β in the diagram below.
100◦
B
70◦ β E
A
Solution
Look for alternate, corresponding and opposite angles.
The line segments AC and DE are parallel, so ∠ABD and ∠BDE are
alternate angles.
So α = 70◦.
Add a line segment to the diagram to help you spot equal angles.
C
Extend CE to a point F , as shown in the margin. Then since AC and DE
100◦
are parallel, ∠DEF and ∠BCE are corresponding angles. Since B
∠BCE = 100◦, it follows that ∠DEF = 100◦. β E
70◦
Since β and ∠DEF are angles on a straight line, A
F
α
β = 180◦ − ∠DEF = 180◦ − 100◦ = 80◦.
D
When you work on a problem like that in Example 2, you will probably
find it helpful to mark the sizes of the angles on the diagram as you find
them.
15
Unit 8 Geometry
Here is an activity on equal angles.
Activity 7 Finding angles equal to a given angle
In the diagram below, ∠DEG = 50◦ (this is marked on the diagram).
B
A C
D F
50◦ E
Which other angles in the diagram are equal to 50◦, and why?
The result about alternate angles that you have met in this subsection can
be stated as follows. Suppose that two lines are crossed by a third line, as
shown in Figure 11. The result (in terms of the diagram in Figure 11) is:
α If the first two lines are parallel, then the angles α and β are equal.
This result also works in reverse, in the sense that what is known as the
converse result is true:
β
If the angles α and β are equal, then the first two lines are parallel.
In general, the converse of the result ‘If A is true, then B is true’ is the
result ‘If B is true, then A is true’.
Figure 11 Two lines and a There is an important point here. A large proportion of mathematical
third line crossing them. Two results are of the form ‘If A is true, then B is true’ – and it is not always
angles are labelled α and β, the case that the converse of a result is also a mathematical result. For
respectively. example, if the last digit of a number is 2, then the number is even; this is
a mathematical result. But the converse ‘If a number is even, then its last
digit is 2’ is false, since (for instance) 14 is even.
Activity 8 Finding an angle
In the diagram below, the three angles marked θ are equal. Find the angle
marked φ.
B
A C
θ θ
θ
φ
D F
E
In this section you have seen how to use some results about angles to find
the sizes of unknown angles. The same results can be used to prove general
facts about shapes, as you will see in the next section.
16
2 Shapes and symmetry
2.1 Triangles
B
This subsection is all about triangles. You can refer to a triangle by using β
vertex labels. For example, the triangle in Figure 12 is referred to as γ C
triangle ABC. The notation -ABC is often used for brevity.
The interior angles of a triangle are the angles formed inside the triangle
α
by its sides. For example, the interior angles of the triangle in Figure 12
A
are marked as α, β and γ. You may be familiar with the fact that the
interior angles of every triangle add up to 180◦. In the next activity you
are asked to check this result for some triangles, and then prove it by using Figure 12 The interior
results that you found earlier. angles of a triangle
Activity 9 Investigating the interior angles of a triangle Dynamic geometry
Open the Unit 8 dynamic geometry resource, click on the ‘Triangle’ tab,
and follow the instructions in the left-hand panel.
The result found in Activity 9 is as follows.
The angles in a triangle add up to 180◦.
The proof in Activity 9 is one of the most famous proofs in mathematics!

It’s worth thinking about the process of finding a proof like this in a bit
more detail.
First, a key step was experimenting with the triangle, spotting a pattern
and deciding what result seems to be true in general. Then, using results
that were already proven, and working step by step with a clear diagram,
it was possible to prove the result.
The idea of adding a line to the triangle is one that may not have occurred
to you, although you have had a small taste of this in Example 2. An
addition to a geometric diagram, in order to help prove a fact about the
original shape, is known as a construction. A construction that is a line
is known as a construction line. The extra line added to the diagram in
Activity 9 is an example of a construction line. Adding construction lines
to a geometric diagram can be a very powerful technique.
Once you have come up with the main ideas of a proof, the next stage is to
write the proof out clearly, using words and mathematical notation, so
that a reader can understand it. You must give an argument that refers to
results known to be true, and work logically step by step from what you
know to what you want to prove. The process of setting out a geometric
argument is summarised overleaf, and then Example 3 shows how it is
applied to prove that the angles in a triangle add up to 180◦.
17
Unit 8 Geometry
Setting out a geometric argument

1. State the general fact that is to be proved, including any given
information.
2. Draw a diagram that contains the information that is given,
labelling the important features, such as points and angles.
3. Add any useful constructions.
4. Proceed step by step from what is given to what is to be proved,
explaining your reasoning clearly.
Example 3 Proving the result about the angles in a triangle
Prove that the angles of any triangle add up to 180◦.

Solution
State the general fact to be proved.
Here we prove that the angles in a triangle add up to 180◦.
Draw a suitably-labelled diagram containing the information that you
know.
Consider -ABC.
θ φ
A C
Add any necessary constructions.

Draw a line through B, parallel to the side AC.
B
D E
ψ
θ φ
A C
Proceed step by step from what you know to the fact that is to be
proved. Explain each step clearly.
∠DBA and ∠BAC are alternate angles. Therefore ∠DBA = θ.
∠EBC and ∠BCA are alternate angles. Therefore ∠EBC = φ.
∠DBA, ∠ABC and ∠EBC are on the straight line passing through B and
so add up to 180◦.
So θ + ψ + φ = 180◦.
But this is the sum of the angles in -ABC.
Thus the angles in a triangle add up to 180◦.
18
You will be looking at some more proofs later in the unit, but in the rest of
this subsection you will see how the result about the sum of the angles in a
triangle can be used in different situations. First we look at two special
types of triangle: equilateral and isosceles triangles. ‘Isosceles’ is pronounced
‘eye-sos-eh-lees’.
If a triangle has all its sides the same length, then all its angles are equal
and the triangle is known as an equilateral triangle. On a geometric
diagram, you can show that two or more line segments have the same
length by putting a stroke, or the same number of strokes, on each of the
line segments, as shown in Figure 13.
Activity 10 The angles of an equilateral triangle
Show that each angle in an equilateral triangle is 60◦.

Figure 13 An equilateral
triangle
The result that you were asked to show in Activity 10 is worth
remembering, so it is stated formally below.
Each angle of an equilateral triangle is 60◦. apex angle
base angles
angles
If a triangle has just two sides that are the same length, then it also has
two equal angles, known as the base angles, and the triangle is called an
isosceles triangle. As shown in Figure 14, the third angle is known as
the apex angle.
A triangle in which one angle is equal to 90◦ is called a right-angled Figure 14 An isosceles
triangle. Example 4 considers the angles in a right-angled triangle that is triangle
also isosceles.
Example 4 Finding angles in an isosceles triangle
Calculate the base angles in an isosceles right-angled triangle, such as the The word ‘isosceles’ comes
one shown below. from the Greek isos (same)
and skelos (leg).
Solution
Start from what you know.
Let each base angle of the triangle be θ (the same letter can be used for
each angle since the angles are equal). Then the angles of the triangle are
90◦, θ and θ.
Using the fact that the angle sum of a triangle is 180◦ gives the equation
90◦ + 2θ = 180◦.
Solve the equation.
19
Unit 8 Geometry
Rearranging the equation gives

2θ = 180◦ − 90◦
2θ = 90◦
θ = 45◦.
So each base angle of the triangle is 45◦.
Now try the following activity.
Activity 11 Finding angles in isosceles triangles
(a) Each base angle of an isosceles triangle is 62◦. What is the apex angle?
(b) The apex angle of an isosceles triangle is 30◦. What are the base
angles?
If you can show that two angles in a triangle are equal to each other, then
you can deduce that the triangle is isosceles (or possibly equilateral) and
that the sides opposite these two angles have the same length.
A triangle that is neither equilateral nor isosceles is known as a scalene
triangle. All its sides are of different lengths.
The next example involves putting together several results that you have
met so far. You will see that the steps of drawing a diagram, adding
construction lines and working logically apply here too. The example
involves finding some unknown angles: each new angle is found using
information that was either known at the start or worked out earlier in the
solution.
Tutorial clip Example 5 Finding angles related to a garden shed
The diagram below shows the front of a garden shed, including a wooden
strip that needs to be replaced. A close-up of the replacement strip is
shown in the inset. The strip makes an angle of 65◦ with the vertical. The
lines AB and DC are parallel, and the lines AE and BC (being vertical)
are also parallel. Calculate the angles α, β, γ and δ.
strip to be
replaced
B
β
γ
C
◦
65
A
α
δ
E D
20
Solution
Use the angle properties of straight lines, parallel lines and angles.
Since the angles on a straight line add up to 180◦,
γ = 180◦ − 65◦ = 115◦.
Since the lines DC and AB are parallel, the angles marked β and 65◦ are
corresponding angles. So
β = 65◦.
Draw construction lines to help you to find the unknown angles.
B
β
γ
C
65◦
A
α
δ
F E D G
Since the lines AE and BC are parallel, ∠F AE and ∠ABC are

corresponding angles. So ∠F AE = β = 65◦.
Since the angles on a straight line add up to 180◦,
α = 180◦ − 65◦ = 115◦.
Since the angles in -CGD add up to 180◦,
∠CDG = 180◦ − 90◦ − 65◦ = 25◦.
Hence, since the angles on a straight line add up to 180◦,
δ = 180◦ − 25◦ = 155◦.
The following activity asks you to go through a similar process to find

some unknown angles in another diagram. There are often many different
ways of finding unknown angles, and you may find a different way from
that in the given solution.
Activity 12 More angles related to the shed
The wooden strip on the shed in Example 5 is one of a pair, as shown in

the diagram below. Each of the two strips is at an angle of 65◦ to the
vertical, and where they join there is a vertical strip, labelled as KCJ IH
in the diagram below. This diagram extends the labelling notation that
was used in Example 5. Find ∠HKC, ∠KCJ and ∠CJ I.
KC J
E D H I L
21
Unit 8 Geometry
In Example 5 and Activity 12, the unknown angles were found by using
known angles and working systematically around the diagrams. If no
angles, or not enough angles, in a diagram are known, then it is sometimes
useful to use letters to label one or more of the angles, and then find
expressions for the other angles in terms of those letters.
Example 6 Finding an expression for an angle
Find an expression for ∠ABC in the triangle below in terms of α.
50◦
C
α
A
Solution
Since the sum of the angles in a triangle is 180◦,
∠ABC + 50◦ + α = 180◦.
Hence
∠ABC = 180◦ − 50◦ − α
so
∠ABC = 130◦ − α.
∠ABC can now be labelled as 130◦ − α on the diagram.
Here is a similar activity for you to try.
Activity 13 Finding angles in terms of a variable angle
For each of the following diagrams, find ∠ABC in terms of θ.
(a) (b) E
A
B
B
30◦ C
C
θ
θ
D D A
22
Next, you are asked to use the dynamic geometry resource to discover
something about the sum of the exterior angles of a triangle. An exterior
angle of a triangle is the angle formed outside the triangle by one side and
an extension of the adjacent side, as illustrated in Figure 15.
Activity 14 Investigating the exterior angles of a triangle Dynamic geometry
Open the Unit 8 dynamic geometry resource and click on the ‘Exterior
angles’ tab. Follow the instructions in the left-hand panel, and make a
conjecture about the sum of the exterior angles in any triangle. β
Prove your conjecture.
α
γ
2.2 Polygons
Figure 15 Exterior angles of
A triangle has just three sides, but there are plenty of geometric shapes a triangle
with more than three. A polygon is a plane shape with straight sides – so
triangles and squares are examples of polygons. In particular:
• A quadrilateral is a polygon with four sides.
• A pentagon is a polygon with five sides.
• A hexagon is a polygon with six sides.
Similarly, heptagons, octagons, nonagons and decagons are polygons
with, respectively, 7, 8, 9 and 10 sides. Figure 16 shows a few polygons.
quadrilateral pentagon hexagon octagon
Figure 16 Some polygons
You have already seen some names that are used to describe different types A
of triangles: equilateral triangle, isosceles triangle and scalene triangle.
Table 3 (overleaf) shows examples of some types of quadrilaterals and their
associated properties. D B
In this table, and in places in the rest of the unit, opposite angles means
the internally opposite angles of a quadrilateral. These are the angles not
at the ends of the same side: in the quadrilateral ABCD in Figure 17, the Opposite
angles at A and C are internally opposite, as are those at B and D. (Note C angles
that this is a different concept of ‘opposite’ from the opposite angles in
Section 1, which share a vertex. It is usually clear from the context which Figure 17 A pair of opposite
type of opposite angles is meant.) angles in a quadrilateral
23
Unit 8 Geometry
Table 3 Some special types of quadrilaterals

Shape Diagram Description
Four equal sides and four right

Square angles; opposite sides are
parallel
Four right angles; opposite

Rectangle
sides are equal and parallel
Opposite sides are equal and

Parallelogram parallel; opposite angles
are equal
Four equal sides; opposite

Rhombus sides are parallel; opposite
angles are equal
Two pairs of adjacent equal

Kite sides; one pair of opposite
equal angles
Trapezium One pair of parallel opposite

sides
From Table 3 you can see that squares, rectangles and rhombuses are all
special types of parallelogram.
24
Not all the properties in Table 3 are necessary to define the different types
of quadrilateral. For example, a parallelogram can be defined to be a
quadrilateral whose opposite sides are parallel, and the additional
properties that opposite sides are equal and opposite angles are equal can
be proved using this definition. In the next activity, you are asked to use
the dynamic geometry resource to see how the property that opposite
angles are equal can be proved. Later in the unit you will see how, if a kite
is defined as a quadrilateral with two pairs of adjacent equal sides, then it
can be proved that a kite also has one pair of opposite equal angles.
The properties of types of triangles, such as the property that an isosceles
triangle has two equal angles, can be deduced from their definitions, in a
similar way.
Activity 15 Investigating the angles of a parallelogram Dynamic geometry
Open the Unit 8 dynamic geometry resource and follow the instructions in
the ‘Parallelogram’ tab to see how to prove that opposite angles in a
parallelogram are equal.
A
You saw earlier that the interior angles of any triangle add up to 180◦. The
sum of the interior angles of a polygon with more than three sides can be E
found by dividing the interior of the polygon into triangles. B
For example, Figure 18 shows a pentagon divided into three triangles. The
angle sum of each of the three triangles (-BCD, -BDE and -ABE)
D
is 180◦. But each angle in each triangle is an angle in the pentagon or a
C
part of one of these angles. For example, ∠ABC is divided into ∠ABE,
∠EBD and ∠DBC. Moreover, each angle or part-angle in the pentagon
belongs to one of the three triangles. So the angle sum of the pentagon is Figure 18 A pentagon
equal to the total angle sum of the three triangles, which is 3 × 180◦ = 540◦. divided into three triangles
Activity 16 Calculating the angle sum of a hexagon
Calculate the angle sum of a hexagon by dividing its interior into triangles.
A polygon is said to be regular if its sides are of equal length and its
interior angles are equal. Some regular polygons are shown in Figure 19.
(The polygons in Figure 16 on page 23 are not regular.) Regular quadrilaterals are called
squares, and regular triangles
are called equilateral triangles.
Figure 19 Some regular polygons
You can calculate the size of each angle of a regular polygon by dividing
the total angle sum by the number of angles. For example, each angle in a
regular pentagon is
540◦
= 108◦.
5
25
Unit 8 Geometry
Activity 17 Finding the interior angles of a regular hexagon
Calculate the interior angles of a regular hexagon.
Many geometric properties of shapes have practical applications. For

example, in Mozambique farmers use geometric properties of rectangles to
mark out the bases of their houses.
They use two equal lengths of rope tied together at their midpoints, and a
piece of bamboo that is the width of the house that they plan to build.
Two of the rope ends are attached to the ends of the bamboo, and the
ropes are then pulled taut, as shown in Figure 20, making sure that each
rope stays in a straight line. The endpoints of the ropes indicate the four
corners of the house.
Source: Gerdes, P. (1988) ‘On

culture, geometrical thinking
and mathematics education’, ropes
Educational Studies in
Mathematics, vol. 19, no. 2,
pp. 137–62. bamboo endpoints marked
Figure 20 A device used in Mozambique for marking out a rectangle
The next activity asks you to explain why this method always gives a
rectangle.
Activity 18 Marking a rectangle for the base of a house
In the diagram below, AB represents the piece of bamboo and BD and

AC represent the ropes.
B C
A D
Remember that the only (a) Explain why ∠ABE = ∠BAE and ∠EBC = ∠ECB.
properties that you can assume
are the four equal line segments (b) Label ∠ABE as α. Find expressions, in terms of α, for the following
marked, and the facts that AEC angles.
and BED are straight lines. For
(i) ∠BAE (ii) ∠AEB (iii) ∠BEC (iv) ∠EBC
example, you can’t assume that
∠ABC is a right angle just (c) By adding together the expressions for ∠ABE and ∠EBC, show that
because it looks like one. The ∠ABC is a right angle.
fact that ∠ABC is a right angle
is the property that you’re (d) By a similar argument, the other interior angles of ABCD can also be
trying to prove! Similarly, you shown to be right angles. What can you deduce about the shape
cannot assume that BC is ABCD?
parallel to AD.
26
The dynamic geometry resource includes an optional activity, ‘Semicircle’,

which you may like to look at if you would like further practice in proving A
geometric results. This activity explores the size of the angle ∠BAC in
Figure 21, where A is any point on the curved part of the semicircle.
2.3 Symmetry C B
O
Rotational symmetry
Figure 21 The angle in a
Some shapes have the property that if you rotate them through a fixed
semicircle
angle (less than a full turn) about a fixed point, then the rotated shape
looks the same as the original shape. Such a shape is said to have B
rotational symmetry, and the fixed point is called the centre of
rotation.
For example, if an equilateral triangle is rotated through one third of a full
turn (120◦) about its centre, then the rotated triangle looks the same as
the original triangle, as shown in Figure 22. Since there are three positions
in which the rotated triangle looks the same, it is said to have rotational C A
symmetry of order 3, or three-fold rotational symmetry. Another way
to think about the three-fold rotational symmetry of the triangle is that
three rotations are needed to return it to its starting position.
Figure 22 Rotating this
All regular polygons have rotational symmetry. The order of the rotational
equilateral triangle by 120◦
symmetry is the same as the number of sides.
anticlockwise about its centre
You can see many examples of rotational symmetry in nature. For moves vertex A to vertex B,
example, a hibiscus flower (Figure 23) illustrates five-fold rotational vertex B to vertex C, and
symmetry, as you saw in the video for Unit 1. vertex C to vertex A
Activity 19 Spotting rotational symmetries
For each of the following pictures, state the order of rotational symmetry.
(a) (b)
Figure 23 A hibiscus flower
(c) (d)
27
Unit 8 Geometry
Line symmetry
Some shapes exhibit a different kind of symmetry, known as line
symmetry, mirror symmetry or reflectional symmetry. For example, look
at the first butterfly in Figure 24. If you were to fold the paper along an
imaginary line down the centre of the stalk that the butterfly is resting on,
then the pattern on one half of the butterfly would lie exactly on top of the
pattern on the other half. Alternatively, if you place a mirror along this
line, then the reflection gives the other half of the butterfly. This imaginary
line is known as a line of symmetry (or a reflection line or mirror
line). The second butterfly in Figure 24 also has a line of symmetry.
Shapes can have more than one line of symmetry. For example, a rhombus
has two lines of symmetry, as shown in Figure 25.
Activity 20 Symmetries of quadrilaterals

Figure 24 Symmetry in the
Draw an example of each of the following quadrilaterals and mark in any
wings of butterflies
lines of symmetry. (You may find it useful to refer back to Table 3 on
page 24 for the main properties of these shapes.)
(a) A square
(b) A rectangle (that is not a square)
(c) A parallelogram (that is neither a rectangle nor a rhombus)
(d) A kite (that is not a rhombus)
In Units 10 and 12 you will see how line symmetry can be a useful way of
Figure 25 The two lines of
describing some graphs.
symmetry of a rhombus
In this section you have seen how to set out a geometric argument formally
and explored some properties of polygons, as well as looking at some
practical applications. The next section extends these ideas by looking at
some more properties of triangles and how they can be used, both
practically and theoretically.
3 Congruent and similar shapes

Geometric figures with the same size and shape are said to be congruent.
So two shapes are congruent if you can pick one of the shapes up and place
it exactly on top of the other shape, rotating or flipping over the first
shape if necessary.
You saw a pair of congruent shapes in Activity 12, which was about
wooden strips on a garden shed. The shed is symmetrical, so the strip on
Figure 26 The wooden the left-hand side is congruent to the strip on the right-hand side, as
strips on the shed shown in Figure 26. Figure 27 shows some other pairs of congruent shapes.
28
Figure 27 Four pairs of congruent shapes
Making congruent shapes, and checking that two shapes are congruent,
occurs frequently in building and manufacturing. Since measuring sides
and angles takes time, an important question to ask is: ‘How many
measurements are needed to make sure that two shapes are congruent?’
Subsection 3.1 explores this question for triangles, and it uses some
conditions for congruency of triangles to prove some geometric results.
Triangles, and shapes made from triangles, are often used in constructions
such as buildings and bridges, both to make the structures rigid and for an Figure 28 The Bank of
attractive design – examples are shown in Figures 28 and 29. China in Hong Kong
Geometric figures that have the same shape, but not necessarily the same
size, are said to be similar. For example, if one shape is an enlargement of
another (again, flipping is allowed), then the two shapes are similar, as
illustrated in Figure 30.
Figure 30 Three similar shapes
As you saw in Unit 3, the factor by which the lengths in one shape are
enlarged with respect to the lengths in a similar shape is called a scale Figure 29 The Hearst
factor. For example, each length in the second (flipped) ‘F’ shape in Tower in New York
Figure 30 is about 1.5 times the corresponding length in the first ‘F’ shape,
so the scale factor from the first shape to the second is about 1.5.
Subsection 3.2 investigates when two triangles are similar, and illustrates
how similar triangles are used in practice. Then in Subsection 3.3 you will
see how similar triangles can be used to prove one of the most well-known
theorems in geometry – Pythagoras’ Theorem.
29
Unit 8 Geometry
3.1 Congruent triangles

Figure 31 shows three congruent triangles. Each of the first two triangles
has its sides marked with one stroke, two strokes and three strokes in
clockwise order, so either one of these triangles can be placed on top of the
other without flipping. The sides of the third triangle have the same
marks, but in anticlockwise order, so this triangle has to be flipped over
before it can be placed on top of either of the other two.
A
D
I
Recall that strokes are used to F
indicate which side lengths are
equal, and small arcs are used to
indicate which angles are equal. H
C
G
E
B
Figure 31 Three congruent triangles
When all the triangles are placed exactly on top of each other, the vertices
A, D and G coincide, as do B, E and H, and also C, F and I. Vertices
that can be made to coincide like this are said to be corresponding
vertices. Since the angles marked with a single arc (at A, D and G) lie on
top of each other, they are said to be corresponding angles. The angles
marked with a double arc (at B, E and H) also form a set of
corresponding angles, as do those marked with a triple arc (at C, F
and I). (Note that this is a different use of the phrase ‘corresponding
angles’ to earlier in the unit, where the same phrase referred to the
F angles formed when a line crossed two parallel lines.)
The symbol ∼ = is read as The symbol ∼ = is used to indicate that two shapes are congruent. So you
‘is congruent to’. can write
-ABC ∼ = -DEF ∼ = -GHI (1)
to indicate that the three triangles in Figure 31 are congruent. In a
statement like this, the order of the vertices indicates which vertices
correspond. So statement (1) tells you that A, D and G correspond, as do
B, E and H, and finally C, F and I.
Conditions for congruency

It might seem that to show that two triangles are congruent, you would
need to gather six pieces of information for each triangle: three lengths
and three angles. But how much of this information is actually needed to
determine whether two triangles are congruent?
To work this out, let’s consider how much information about a triangle you
need to have in order for the triangle to be completely determined. In
other words, let’s look at how much information is needed to ensure that
there is only one possible shape and size for the triangle.
The six possible pieces of information are the lengths of the three sides and
the sizes of the three angles. Certainly it is not enough to know only one
or two of these pieces of information. If you know the lengths of two sides
of a triangle, or the sizes of two angles, or the length of one side and the
size of one angle, then there is more than one possibility for the triangle.
30
For example, Figure 32 shows two different triangles, each of which has
sides of lengths 2 cm and 3 cm. 2 cm
So you certainly need at least three of the six possible pieces of

information for the triangle to be determined. Let’s consider the possible 3 cm
cases where you know three pieces of information.
You could know all three sides, all three angles, two sides and an angle or
two angles and a side. The first of these cases is known as the side-side-side
case (SSS), and the second is known as the angle-angle-angle case (AAA).
Each of the third and fourth cases splits into two subcases, as follows. 3 cm
If you know two sides and an angle, then the angle could be between the
two sides – this is the side-angle-side case (SAS) – or it could be one of
the other two angles – this is the angle-side-side case (ASS). Similarly, if 2 cm
you know two angles and a side, then the side could be between the two
angles – this is the angle-side-angle case (ASA) – or it could be one of the
other two sides – this is the angle-angle-side case (AAS). Figure 32 The lengths of
two sides of a triangle do not
Let’s consider these six cases in turn. constitute enough
information to determine the
The side-side-side case (SSS)
triangle
First, let’s consider the case where the lengths of the sides of a triangle are
known. Does this completely determine the triangle?
You might like to experiment with three lengths of paper. Try to arrange
them into a triangle in any way possible, as shown in Figure 33. You will
find that however much you try, there is essentially only one way to make a
triangle. So if the side lengths of a triangle are known, then there is only
one possibility for the shape and size of the triangle. (You will see how to
calculate the angles from the lengths of the sides in Unit 12.)
This means that if you know that the lengths of the sides in one triangle
are the same as the lengths of the sides in another triangle, then the two
triangles are congruent, as shown in Figure 34: -ABC ∼ = -DF E.
Figure 33 Trying to form a
A D triangle
Side-side-side congruency of
triangles is important in
structural engineering. If you
join together three rods to
form a triangle, then the
C structure is rigid, even if the
E joints are hinges. Compare
this with four rods joined to
B F make a square – this structure
changes shape easily. Many
engineering lattice structures
Figure 34 Two triangles that are congruent by SSS are made up of triangles.
Geometry started by appealing to physical intuition in situations such

as this, but Euclid’s approach in the Elements gave a method in which
‘intuitively obvious’ facts could be shown to be a logical consequence
of more basic facts. This was a great step forward in mathematics.
31
Unit 8 Geometry
The side-angle-side case (SAS)

A
Consider the situation where you know the lengths of two sides of a
triangle, together with the angle between them, which is called the
included angle. This is illustrated in Figure 35. There is only one way to
complete the triangle here, which is to draw the line from A to B. So the
C B triangle is determined from this information.
So if two sides and the included angle of one triangle are equal to two sides
Figure 35 Two sides and an and the included angle of another triangle, then the two triangles are
included angle congruent, as illustrated in Figure 36.
A
D
E
C
F
Figure 36 Two triangles that are congruent by SAS
The angle-side-angle case (ASA)

Suppose that you know two angles of a triangle and the side between them
B
– the included side – as illustrated in Figure 37.
c
A The point where the line segments from vertices A and B meet must be
the third vertex of the triangle. So the triangle is determined by this
information.
Figure 37 Two angles and
the side between them So if two angles and the side between them in one triangle are equal to two
angles and the side between them in another triangle, then the triangles
are congruent, as illustrated in Figure 38.
D
A
Figure 38 Two triangles that are congruent by ASA
The angle-angle-side case (AAS)

Consider the situation in which you know two angles of a triangle, as in
the previous case, but instead of knowing the side between the angles, you
know one of the other two sides. Since the third angle of the triangle can
be calculated by using the fact that the sum of the angles is 180◦, you still
know two angles and the side between them, which is the previous case,
and hence the triangle is determined.
32
So if you know that two angles and a side of a triangle in the order
angle-angle-side are equal to two angles and a side of another triangle in
the same order, then the triangles are congruent, as shown in Figure 39.
D
A B
E
C F
Figure 39 Two triangles that are congruent by AAS
You can check that the two triangles in Figure 39 have their equal
angle-angle-side configurations in the same order by noticing that if you
trace your finger around -ABC from the angle with one arc to the angle
with two arcs, then the side with the stroke is next, and similarly if you
trace your finger around -DEF from the angle with one arc to the angle
with two arcs, then again the side with the stroke is next.
The angle-angle-angle case (AAA)

This is the situation where you know all three angles in a triangle. This is
not enough to determine the triangle, because one triangle could be a
scaled-up or scaled-down version of the other.
So if you know that the three angles in one triangle are the same as the
three angles in another triangle, then you cannot conclude that the
E
triangles are congruent.
The angle-side-side case (ASS) a

b b
If you know two sides and a non-included angle of a triangle, then there
can be two possibilities for the triangle. This is illustrated in Figure 40, θ
which shows that if you know the angle θ and the lengths of the sides a and D
F? F?
b, then the third vertex F could be in either of the two positions shown.
So if you know that two sides and a non-included angle of one triangle are Figure 40 Two possible
equal to two sides and a non-included angle of another triangle, then you triangles if angle θ and
cannot conclude that the triangles are congruent. lengths a and b are known
Conclusion
All six possible cases of three pieces of information have now been covered.
Four of them (SSS, SAS, ASA and AAS) show that two triangles are
congruent, while the other two (AAA and ASS) do not guarantee
congruency. These findings are summarised overleaf.
33
Unit 8 Geometry
Strategy To check whether two triangles are congruent

Two triangles are congruent if one of the following situations occurs.
• The three sides of one triangle are equal to the three sides of the
other triangle (SSS).
• Two sides and the included angle of one triangle are equal to two
sides and the included angle of another triangle (SAS).
• Two angles and the included side of one triangle are equal to two
angles and the included side of another triangle (ASA).
• Two angles and a side of one triangle in the order angle-angle-side
are equal to two angles and a side of the other triangle in the
same order (AAS).
In fact, the ASA and AAS cases can be summarised as one criterion by
using the idea of corresponding sides. If two triangles have the same three
angles (as they do in the ASA and AAS cases), then a side in one triangle
is said to correspond to a side in the other triangle if they are opposite
equal angles. For example, in Figure 39 on page 33 the sides BC and EF
are corresponding sides since they are opposite angles with one arc.
Similarly, the sides AC and DF are corresponding sides, and the sides AB
and DE are corresponding sides. The ASA and AAS cases can be
summarised by saying that two triangles are congruent if two angles and a
side of one triangle are equal to two angles and the corresponding side of
the other triangle. You may prefer to use these conditions in this form.
Using the conditions for congruent triangles

You can practise using the strategy above in the next activity.
Activity 21 Checking whether triangles are congruent
For each of the following pairs of triangles, determine (if possible) whether
the two triangles are congruent, explaining your answers.
In parts (a)–(c) of this activity (a) (b)

no particular units are specified
for the lengths of the sides of the 4
6 3 6 3
triangles. This is often done in 4 4
60◦
geometry, just as when we use 60◦
coordinate axes we often don’t 4 3
specify particular units for the 3
numbers on the axis scales.
Also, the diagrams are not
drawn to scale, since this (c) (d)
activity requires you to use the 45◦
conditions for congruency 70◦ ◦
70◦ 45
rather than measurement. 2 40◦ 30◦
70◦ 40◦ 70◦ 30◦

2
The next example illustrates that sometimes you need to find more angles
before using one of the conditions to show that two triangles are congruent.
34
Example 7 Showing that triangles are congruent Tutorial clip
Show that the triangles below are congruent.
X
A 30◦ Z
88◦
62◦
4
4
30◦
C B Y
Solution
Work out the unknown angle in -Y XZ, so that the angles of the two
triangles can be compared.
The interior angles of a triangle add up to 180◦. So
∠ZY X = 180◦ − 88◦ − 30◦ = 62◦.
Show that the triangles are congruent by using one of the conditions.
In -ABC and -Y XZ:
• ∠CAB = ∠ZY X (both angles are 62◦)
• AB = Y X (both sides have length 4)
• ∠ABC = ∠Y XZ (both angles are 30◦).
So -ABC ∼
= -Y XZ (by ASA).
The condition AAS could have been used here as an alternative to
ASA.
Activity 22 Showing that triangles are congruent
Show that the two triangles in the diagram below are congruent.
D
B
3 5
C
50◦
5 3
E
A
If you can prove that two triangles are congruent, then you can deduce
that corresponding angles and sides are equal. This can be a powerful
method for establishing properties of shapes. For example, a kite can be
defined as a quadrilateral with two pairs of adjacent equal sides. In
Table 3, it was stated that there is also a pair of opposite equal angles, but
how does that follow from the definition?
35
Unit 8 Geometry
In the next example you will see how this can be deduced using congruent
triangles. The example involves two triangles that share a side. A side like
this is called a common side of the triangles.
Example 8 Proving that a kite has two opposite equal angles
Use the fact that a kite is a quadrilateral with two pairs of adjacent equal
sides to prove that it also has a pair of opposite equal angles.
Solution
Draw a kite with vertices labelled A, B, C, D. Mark the equal sides:
AB = AD, BC = DC. Then draw the diagonal AC as a helpful
construction. Show that the two resulting triangles are congruent.
The diagram below shows a kite with its two pairs of equal sides marked.
In -ABC and -ADC:

• AB = AD (given)
• BC = DC (given)
• the side AC is common to both triangles.
So -ABC ∼ = -ADC (by SSS).
Now use facts about congruent triangles.
A Hence the corresponding angles of -ABC and -ADC are equal. The
angles opposite AC are ∠ABC in -ABC and ∠ADC in -ADC. So
B
∠ABC = ∠ADC.
That is, the kite has two opposite equal angles.
D
Congruent triangles can be used to prove even more properties of kites.

For example, in Figure 41 the corresponding angles of the congruent
C triangles -ABC and -ADC are marked as equal. From this you can see
another property: the diagonal AC bisects each of ∠DAB and ∠BCD,
Figure 41 The kite in that is, it cuts each of these angles into two equal parts. And this result
Example 7 with leads on to further properties. If you draw the diagonal BD, congruent
corresponding angles of triangles can be used again to show that the diagonals cross each other at
congruent triangles marked right angles. You might like to try this.
Congruent triangles can even help with a game of snooker! Figure 42
shows three balls on a snooker table. The player has to hit the white ball
with the cue so that it strikes the red ball. The black ball is in the way, so
this has to be achieved by bouncing the white ball off the cushion, as
shown. The ball bounces off the cushion at the same angle as it strikes the
cushion. These angles are both marked θ in Figure 42.
36
θ θ
Figure 42 Balls on a snooker table
The player’s problem is to decide the point where the white ball must
strike the cushion if it is to hit the red ball. You are asked to look at the
geometry of this problem in the next activity, and after the activity you
will see that this gives the player a strategy for hitting the red ball.
Activity 23 Investigating angles on a snooker table
In the diagram below, the line indicating the initial path of the white ball
has been extended, and a line has been drawn down from the position of
the red ball, perpendicular to the cushion. The point D is the point where
these two lines meet. As in Figure 42, the two equal angles between the
cushion and the path of the white ball are both labelled as θ.
θ θ E
F
C
(a) Show that -BCE and -DCE are congruent.

(b) Deduce that the line segments BE and DE are equal.
So, from the solution to Activity 23, if the snooker player imagines the
point that is the ‘reflection’ of the red ball in the cushion and hits the
white ball in that direction, then it will bounce off the cushion and hit the
red ball.
37
Unit 8 Geometry
Finally in this subsection, let’s briefly look at the ASS case again, which
E was one of the two cases that does not guarantee congruency. The diagram
that illustrated this case is repeated in Figure 43. Remember that this
diagram shows that if you know angle θ and the lengths of the sides a
a and b, then there could be two possibilities for the triangle, since the third
b b
vertex F could be in either of the two positions shown.
θ However if you also know that angle θ is a right angle or an obtuse angle,
D
F? F?
then there is only one possibility for the triangle. So if you know that two
sides and a non-included angle of one triangle are equal to two sides and a
Figure 43 Two possible non-included angle of another triangle, in the same order, and you also
triangles if angle θ and know that this angle is 90◦ or greater, then you can say that the triangles
lengths a and b are known are congruent.
In this subsection you have used different conditions to show that two
triangles are congruent, and you have used the congruence of triangles to
deduce further results. In the next subsection, the same sort of approach is
used to determine when two triangles are similar and how this property
can be used in practice.
3.2 Similar triangles

Similar triangles are the same shape but not necessarily the same size. As
with congruence, the triangles may be rotated or flipped over. For
example, the two triangles in Figure 44 are similar to each other.
D
A
b c kb kc
C a B
F ka E
Figure 44 Two similar triangles
Any two similar triangles have the following properties:

• the three angles of one triangle are equal to the three angles of the
other triangle;
• the three sides of one triangle are in proportion to the three sides of
the other triangle.
The second property means that the three side lengths of one triangle are
obtained from the three side lengths of the other triangle by multiplying
by the same scale factor. In Figure 44 the scale factor from the first
triangle to the second triangle is k.
Another way to think about the second property is that it means that the
ratios of the sides of the two triangles are equal. For the triangles in
Figure 44,
Alternatively, you can write
AB BC CA DE EF FD
= = , = = , (2)
DE EF FD AB BC CA
since all these ratios are equal since all these ratios are equal to k.
to 1/k.
38
To check whether two triangles are similar, you can check either of the two
properties immediately below Figure 44 – the other property then holds
automatically.
So if you know that two triangles have the same three angles, then they
are similar and so they also have their sides in proportion. (This also holds
if two angles in one triangle are equal to two angles in the other triangle,
since then the third angles must also be equal.) This means that you can
immediately write down equations like equations (2) for the triangles. The
numerator and denominator of each equal ratio are sides that are opposite
equal angles; that is, they are corresponding sides. Writing down these
ratios is a useful way to find the lengths of unknown sides in similar
triangles, as illustrated in the example below.
Similarly, if you know that two triangles have their sides in proportion,
then they are similar and so they also have three equal angles. You can tell
which angles are equal by using the fact that the sides on the numerator
and denominator of each equal ratio are corresponding sides and therefore
opposite equal angles.
Example 9 Finding unknown side lengths in similar triangles
Find the length of the side DE in the diagram below.
A
D
5
F
7
C 3
4 E
Solution
The diagram indicates that the two triangles have the same three angles,
so they are similar.
Also, the sides BC and EF correspond, because they are opposite the
angles marked with one arc, and similarly AC and DF correspond, and
AB and DE correspond. Hence
EF DF DE
= = .
BC AC AB
In particular,
EF DE
= .
BC AB
Substituting in the known lengths gives
3 DE
= .
4 7
Hence
3×7 21
DE = = = 5 14 .
4 4
39
Unit 8 Geometry
Activity 24 Finding unknown side lengths in similar triangles
The triangles below are similar. Calculate the lengths T S, RS, XZ

and Y X.
20
M T S
5
N
10 10
Z
8
L R
Angles or lengths in geometric diagrams can often be deduced by finding

and using similar triangles. This is illustrated in the next example.
Example 10 Finding an unknown side in similar triangles
Find the length x in the diagram below.
U
V
2
3 W
Y
2 x
Solution
Show that -U Y V and -U XW are similar.
The line segments Y V and XW are parallel. So in -U Y V and -U XW :
Note that ∠Y U V is common to • ∠U Y V = ∠U XW (these are corresponding (F) angles)
both triangles, and this fact
could have been used instead of
• ∠U V Y = ∠U W X (these are corresponding (F) angles).
one of the facts here. Since two angles in one triangle are equal to two angles in the other,
-U Y V is similar to -U XW .
40
Write down the ratio of corresponding sides, preferably with the

unknown side in the numerator.
The sides Y V and XW are corresponding, since they are both opposite
the common angle, ∠Y U V . Similarly, U Y and U X are corresponding, as
are U V and U W . Hence
XW UX UW
= = .
YV UY UV
Now, U Y = 2 and Y X = 2, so U X = 2 + 2 = 4. So
4 x
= ,
2 3
and hence
4×3
x= = 6.
2
Similar triangles can be used to determine lengths that cannot be easily

measured, as the next activity illustrates. The activity shows you how to
measure the height of a tree without having to climb a ladder with a tape
measure. This method of measuring the heights of tall objects was used
extensively in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries!
Activity 25 Finding the height of a tree
Suppose that on a sunny day you place a stick in the ground near a tree,
so that the length of the exposed part of the stick is 1 m. You then
measure the lengths of the shadows cast by the stick and the tree, as
shown below. The stick is placed at the same angle as the tree (in the
diagram they are both vertical), and the ground is level.
Sun’s rays
1m
1.6 m
32.5 m
(a) Assuming that the rays of the Sun are parallel, show that the two
triangles in the diagram are similar. (One triangle is formed by the
stick, its shadow on the ground and a ray of the Sun; the other is
formed by the tree, its shadow on the ground and a ray of the Sun.)
(b) Suppose that the length of the stick’s shadow is 1.6 m and the length
of the tree’s shadow is 32.5 m. Calculate the height of the tree.
41
Unit 8 Geometry
The fact that the Sun’s rays are parallel was used by Eratosthenes
◦
7.2 (who was mentioned in Unit 3) to estimate the size of the Earth. He
knew (by observing shadows) that at noon at midsummer, the Sun’s
rays were vertical at Aswan in Egypt and at the same time were at an
angle of 7.2◦ to the vertical at Alexandria, also in Egypt (Figure 45).
Aswan Alexandria 1
The angle 7.2◦ is 50 of a full turn, so he concluded that the distance
1
from Alexandria to Aswan was 50 of the circumference of the Earth.
Figure 45 The Sun’s rays at His estimate was remarkably accurate, but historians argue about
the same time at Aswan and how accurate, because no one is sure about the size of Eratosthenes’
Alexandria unit of length, the stadion.
Checking for similarity

There is a third useful way of showing that two triangles are similar.
Suppose that two triangles have the property shown in Figure 46. They
have one equal angle and the sides containing this angle are in proportion.
kb
b ka
a
Figure 46 Two triangles with one equal angle and the sides containing
this angle in proportion
This property guarantees that the triangles are similar. To see this,
imagine scaling the first triangle in Figure 46 by the scale factor k. The
scaled triangle will be similar to the first triangle, but it will also be
congruent to the second triangle, by SAS. So the two triangles in Figure 46
are similar.
So you now have three ways to check whether two triangles are similar.
Strategy To check whether two triangles are similar

Two triangles are similar if any one of the following three conditions
holds. Then the other two conditions also hold.
• The three angles of one triangle are equal to the three angles of
the other triangle.
• The three sides of one triangle are in proportion to the three sides
of the other triangle (their ratios are equal).
• An angle of one triangle is equal to an angle of the other triangle,
and the sides containing these angles are in proportion (their
ratios are equal).
Try using these conditions to see if you can spot which triangles are similar
in the activity on the next page.
42
Activity 26 Checking for similarity
Which of the following pairs of triangles are pairs of similar triangles?

Assume only that they have the properties marked.
(a) (b)
3 50◦
9 100◦
4 4
2
7 30◦
100◦
(c) 6 (d)
3 2
30◦
30◦ 5 50◦
2.5 3 50◦ 4.5
3
In the next subsection you will see how similar triangles can be used to
prove one of the most famous theorems in mathematics.
3.3 Pythagoras’ Theorem

Pythagoras’ Theorem is one of the oldest mathematical results known; it A
involves the sides of a right-angled triangle. The longest side, which is
always the side opposite the right angle, is called the hypotenuse. This is hypotenuse
the side AB in Figure 47.
B C
Pythagoras’ Theorem
For a right-angled triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to Figure 47 A right-angled
the sum of the squares of the other two sides. triangle
For example, for the right-angled triangle in Figure 47,

AB 2 = AC 2 + BC 2 . AB 2 is the notation used for the
square of the length AB.
Pythagoras’ Theorem has long been attributed to Pythagoras, a

Greek of the sixth century bc, who gave his name to a sect called the
Pythagoreans. (Pythagoras’ existence is disputed by many historians,
however.) The Pythagoreans believed that numbers and number
patterns were the key to understanding the world. However, it is clear
from clay tablets dating from about 2000 bc that early Babylonian
scribes knew about the theorem, and the result is also found in
ancient Chinese manuscripts. Pythagoras’ Theorem is Proposition 47
of Book 1 of Euclid’s Elements, and this is where the first rigorous
proof appears.
43
Unit 8 Geometry
Pythagoras’ Theorem is usually Later in this subsection you will see why Pythagoras’ Theorem is true.
read as Pythagoras’s Theorem. First we look at how it can be used to calculate the third side of a
right-angled triangle when two sides are already known.
Example 11 Using Pythagoras’ Theorem to find the hypotenuse
Calculate the length of the hypotenuse of the triangle below.
X 5 Y
Solution
Relate the diagram to the statement of Pythagoras’ Theorem.
XZ is the hypotenuse and XY and Y Z are the shorter sides.
Now use the theorem.
By Pythagoras’ Theorem,
XZ 2 = XY 2 + Y Z 2 .
Substituting in the lengths of the known sides gives
XZ 2 = 52 + 32 = 25 + 9 = 34.
√
the length of the hypotenuse XZ as 34. (The alternative
This gives √
solution − 34 is rejected because lengths must be positive.)
√
In Example 11 the answer was given as a surd, 34. This is acceptable
because the question is an abstract geometric problem. However, if the
question were ‘How far from your starting point would you be if you
walked 3 metres north followed by 5 metres west?’, then a decimal answer
b
would be more appropriate. In this case the answer ‘about 5.8 metres’
a would be sensible.
Sometimes it is convenient to use Pythagoras’ Theorem for a right-angled
c
triangle with labelled sides rather than labelled vertices. For example,
Pythagoras’ Theorem applied to the right-angled triangle in Figure 48 gives
Figure 48 A right-angled
c 2 = a2 + b2 .
triangle with shorter sides a
and b, and hypotenuse c When you know two side lengths of a right-angled triangle, they are not
always the two sides adjacent to the right angle. The next example shows
how to proceed in a case like this.
44
Example 12 Using Pythagoras’ Theorem to find a shorter side Tutorial clip
Calculate the length of the third side of the triangle below.
13 m
5m
Solution
Let the length of the unknown side be b m. By Pythagoras’ Theorem,
132 = 52 + b2 .
So
b2 = 132 − 52 = 169 − 25 = 144.
Since b represents a length, we take the positive square root, which gives
√
b = 144 = 12.
So the length of the third side is 12 m.
You can practise using Pythagoras’ Theorem in the next activity.
Activity 27 Using Pythagoras’ Theorem
Calculate the length of the third side of each of the following right-angled
triangles. In part (d), give your answer to two decimal places.
(a) P (b)
3 4
2
R Q
5 These diagrams are purposely
not drawn to scale: this activity
requires calculation rather than
(c) (d) measurement.
10 D
3 1.2 m
E
5m
F
45
Unit 8 Geometry
In Activity 27(a) the right-angled triangle has whole-number lengths for

the three sides, namely 3, 4 and 5. So
32 + 42 = 52 .
Three whole numbers (like 3, 4 and 5) such that the square of one of them
is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two are said to form a
Pythagorean triple.
The Italian mathematician There are other Pythagorean triples besides 3, 4, 5. For example,
Leonardo Fibonacci Example 12 shows that 5, 12, 13 is a Pythagorean triple. In fact, there are
(1170–1250) gave the infinitely many Pythagorean triples – a method for calculating them is
following method for finding
Pythagorean triples in one of described in Euclid’s Elements.
his books. Pythagorean triples can be used to construct right angles, because the
Take any odd square number. converse of Pythagoras’ Theorem is true. It can be stated as follows.
Add up all the odd numbers
that are smaller than this
number; this will give another If a triangle has sides of lengths a, b and c with a2 + b2 = c2 , then the
square number (you saw this angle opposite the side of length c is a right angle.
fact in Unit 1). When you
add the two square numbers
together, you always get a
third square number (this
follows from the same fact in There is strong evidence that the 3, 4, 5 Pythagorean triple was
Unit 1). That is, you’ve known to the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians long before
found a Pythagorean triple. Pythagoras. There is also evidence that the ancient Egyptians knew
that the converse of Pythagoras’ Theorem is true and used it in
practical situations to construct right angles; it is thought that they
constructed 3, 4, 5 triangles using knots on a string in order to obtain
accurate right angles.
There are many ways of proving

Pythagoras’ Theorem – the book Now we move on from using Pythagoras’ Theorem to the problem of
The Pythagorean Proposition by showing why it is true. The video in the following activity demonstrates a
E.S. Loomis (published in 1968) visual proof of Pythagoras’ Theorem.
collects and classifies 370 proofs.
Activity 28 Proof of Pythagoras’ Theorem

Video
Watch the video Proof of Pythagoras’ Theorem.
In addition to the visual proof shown in the video, there are more formal
algebraic proofs. To end this section there follows an algebraic proof using
the idea of similar triangles.
Proof of Pythagoras’ Theorem

Consider the right-angled triangle shown in Figure 49.
b
a
θ φ
c
Figure 49 A right-angled triangle
46
Split the triangle by drawing a perpendicular from the vertex at the right A perpendicular is a line at
angle. This gives the two triangles shown in Figure 50. The angles θ and φ right angles to a given line.
are unchanged from Figure 49.
a b
θ φ
x y
Figure 50 The triangle in Figure 49 split by the perpendicular from the

right angle
The hypotenuse c has been split into two lengths x and y, so x

c = x + y. (3) θ
a
Now we express x and y in terms of the original lengths a, b and c.
First consider the left-hand triangle in Figure 50. Figure 51 shows this Figure 51 The left-hand
triangle flipped and rotated to be in the same orientation as the original triangle in Figure 50 flipped
triangle in Figure 49. It is similar to the original triangle (because they and rotated to be in the same
both have angles θ and 90◦). So the ratios of corresponding sides are equal. orientation as the original
Hence triangle in Figure 49
x a
= .
a c
Multiplying both sides by a gives y
a2 φ
x= . (4)
c b
Now consider the right-hand triangle in Figure 50. Figure 52 shows this
triangle flipped and rotated to be in the same orientation as the original
Figure 52 The right-hand
triangle in Figure 49. This new triangle is also similar to the original
triangle in Figure 50 flipped
triangle (because they both have angles φ and 90◦). Again the ratios of
and rotated to be in the same
corresponding sides are equal, so
orientation as the original
y b triangle in Figure 49
= .
b c
Multiplying both sides by b gives
b2
y= . (5)
c
Using equations (4) and (5) to substitute into equation (3) gives
a2 b 2
c= + .
c c
Multiplying through by c gives
c2 = a2 + b2 .
This is Pythagoras’ Theorem.
47
Unit 8 Geometry
4 Perimeters and areas

A shape that can be drawn in a plane, such as the triangles and other
polygons introduced in Section 2, is called a plane shape. This section
considers two questions about plane shapes:
• What is the distance around the boundary of a shape – that is, what is
its perimeter ?
For help with areas and • How much surface does a shape occupy – that is, what is its area?
perimeters, see Maths Help
Module 7, Section 3. The section revises these properties for some basic shapes. It also discusses
an application of these ideas: you will see how they can sometimes be used
to determine whether cells in tissue samples are abnormal.
4.1 Finding perimeters and areas

The distance around the boundary of a shape is known as its perimeter.
For example, Figure 53 shows a rectangle that is 2 cm by 3 cm. Its
perimeter is
(3 + 2 + 3 + 2) cm = 10 cm.
The notion of area derives from the idea of counting how many squares of
a standard size are needed to ‘make’ a shape. For example, the rectangle
Figure 53 A rectangle cut in Figure 53 can be cut into six squares, each with sides of length 1 cm, as
into squares shown. The area of each square is 1 square centimetre (written 1 cm2 ). So
the figure shows that the area of the 2 cm by 3 cm rectangle is
(2 × 3) cm2 = 6 cm2 .
Similarly, Figure 54 shows an irregular shape whose area is approximately
$ #
1 + 1 + 12 + 12 cm2 = 3 cm2 .
If you wish to measure large areas, then square metres (m2 ) or square
kilometres (km2 ) may be more appropriate units than square centimetres.
Figure 54 An irregular For example, one square metre is the area of a square that is one metre by
shape covering about two one metre.
whole squares and two
half-squares You can convert between units of area by considering how many of the
smaller units fit into one of the larger units. For example, a square of side
1 m contains 100 × 100 = 10 000 squares of side 1 cm:
1 m2 = (1 m) × (1 m)
= (100 cm) × (100 cm)
= 10 000 cm2 .
So to convert a measurement in m2 to cm2 , you multiply by 10 000. For
example, an area of 0.5 m2 is the same as
(0.5 × 10 000) cm2 = 5000 cm2 .
There are simple formulas for the areas of many standard shapes. The
rectangle in Figure 53 illustrates the following formula.
The rectangle in Figure 53 has A rectangle with sides a and b has area ab.
short sides of length 2 cm and
long sides of length 3 cm, and its
area is (2 × 3) cm2 = 6 cm2 . When you use this formula, or any of the other formulas for area that you
will meet in this subsection, you must be careful to use consistent units.
For example, if a is in cm, then b must also be in cm, and the answer for
the area will then be in cm2 .
48
The formula for the area of a rectangle can be used to find a formula for
the area of a parallelogram. The base of a parallelogram can be taken to
be any of its sides, and its perpendicular height is then its height In general, two lines are
measured at right angles to the base. The usual convention is to choose perpendicular if they meet or
the ‘bottom’ side as the base. For example, the parallelogram in Figure 55 cross at right angles.
has base b and perpendicular height h.
Now consider splitting a parallelogram and reassembling it as shown in
Figure 56. A right-angled triangle is cut from the right of the shape and h
attached to the left.
b
h Figure 55 The base and

perpendicular height of a
b parallelogram
Figure 56 Splitting and reassembling a parallelogram
The triangle cut from the right of the parallelogram fits exactly on the left
to form a rectangle, which gives the following formula.
A parallelogram with base b and perpendicular height h has area bh.
This result can in turn be used to derive a formula for the area of a
triangle, in terms of its base and perpendicular height. As for a
parallelogram, the base of a triangle can be taken to be any of its sides,
and its perpendicular height is then its height measured at right angles to
the base, as shown in Figure 57.
height
height
base
base
Figure 57 Base and height measurements of two triangles
Now consider making a copy of a triangle and rotating it through 180◦, as

shown in Figure 58(a).
(a) (b)
Figure 58 Putting together two copies of a triangle to form a

parallelogram
49
Unit 8 Geometry
Rotating a line through 180◦ leaves its direction unchanged, so each side of
the original triangle is parallel to the corresponding side in the copy. So
the triangle and the copy can be put together to form a parallelogram, as
shown in Figure 58(b).
The area of the triangle is half of the area of the parallelogram, which
gives the following formula.
The area of a triangle with base b and perpendicular height h is 12 bh.
The formulas in this subsection can be used to find not only the areas of
the given shapes, but also the areas of shapes that are combinations of
them, as the next example illustrates.
In this example no particular units are specified for the lengths of the sides
of the shape.
Example 13 Finding the area of an irregular shape
Find the area of the trapezium shown below.
5
1.5
Solution
Split the shape into simpler shapes.
This shape is split by the dashed lines into a rectangle and two triangles.
Find the areas of the simpler shapes.
On the left is a triangle with base 1.5 and perpendicular height 2, which
has area 12 × 1.5 × 2 = 1.5.
In the middle is a 3 by 2 rectangle, which has area 3 × 2 = 6.
On the right is a triangle with base 5 − 1.5 − 3 = 0.5 and perpendicular
height 2, which has area 12 × 0.5 × 2 = 0.5.
3 So the total area of the shape is 1.5 + 6 + 0.5 = 8.
2
An alternative way to find the area of the trapezium in Example 13 is to
5 split it into two triangles, as shown in Figure 59. Each triangle has height
2 units, and the bases are 5 units and 3 units. So the area of the trapezium
is
Figure 59 The trapezium in 1 1
×5×2+ × 3 × 2 = 5 + 3 = 8.
Example 13 split into two 2 2
triangles
50
This method can be used for any trapezium, as illustrated in Figure 60.
Figure 60 A trapezium split into two triangles
So the area of a trapezium with parallel sides a and b and perpendicular

height h is given by the formula
1 1
2 ah + 2 bh.
This expression can be simplified by taking out the common factor 12 h,

which gives the formula below.
The area of a trapezium with parallel sides a and b and perpendicular

height h is 12 (a + b)h.
You can practise finding the areas of shapes in the following activity.
Activity 29 Finding areas
Find the areas of the following shapes. In part (d), give an answer in terms
of x.
(a) (b)
3
4
3 2
1
4
(c) (d)
x
5
x
51
Unit 8 Geometry
4.2 Using perimeters and areas

An interesting medical application of geometry is the detection of abnormal
cells in the body. Traditional methods for detecting abnormality involve a
trained technician using a microscope to identify and count abnormal cells
in a tissue sample, which is a tiring task. Counting is an ideal task for a
computer, but how should the computer decide which cells are abnormal?
One general feature of the type of abnormal cells shown in Figure 61 is
that they have a more ‘spiky’ boundary. But how can a computer be
programmed to recognise this property?
Figure 61 A photograph showing two normal cells (top and bottom) and
two abnormal cells (left and right). The normal cells have much smoother
surfaces.
Let’s look at how the cells are presented to a computer. A microscope slide
of cells is photographed to turn it into a computer image. A computer
The word ‘pixel’ comes from image is made up of pixels, which are small square regions of colour.
amalgamating the words picture Figure 62 illustrates this – it shows an image of two cells, a normal one on
and element. the left and an abnormal one on the right, with the size of the pixels
exaggerated to make their square nature apparent.
Figure 62 Two cells seen as collections of pixels
In practice this is the most The image in Figure 62 has also been ‘thresholded’; that is, the interior of
difficult step of the process: each cell has been coloured with a single colour, black, that is different
successfully differentiating cells from the colour of the surrounding area, which is beige. The question
from the surrounding fluid.
remains as to how a computer could classify the two cells in Figure 62 in
terms of the spikiness of their boundaries.
It’s easy for a computer to calculate the perimeters of the two cells, simply
by counting the number of units around the boundary. The two cells in
Figure 62 have perimeters of 42 units and 62 units, respectively. So the
abnormal cell has a larger perimeter: this corresponds to the intuitive
notion that the boundary of an abnormal cell is more spiky than that of a
normal cell. However, a normal cell that is larger than the cells in
52
Figure 62 will also tend to have a larger perimeter. For example, the image
in Figure 63 is that of a normal cell, but its perimeter is 62 units, the same
as that of the abnormal cell in Figure 62. So measuring the perimeter
alone cannot distinguish between normal and abnormal cells.
This leads to the idea of dividing the perimeter of a cell by its area to
compensate for the size of the cell. A computer can calculate the area of a
cell by counting the number of black squares – both cells shown in
Figure 62 have area 83 square units. Compensating for size in this way
leads to the measure that this module will call wiggliness, which is
defined as follows. Figure 63 A larger normal
cell
perimeter2
wiggliness =
area
You may wonder why the simpler formula

perimeter
wiggliness = area
isn’t used – why should the perimeter be squared in the formula? To see
why, consider what happens when a shape is enlarged, as in the following
activity.
Activity 30 Calculating the wiggliness of enlarged shapes
Calculate the area, perimeter and wiggliness of each of the three shapes
below; give the wiggliness to one decimal place.
(a) (b) (c)
In this diagram each grid square

has sides of length 1 unit.
The three shapes in Activity 30 are similar, with the second and third
shapes enlarged compared to the first one. The scale factors of shapes (b)
and (c) with respect to shape (a) are 2 and 3, respectively. When a shape
is scaled, its perimeter, like all its lengths, is multiplied by the scale factor,
so the perimeter of shape (b) is twice the perimeter of shape (a), and the
perimeter of shape (c) is three times the perimeter of shape (a). However,
the effect of scaling on its area is different. Figure 64 illustrates the effect
of scaling on the area of a square whose sides are 1 unit long. If the length
of the side is doubled, the area is four times as large, and if the side length
is tripled, the area is nine times as large. In general, if the scale factor is k,
then the area of the scaled square is k2 times the area of the original
square. Since the diagram in Activity 30 is made up of squares, the area of
shape (b) is four times the area of shape (a), and the area of shape (c) is
nine times the area of shape (a), as you can check from your solution. Figure 64 Area scale factors
53
Unit 8 Geometry
These effects of enlargement on perimeter and area hold for any shape. If a
shape is scaled by the scale factor k, then its perimeter is multiplied by k
and its area is multiplied by k2 .
Because of this, the wiggliness of a shape, as defined in the formula in the
pink box, is unchanged as the shape is enlarged. To see this, consider a
shape with perimeter P and area A. It has wiggliness P 2 /A. Any scaled
version of the shape has perimeter kP and area k2 A for some constant k,
so it has wiggliness
(kP )2 k2 P 2 P2
= = ,
k2 A k2 A A
which is the same as for the original shape. This is precisely what we want:
the wiggliness should be a property of the shape of an object that is
independent of its size.
If the lengths are measured in Wiggliness does not have any units associated with it: it is a ‘pure
metres, then the perimeter will number’. Such quantities are called dimensionless quantities, and they
also be measured in metres. So are often important in the investigation of real-world problems.
the perimeter squared will be
measured in m2 , the same units The next activity asks you to calculate the wiggliness of the three cell
as area. So the units will cancel, images in Figures 62 and 63.
which means that ‘wiggliness’ is
a number without units: its
value is the same no matter
what units are used to measure Activity 31 Calculating the wiggliness of cells
the lengths.
(a) The large cell shown in Figure 63 has area 150 square units, so from
the discussion above you now have the areas and perimeters of all
three cells shown in Figures 62 and 63. Use this information to
complete the following table; give the wiggliness to one decimal place.
Cell Area Perimeter Wiggliness

Small normal
Abnormal
Large normal
(b) Using the above table, suggest a criterion for determining whether a
cell is abnormal.
4.3 Circles and π

Strictly, the circle is just the A circle is a shape whose boundary consists of all the points that are a
points on the boundary, and the fixed distance from a fixed point called the centre – to see that this is
‘filled-in’ shape is called a disc. true, think about how you would draw a circle using a pair of compasses.
However, in this module we will
use ‘circle’ to mean the whole Special names are given to some parts of a circle, as illustrated in
shape. Figure 65. The boundary of a circle is called its circumference. A line
The plural of radius is radii. segment from the centre to the circumference of a circle is called a radius.
A line segment starting and ending on the circumference is called a chord.
A chord that passes through the centre of the circle is called a diameter.
Any unbroken section of the circumference is called an arc. The shape
enclosed by an arc of a circle together with the two radii from the
endpoints of the arc is called a sector. A segment is the shape enclosed
by an arc and the chord joining the ends of the arc.
54
circumference
arc
sector
radius
centre
diameter chord
segment
Figure 65 Parts of circles
The words circumference, radius and diameter are also used to refer to the
lengths of these parts of a circle. For example, you can say that a circle
has radius 2 cm.
The shape enclosed by a diameter of a circle, together with one of the two
arcs from one end of the diameter to the other, is called a semicircle
(Figure 66). Thus a semicircle is both a sector and a segment.
There is a well-known relationship between the circumference and radius of
a circle:
Figure 66 A diameter
divides a circle into two
The circumference of a circle of radius r is 2πr. semicircles
The number π is a constant that is one of the most remarkable numbers in

mathematics, as it occurs frequently in many different contexts. It is a
number that cannot be written down exactly as a terminating or recurring
decimal – that is, it is irrational – so approximations to π are needed for Unit 3 discussed the fact that
practical applications. The value of π is 3.141 592 65 to eight decimal every rational number has an
places. expression as a terminating or
recurring decimal.
There has been a lot of effort expended in calculating approximations to π.
In ancient times π was frequently taken to be 3, such as in the

following Bible extract that describes the building of part of the
temple of Solomon.
Then he made the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to The cubit is one of the earliest
the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and recorded units of length. Its
a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. length varied between different
cultures – in Egypt, the royal
(New King James Bible, II Chronicles 4:2) cubit was about 52 cm.
From this quotation, the diameter of the object (equal to twice the
radius) is ten cubits and the circumference is thirty cubits. Dividing
the circumference by twice the radius gives the number that the
author was using as an approximation to π, which is 30/10 = 3, as
stated above.
55
Unit 8 Geometry
Archimedes’ dedication to The Greek mathematician Archimedes (in approximately 240 bc) devised a
geometry is suggested by the method for calculating π to any desired accuracy. The method involves
following quote. sandwiching a circle of radius 1, which has a circumference of 2π, between
‘[Archimedes] . . . being two regular polygons, as shown in Figure 67.
perpetually charmed by his
familiar siren, that is, by his
geometry, he neglected to eat
and drink and took no care of
his person; that he was often
carried by force to the baths.’
Attributed to Plutarch,
ad 46–120.
(a) (b)
Figure 67 Approximating the circumference of a circle

Figure 67(a) shows a square inscribed in the circle, that is, drawn with
corners touching the circle, and a larger square circumscribed outside
the circle, that is, drawn with the centres of the sides touching the circle.
Figure 67(b) shows the same circle, with inscribed and circumscribed
octagons. The circumference of the circle is always sandwiched between
the perimeters of the inscribed and circumscribed polygons. As the
number of sides of the two polygons increases, the perimeters of the
polygons provide closer approximations for the circumference of the circle.
Since the exact circumference of the circle is 2π, dividing these
approximations by 2 gives approximations for π. Archimedes used
The fraction 22/7 was often polygons with 96 sides to obtain 223/71 < π < 22/7. This gives an
used as an approximation to approximation for π correct to two decimal places.
π before the widespread use
of electronic calculators. In the twentieth century, computer manufacturers used the calculation of π
Another approximation by a as a demonstration of the speed of their computers. As a result of this
fraction that is worth work, π has now been calculated to several billion decimal places. For
mentioning is 355/113, which practical purposes only a few decimal places are needed.
was discovered by Chinese
mathematician Zu Chongzhi Most calculators have a button that gives an accurate approximation for π,
in about ad 480. It is the and most mathematical software packages have a command that does this.
closest approximation with In your calculations you should use these facilities rather than a simple
the denominator below 1000, approximation such as 22/7 or 3.14. For abstract problems it is usually
and is memorable because the
best to avoid evaluating π at all and instead express answers in terms of π.
sequence 113355 appears
when you read it from bottom For example, you might give the answers 32 π or π + 1.
to top. The following activity involves using the formula for the circumference of a
circle.
Activity 32 Estimating the length of the M25
The M25 London orbital motorway is roughly circular with radius 25 km.
Estimate the distance that a car travels as it circles London on the M25.
If you want to enclose a The constant π also appears in the formula for the area of a circle:
certain area of land with the
shortest possible fence, then
you should make your field The area of a circle of radius r is πr2 .
circular. The circle is the
shape that encloses the
greatest possible area for a This formula for the area of a circle has also been used to find
certain perimeter. approximations of π in the past, as the following activity shows.
56
Activity 33 Estimating π from the Rhind papyrus
The ancient Egyptian Rhind papyrus used the approximation that a circle The Rhind papyrus was
of diameter 9 has the same area as a square of side 8. What value for π is mentioned in Unit 5.
given by this approximation?
The following example shows how the formula for the area of a circle can
be used with other formulas to calculate the areas of more complicated
shapes. This example also illustrates something that was mentioned in For more examples on areas of
Unit 1 and which is often relevant to calculations involving areas of shapes: circles, see Maths Help
when you use intermediate results in later calculations, you should use the Module 7, Subsection 3.2.
full-calculator-precision versions of the intermediate results, to avoid
rounding errors.
Example 14 Finding areas
A gardener wishes to turf a rectangular lawn and wants to estimate how

much turf she should buy. The lawn is six metres by ten metres and has a
circular flower bed of radius two metres cut into it. If the turf comes in
pieces that cover 1.5 m2 , how many pieces of turf should the gardener buy?
Solution
Collect the information in a diagram.
The essential information is usefully depicted as follows.
10 m
2m
6m
turf piece (area 1.5 m2 )
Calculate the relevant areas and combine them.

The area of the large rectangle is
6 m × 10 m = 60 m2 .
The area of the circular flower bed is
π × (2 m)2 = 12.56 . . . m2 .
This gives the total area of lawn to be covered as
(60 − 12.56 . . .) m2 = 47.43 . . . m2 . Subtracting one area from
another to calculate the area of
So the number of pieces of turf required is a shape with holes in it is a
47.43 . . . useful general strategy.
= 31.62 . . . .
1.5
The gardener has to buy a whole number of pieces of turf, so she should
buy 32 pieces and then cut some of these to fit around the circular flower
bed.
57
Unit 8 Geometry
Use the formula for the area of a circle to tackle the following problem.
Activity 34 How much lawn seed?
The gardener is now planning to seed a semicircular lawn of radius 3 m.

The instructions on the box of seed say to scatter 50 g of seed for every
square metre of lawn. How much lawn seed does the gardener need?
In this section, you have seen how to calculate the perimeters and areas of
shapes composed of rectangles, triangles and circles. These types of
calculations arise in many practical applications, such as estimating areas
of land or calculating the quantities of materials needed for building or
design projects.
5 Solids
Up until now, this unit has investigated plane shapes – shapes that can be
drawn on a sheet of paper. Such shapes are said to be two-dimensional
because they extend in two directions.
Geometry is not concerned only with two-dimensional shapes, but also
with solid shapes such as spheres and cubes. These shapes, often known as
solids, are said to be three-dimensional because they extend in three
perpendicular directions. This short section introduces some
three-dimensional shapes, and the related concepts of volume and surface
area.
There are a number of words commonly used to describe the extent of a
shape or an object in some direction; perhaps the five most familiar are
length, breadth, width, height and depth. This section will primarily use
the words width, height and depth, and will relate these to the way the
shape or object is drawn in pictures as follows:
• width is the extent across the page
• height is the extent up and down the page
• depth is how far the object extends into the page (which is indicated by
a perspective drawing).
5.1 Some standard solids

If you cut the solid in Figure 68 parallel to its ends, then the cross-section
that you get always has the same shape and size as the ends. In other
A shape is polygonal if it is a words, the cross-section is uniform. A solid with a uniform polygonal
polygon. cross-section is called a prism. The prism in Figure 68 has a star-shaped
cross-section, as shown.
Another prism is shown in Figure 69: this one has a triangular
cross-section, and a prism like this is called a triangular prism.
58
5 Solids
Figure 68 A star-shaped prism and a cross-section through it
A good way to think about a prism is to imagine filling in between two

copies of a plane shape (the shape of the cross-section). In particular, a
cube (Figure 70(a)) is an example of a prism, since it can be constructed
by filling in between two copies of a square. (If the square has width and
height a, then the two copies of the square must be distance a apart in
order for the resulting solid to be a cube.) More generally, a cuboid
(Figure 70(b)) – or more informally a box – is a prism whose cross-section Figure 69 A triangular
is a rectangle. So a cube is a special case of a cuboid. prism
height a height h
depth a depth d
width a width w
(a) (b)
Figure 70 (a) A cube of width, height and depth a. (b) A cuboid of

width w, height h and depth d.
Another important example of a solid with a uniform cross-section is a

cylinder (Figure 71(a)), whose cross-section is a circle. (This solid isn’t a
prism because its cross-section isn’t polygonal.) A cylinder is often drawn
standing on one of its circular ends, so the distance between the two circles
at its ends is usually denoted by h for height rather than d for depth.
l
h
h
(a) (b)
Figure 71 (a) A cylinder of radius r and height h. (b) A cone of height h

whose base is a circle of radius r, with slant height l.
A related shape is a cone (Figure 71(b)), whose cross-sections are all

circular but decrease in radius uniformly to a point, the apex of the cone.
The slant height of a cone (denoted by l in Figure 71(b)) is the distance
from the apex to any point on the circumference of the circular base.
59
Unit 8 Geometry
In the prisms in Figures 68 and 69, each edge joining a vertex of one end of
the prism to the matching vertex of the other end is perpendicular to the
ends of the prism. Similarly, in the cylinder and cone in Figure 71, the line
formed by the centres of the cross-sections is perpendicular to the base. In
other texts you might see the words prism, cylinder and cone used to refer
to solids in which these lines are not perpendicular to the base. Similarly,
in other texts you might see the words cylinder and cone used to refer to
solids with non-circular bases.
5.2 Volumes and surface areas of solids

Volumes
For more examples on volumes, The volume of a solid object is the amount of physical space that the
see Maths Help Module 7, object occupies. Volume can be measured in cubic centimetres (cm3 ), or
Subsection 3.4. cubic metres (m3 ), and so on. A cubic centimetre is the volume of a cube
whose edges all have length 1 cm (Figure 72), and a cubic metre is the
volume of a cube whose edges all have length 1 m, and so on. A cubic
1 cm
centimetre is sometimes abbreviated as cc rather than cm3 ; for example,
1 cm 1 cm you might hear about a 50 cc moped engine.
The concept of volume is closely related to the concept of capacity, which
is the amount of liquid that an object could contain. Some units of
Figure 72 A cube with each
capacity are litres in the metric system, and pints and gallons in British
edge of length 1 cm
Imperial units. One litre is the capacity of one cubic decimetre (dm3 ).
A decimetre (dm) is one-tenth of
a metre. Hence 1 dm = 10 cm There are simple formulas for the volumes of many standard solid shapes,
and 1 dm3 = 1000 cm3 . just as there are for the areas of standard plane shapes. For example, the
volume of a cuboid of width w, height h and depth d is obtained by
multiplying the three measurements together, so the formula for the
volume is whd.
Another way to think about this formula for the volume of a cuboid is as
the area of a cross-section, wd, times the height, h. This works for any solid
with a uniform cross-section: any prism, and also (for example) a cylinder.
You can think of such a solid as a thickening of one of its cross-sections,
the thickness being the height h. Using this notion, you can see that the
volume is obtained by multiplying the area of the cross-section (denoted by
This derivation can be made A in this unit) by the height, h. This gives the formula Ah for the volume.
more formal and rigorous, as you
will see if you study higher-level In the particular case of a cylinder, the cross-section is a circle. If the
mathematics modules. radius is r, then the area A is πr2 , so the volume of the cylinder is
Ah = πr2 h.
The formulas found above, together with formulas for the volumes of more
complex shapes, are collected together for convenience in Table 4 on the
next page.
Surface areas
Informally, the surface area of a solid can be thought of as the area of
paper needed to wrap the object without any overlapping. The units of
surface area are the same as the units of area, for example cm2 or m2 .
The surface area of a box of width w, height h and depth d can be found
by adding together the areas of the six rectangles that are the faces of the
box. In order to visualise these six rectangles, imagine cutting along some
of the edges of the box and unfolding the rest. The result is known as a
net of the box (see Figure 73).
60
5 Solids
h h
d d w d w
w
d
Figure 73 A box and a net of the box
Adding together the areas of the six faces gives the formula for the surface
area as 2wh + 2wd + 2hd.
Formulas for the surface areas of more complex shapes are given in
Table 4, which collects together formulas for volumes and surface areas.
Table 4 Volumes and surface areas of simple solids

Shape Diagram Volume Surface area
w
Cuboid h whd 2wh + 2wd + 2hd
d
area A
perimeter p
Prism h Ah 2A + hp
Cylinder h πr2 h 2πr2 + 2πrh
l
h 1 2
Cone 3 πr h πr2 + πrl
4 The sphere is the shape with

Sphere r 3 4πr2
3 πr minimum surface area for a
certain volume. This is why
soap bubbles in the air are
spherical: the volume of air
inside the bubble is fixed, and
There is something worth noticing about the entries in Table 4. In each surface tension in the soap
formula for surface area, each term is of the form film acts to make the film
have the smallest possible
constant × length × length or constant × area. area. (You saw a similar
result about the areas and
This is because in each case the unit needs to be a unit of area, such as m2 . circumferences of circles
earlier.)
61
Unit 8 Geometry
Similarly, in each formula for volume, each term is of the form

constant × length × length × length or constant × area × length.
This is because in each case the unit needs to be a unit of volume, such
as m3 . You can use these facts as a quick check on whether you have a
correct formula. For example, if you are calculating a volume, then the
formula should involve multiplying three lengths, or an area and a length,
together.
5.3 Using volumes and surface areas

The following example shows how to apply one of the formulas in Table 4.
Example 15 Finding the capacities of buckets
If you want to make a bucket A window cleaner has two cylindrical buckets, one with diameter 25 cm
with a certain volume, but and height 30 cm, and the other with diameter 30 cm and height 25 cm.
using the smallest area of Which will hold more water?
sheet material, then you
should make the diameter of Solution
the bucket equal to twice its
height. Real buckets are not The capacities of the buckets can be calculated by using the formula for
this optimal shape, probably the volume of a cylinder, πr2 h. For the first bucket the height is h = 30 cm
because such a wide bucket and the radius is r = 25/2 = 12.5 cm, which gives the volume in cm3 as
would be hard to carry.
π × 12.52 × 30 ≈ 14 726.
On the other hand, if you
want a bucket with a lid, you Since 1000 cm3 is a litre, the capacity of the bucket is about 15 litres.
can enclose the greatest
volume with the smallest The second bucket has height h = 25 cm and radius r = 30/2 = 15 cm, so
amount of material if you its volume in cm3 is
make the height and diameter
of the cylinder equal. It’s π × 152 × 25 ≈ 17 671,
probably no coincidence that which represents a capacity of about 18 litres.
paint tins often have roughly
these proportions. The capacity of the second bucket is larger, so it holds more water.
Activity 35 Finding the surface area of a metal can
r What is the surface area of a metal can that is a cylinder of diameter

7.5 cm and height 10.5 cm?
Figure 74 A hemisphere of Here are two final activities for you to try. They involve a solid called a
radius r hemisphere, which means half a sphere, as shown in Figure 74. More
precisely, a hemisphere is the solid shape obtained by cutting a sphere
along a plane through its centre.
Activity 36 How much foil?
A dome is to be constructed out of steel and transparent foil in a similar

way to the greenhouses shown in Figure 75. Model the dome as a
Figure 75 Greenhouses at hemisphere of radius 10 m to calculate the area of foil required to construct
the Eden Project in Cornwall the dome to the nearest ten square metres.
62
Learning checklist
Activity 37 How many ice cream cones?
This question concerns ice cream cones of diameter 6 cm and height 12 cm,
filled with ice cream all the way to the bottom of the cone and heaped on
top in such a way that the upper surface is a hemisphere.
(a) Calculate the volume of ice cream needed to make an ice cream cone
to the above description. Give your answer in cubic centimetres
rounded to the nearest cubic centimetre.
(b) Convert the volume of ice cream found in part (a) to litres.
(c) Hence calculate the number of ice cream cones of the above description
that could be made from a one-litre tub of ice cream.
Many modern buildings use geometric properties of solid shapes in

innovative ways. One of the most famous is the Sydney Opera House,
shown in Figure 76. The curved surfaces are parts of spheres, all with the
same radius.
Figure 76 Sydney Opera
This unit has introduced the basics of geometry. In Unit 12 you will see House
how to calculate the areas of more complicated shapes, but there are many
other important and useful areas of geometry, which you may encounter if
you continue with further study in mathematics. For example, you could
learn about the perspective that artists use to represent three-dimensional
objects on a two-dimensional canvas (this is called projective geometry), or
you could study the geometry of regular patterns such as tiling patterns,
and their rotational and mirror symmetries, which are considerably more
varied than the symmetries that you have seen in this unit.
Learning checklist
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
• determine angles in shapes using the following facts:
– the angles in a triangle add up to 180◦
– the angles on a straight line add up to 180◦
– the angles making up a right angle add up to 90◦
– when two lines cross, the opposite (X) angles are equal
– when a line crosses two parallel lines, the corresponding (F) angles
are equal
– when a line crosses two parallel lines, the alternate (Z) angles are
equal
• construct geometric arguments
• identify line and rotational symmetries
• show that two triangles are congruent
• calculate the lengths of corresponding sides in similar triangles
• use Pythagoras’ Theorem to calculate the length of a side of a
right-angled triangle when given the other two lengths
• calculate the areas and perimeters of some shapes constructed from
rectangles, triangles and parts of circles
• calculate the volumes and surface areas of simple solids.
63
Unit 8 Geometry
Solutions and comments on Activities

Activity 2 Activity 7
(a) BCD is a straight line. So ∠BEF is opposite ∠DEG and is therefore also
α + 50◦ = 180◦ (angles on a straight line) equal to 50◦.
α = 180◦ − 50◦ = 130◦. ∠ABE is an alternate angle with ∠BEF (and also
a corresponding angle with ∠DEG), and so is
(b) ∠ACB and ∠DCE are obtuse. equal to 50◦.
(c) Finally, ∠HBC is opposite ∠ABE (and also a
ω B
A
corresponding angle with ∠BEF ), and so is also
65◦ equal to 50◦.
α
◦
50
C
Activity 8
D
E
The three angles marked θ are angles on a straight
line and hence add to 180◦. Thus
The angles in a full turn add up to 360◦. So 3θ = 180◦
ω = 360◦ − 65◦ = 295◦. θ = 60◦.
So
Activity 3 ∠ABE = 2 × 60◦ = 120◦.
Angles on a straight line add up to 180◦. So
∠ABE and the angle marked φ are alternate
2θ + 110◦ = 180◦ angles, so
2θ = 70◦ φ = 120◦.
θ = 35◦.
Activity 9
Activity 4 Follow the instructions in the text panel of the
(a) The marked angles are always equal. ‘Triangle’ tab in the dynamic geometry resource to
see how the result about the angles in a triangle
(b) The alternate angles α and γ are equal. See can be proved.
the comments in the text panel in the dynamic
geometry resource. Activity 10
Activity 5 The three angles of a triangle add up to 180◦. In
an equilateral triangle these angles are also equal,
(a) θ + ψ = 180◦ (angles on a straight line). so each of the angles is 180 ◦
3 = 60 .
(b) ψ + φ = 180◦ (angles on a straight line).
Activity 11
(c) Subtracting the equation in part (b) from the
equation in part (a) gives To find the required angles, use the fact that the
angles of a triangle add up to 180◦.
θ − φ = 0◦.
(a) The two base angles are equal to 62◦. Let θ be
Hence θ = φ.
the apex angle. Then
(You might have eliminated ψ in a different way.) θ + 62◦ + 62◦ = 180◦
Activity 6 θ = 180◦ − 124◦
Since ∠ABC and ∠HBE are opposite angles, θ = 56◦.
∠HBE = 40◦. So the apex angle is 56◦.
Also, ∠F AD is opposite to ∠BAC, so (b) Let θ be the size of each base angle of the
∠F AD = 70◦. isosceles triangle with apex angle 30◦. Then
Finally, F AC is a straight line, so θ + θ + 30◦ = 180◦
∠BAF = 180◦ − 70◦ = 110◦. 2θ = 150◦
θ = 75◦.
So the base angles are each 75◦.
64
Activity 12 So
Each of the matching wooden strips makes an ∠ABC − θ = 0◦
angle of 65◦ with the vertical. Thus ∠DKH = 65◦. ∠ABC = θ.
Since ∠DKH and ∠HKC are angles on a straight
line, they add to 180◦. Therefore Activity 14
∠HKC = 180◦ − 65◦ = 115◦. The conjecture is that the sum of the exterior
angles of a triangle add up to 360◦.
Similarly, ∠LJI = 65◦, and so ∠CJI = 115◦.
Each exterior angle of the triangle is on a straight
There are at least two ways to find ∠KCJ. One line with the corresponding interior angle of the
way is to note that ∠HKC and ∠KCB are triangle. Therefore if the exterior angles are α, β
alternate angles, as are ∠IJC and ∠JCB. Thus and γ, then the interior angles are 180◦ − α,
both ∠KCB and ∠JCB are equal to 115◦. 180◦ − β and 180◦ − γ.
Therefore
From the result that the interior angles of a
∠KCJ = 360◦ − 2 × 115◦ = 130◦. triangle add up to 180◦, it follows that
Another way is to extend the line BC, say to M . (180◦ − α) + (180◦ − β) + (180◦ − γ) = 180◦
540◦ − (α + β + γ) = 180◦
B
540◦ − 180◦ = α + β + γ
α + β + γ = 360◦.
KC J
This proves the conjecture.
A M
Activity 15
E D H I L
Read the discussion in the ‘Parallelogram’ tab of
the dynamic geometry resource – this demonstrates
that opposite angles of a parallelogram are equal.
Now, since the matching strips each make an angle
of 65◦ with the vertical, it follows that Activity 16
∠KCM = ∠M CJ = 65◦. A hexagon divided into triangles is shown below.
Since ∠KCJ = ∠KCM + ∠M CJ, it follows that
∠KCJ = 2 × 65◦ = 130◦.
Activity 13
(a) Using the fact that the angles in a triangle
add up to 180◦ gives
∠CBD = 180◦ − 30◦ − θ = 150◦ − θ.
But AD is a straight line, so
∠ABC + ∠CBD = 180◦, which gives
∠ABC = 180◦ − ∠CBD
= 180◦ − (150◦ − θ)
From the figure you can see that the hexagon has
= 180◦ − 150◦ + θ been split into four triangles, and each angle in
= 30◦ + θ. each triangle is an angle in the hexagon or a part
(b) Using the fact that the angles in a triangle of one of these angles. So the angle sum of a
add up to 180◦ gives ∠ABD = 180◦ − 90◦ − θ, hexagon is 4 × 180◦ = 720◦.
which simplifies to (You may have split up your hexagon differently;
∠ABD = 90◦ − θ. there are several ways to do it, but they all give
four triangles.)
Now ∠ABC, ∠ABD and ∠DBE add to 180◦ as
they are angles on the straight line EC. Since Activity 17
∠DBE is 90◦, and we have just found that The solution to Activity 16 shows that the angle
∠ABD = 90◦ − θ, this gives the equation sum of a hexagon is 720◦. Since there are six equal
∠ABC + (90◦ − θ) + 90◦ = 180◦. interior angles in a regular hexagon, each angle is
720◦
= 120◦.
6
65
Unit 8 Geometry
Activity 18 Activity 19
(a) Since AE and BE represent equal lengths of (a) This is a regular octagon, so it has rotational
rope, -ABE is an isosceles triangle. So its base symmetry of order 8 (the number of sides).
angles, ∠ABE and ∠BAE, are equal. (b) The letter ‘S’ has rotational symmetry of
Similarly, -BCE is an isosceles triangle. So its order 2.
base angles, ∠EBC and ∠ECB, are equal. (c) This picture can be rotated 8 times around
(b) In the diagram below, ∠ABE is labelled as α. the centre before returning to its starting point
and each time the picture will look the same, so
B C
the order of rotational symmetry is 8.
α (d) Each of the five depressed sections in the
wheel can be rotated to the next, so the order of
E
rotational symmetry is 5. (This ignores the faint
logo at the centre of the wheel.)
A D
Activity 20
(a) A square has four lines of symmetry.
(i) ∠BAE = α.
(ii) Since the interior angles of a triangle add up
to 180◦,
∠AEB = 180◦ − α − α = 180◦ − 2α.
(iii) Since angles on a straight line add up to 180◦,
∠BEC = 180◦ − ∠AEB
(b) A rectangle has two lines of symmetry.
= 180◦ − (180◦ − 2α)
= 180◦ − 180◦ + 2α
= 2α.
(iv) Since the interior angles of a triangle add up
to 180◦,
∠EBC + ∠ECB + ∠BEC = 180◦;
that is,
(c) A parallelogram has no lines of symmetry. (It
∠EBC + ∠ECB + 2α = 180◦. does, however, have rotational symmetry of
So order 2.)
∠EBC + ∠ECB = 180◦ − 2α.
Since ∠EBC = ∠ECB (from part (a)), it follows
that
2 × ∠EBC = 180◦ − 2α,
so
∠EBC = 90◦ − α. (d) A kite has just one line of symmetry.
(c) Hence
∠ABE + ∠EBC = α + (90◦ − α) = 90◦.
So ∠ABC, which is ∠ABE + ∠EBC, is a right
angle.
(d) Since all the angles are 90◦, ABCD is a
rectangle.
66
Activity 21 Substituting in the known lengths gives

(a) Each triangle has sides of lengths 3, 4 and 6. ST 10 SR
= = .
So the two triangles are congruent by SSS. 5 8 10
(b) In this case we are given two pairs of sides So
equal and the included angles equal, so the two 5 × 10 50
triangles are congruent by SAS. ST = = = 6.25
8 8
(c) The three angles are the same in both and
triangles. However, although each triangle has a 10 × 10 100
side of length 2, these sides are not corresponding. SR = = = 12.5.
8 8
So the triangles are different sizes and hence are
not congruent. Now consider -XY Z and -LM N . This gives
(d) Two angles in one triangle are equal to two XZ 20 YX
= = .
angles in the other triangle, so the remaining 8 5 10
angles in the triangles are also equal. However, the So
two triangles may be different sizes, so they are 20 × 8
not necessarily congruent. XZ = = 32,
5
Activity 22 and
◦
First notice that ∠DCE = 50 , since it is opposite 20 × 10
YX = = 40.
to ∠ACB at vertex C. 5
In -ABC and -DEC:
Activity 25
• AC = DC
(a) The Sun’s rays are parallel, so we have the
• ∠ACB = ∠DCE (both angles are 50◦) following diagram.
• BC = EC.
So -ABC ∼
= -DEC (by SAS).
Activity 23 A
(a) First notice that ∠DCE = θ since it is
opposite to ∠ACF at vertex C.
In -BCE and -DCE:
D
• ∠BCE = ∠DCE (both angles are θ) E θ
• the side CE is common to both triangles F ψ C B
• ∠BEC = ∠DEC (both angles are 90◦).

So -BCE ∼
= -DCE (by ASA). The angles θ and ψ are equal because they are a
(b) The line segments BE and DE are pair of corresponding (F) angles. Also, each of the
corresponding sides in congruent triangles (since two triangles contains a right angle. So two angles
they are both opposite to the angle θ), so they are in one triangle are equal to two angles in the other
equal. triangle. Therefore -ABC is similar to -DEF .
(b) Since -ABC is similar to -DEF , the ratios
Activity 24 of corresponding sides are equal, so
-LM N , -RST and -XY Z are similar because AC BC
these triangles have the same three angles as each = .
DF EF
other. So the ratios of corresponding sides are
equal. First consider -LM N and -RST . The Now BC = 32.5, EF = 1.6 and DF = 1, where all
sides M N and ST are corresponding since they measurements are in metres.
are both opposite the angle marked with one arc. Hence
Similarly, N L and T R are corresponding, and M L AC 32.5
and SR are also corresponding. So = ,
1 1.6
ST TR SR
= = .
MN NL ML
67
Unit 8 Geometry
so (c) Let the length of the unknown side be b. By

32.5 Pythagoras’ Theorem,
AC = ≈ 20.3.
1.6 32 + b2 = 102 ,
Hence the height of the tree is approximately that is,
20.3 metres. 9 + b2 = 100,
thus
Activity 26
b2 = 91.
(a) These two triangles are not similar. The ratio √
of the shortest side of the second triangle to the So b = 91.
shortest side of the first is 2 : 1, since 4 = 2 × 2, so (d) By Pythagoras’ Theorem,
if these triangles were similar, the scale factor EF 2 = ED2 + DF 2 .
would be k = 2. But the other two pairs of sides
Substituting DF = 1.2 and EF = 5 gives
are not in the ratio 2 : 1, so they don’t correspond
to k = 2. 52 = ED2 + 1.22 .
So
(b) Since the angles in a triangle add up to 180◦,
each triangle has angles of 100◦, 50◦ and 30◦. So ED2 = 52 − 1.22 = 25 − 1.44 = 23.56.
the angles are the same and hence the triangles are Hence
√
similar. ED = 23.56 ≈ 4.85.
(c) Here two pairs of sides have the same ratio, That is, the length of the third side is
namely k = 2, since 5 = 2 × 2.5 and 6 = 2 × 3. approximately 4.85 m.
However, the marked angle is not included, and it
(Here the answer is calculated as a decimal value,
is possible to draw two triangles with these
since the problem is a practical one involving
dimensions that are not similar. For example,
lengths with units.)
Activity 29
3 6
(a) The shape can be split into two rectangles in
30◦ 30◦ different ways. For example, consider the following
2.5 5
split.
(d) Here two pairs of sides have the same ratio

a
and there is an included angle, so the triangles are 4
similar.
1 3
Activity 27 4
(a) By Pythagoras’ Theorem,
RQ2 = P R2 + P Q2 = 32 + 42 = 25. The next step is to calculate the length a in the
So diagram. This can be done by looking at the
√
RQ = 25 = 5. lengths of the other vertical sides, which gives
(The negative square root is disregarded as lengths a = 4 − 1 = 3.
are positive.) So the area of the shape is
(b) Let the length of the unknown side be c. By 4 × 4 + 3 × 3 = 16 + 9 = 25.
Pythagoras’ Theorem, (An alternative way to calculate the area is to
c2 = 22 + 52 = 29. think of the shape as the difference between two
√ rectangles, as follows.
So c = 29.
(As the problem is abstract, it is not necessary to
calculate
√ a decimal approximation such as
29 ≈ 5.39.)
4
3
1
68
The width of the larger rectangle is 4 + 3 = 7, so Activity 31

the area of the shape is (a) Your completed table should be as follows.
4 × 7 − 1 × 3 = 28 − 3 = 25,
as found previously.) Cell Area Perimeter Wiggliness
(b) The area of this triangle can be calculated Small normal 83 42 21.3
directly by using the formula 12 bh. The base of the
Abnormal 83 62 46.3
triangle can be taken to be the uppermost side.
Then the base, b, is 3 and the perpendicular Large normal 150 62 25.6
height, h, is 2, so the area of the triangle is
1 1 (b) Based on the table, a threshold of between 30
2 bh = 2 × 3 × 2 = 3. and 40, say, might be appropriate to distinguish
(c) Using the formula for the area of a the two types of cells. For example, the criterion
parallelogram of base 5 and perpendicular height 3 might be that cells with a wiggliness less than 35
gives the area as 5 × 3 = 15. are classified as normal, while those with a
(d) wiggliness greater than 35 are classed as abnormal.
(Much more data would need to be collected
2
before a more precise threshold could be defined.
A trial that compared the calculated wiggliness of
cells against human judgement of abnormality
could provide these data.)
x
Activity 32
x The radius of the motorway is 25 km. So the
circumference is
This shape splits up into a square with sides x and 2 × π × 25 km ≈ 157.080 km.
a triangle with base x and perpendicular height 2. It would be ridiculous to quote the answer to this
The area of a square with sides x is x × x = x2 . precision, since the motorway is only
The area of a triangle with base x and approximately circular and the given radius,
perpendicular height 2 is 12 × x × 2 = x. So the 25 km, is also approximate. Rounding to the
area of the shape is x2 + x. nearest 10 km seems sensible, so an appropriate
answer is that a car travels about 160 km.
(The expression x2 + x is an example of a
quadratic expression, so this shows how such (This rough calculation compares moderately well
expressions arise naturally when calculating the with the actual length of the M25, which
areas of shapes with sides of unknown length. You is 188.3 km.)
will learn about quadratic expressions in Units 9
and 10.) Activity 33
A square of side 8 has area 8 × 8 = 64. A circle of
Activity 30 diameter 9 has radius 4.5 and hence area π × 4.52 .
The answers are in the table below. Assuming that the square and circle have the same
area gives the equation
Area Perimeter Wiggliness 64 = π × 4.52 .
144 Making π the subject of this equation gives
(a) 5 12 = 28.8
5 64
π= ≈ 3.16.
242 4.52
(b) 20 24 = 28.8
20 So the approximation for π implicit in this part of
362 the Rhind papyrus is
(c) 45 36 = 28.8
45 π ≈ 3.16.
(This approximation is quite close to the true
(You can see that the wiggliness of the shape is
value; it is accurate to within 1%.)
unchanged by enlargements with scale factor 2
or 3. This outcome is discussed in the text
following the activity.)
69
Unit 8 Geometry
Activity 34 This shape splits into upper and lower parts as

The area of a semicircle of radius r is 1 2 indicated by the dashed line in the diagram.
2 πr . If the
radius is 3 m, then the area in m2 is The lower part of the shape is a cone, so its volume
1 9π is given by the formula 13 πr2 h. The radius r is 3 cm
× π × 32 = . and the height h is 12 cm, so the volume in cm3 is
2 2
1 2
So the amount of grass seed needed in grams is 3 × π × 3 × 12 = 113.09 . . . .
9π The upper part of the shape is half of a sphere.
× 50 = 700 (to 1 s.f.). The volume of a sphere of radius r is given by the
2
formula 43 πr3 , so the volume, in cm3 , of the upper
Hence approximately 0.7 kg of seed is needed.
part is
3
Activity 35 1 4
2 × 3 × π × 3 = 56.54 . . . .
The surface area A of a cylinder of radius r and So the total volume in cm3 of the ice cream is
height h is given by the formula 113.09 . . . + 56.54 . . . = 169.64 . . . .
A = 2πr2 + 2πrh. To the nearest cubic centimetre the volume
The diameter of the can is 7.5 cm, so the radius is is 170 cm3 .
3.75 cm.
(b) There are 1000 cm3 in one litre. So the
Substituting r = 3.75 and h = 10.5 into the number of litres of ice cream in one cone is
formula gives 169.64 . . .
A = 2 × π × (3.75)2 + 2 × π × 3.75 × 10.5 = 0.169 . . . ,
1000
≈ 335.75 . . . . that is, each ice cream cone is made from
So the surface area of the can is approximately approximately 0.17 litres of ice cream.
340 cm2 .
(c) The number of ice cream cones that can be
Activity 36 made can be found by dividing the amount of ice
cream in the tub by the amount of ice cream
The area of foil required is half of the surface area
of a sphere of radius 10 m. The surface area of a required to make one cone:
sphere of radius r is given by the formula 4πr2 , so 1
number of cones = = 5.894 . . . .
the area, in m2 , of foil required for the dome is 0.169 . . .
1 2
2 × 4 × π × 10 ≈ 628.31 . . . .
So the one-litre tub of ice cream will make 5 full
So, to the nearest ten square metres, the dome will ice cream cones (with enough left over to make
require 630 m2 of foil. 89% of another cone).
Activity 37
(a) The first step is to draw a diagram and add
all relevant information. For this question you
don’t need to draw a three-dimensional shape: you
can write all the relevant information on a diagram
of a cross-section of the shape, as shown below.
6 cm
3 cm
12 cm
70

Unit 02.5 Geometry

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Unit 02.5 Geometry

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Unit 02.5 Geometry

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

UNIT 8

Euclid was a Greek mathematician who worked in the city of

The following activity looks at Euclid’s Elements.

Video Activity 1 Learning about Euclid’s Elements

Watch the video Euclid’s Elements.

The perimeters and areas of shapes are considered in Section 4. A modern

1.1 Angles and lines

Table 1 Some Greek letters

Table 2 Types of angle

Acute angle Greater than 0◦ and less than 90◦

Obtuse angle Greater than 90◦ and less than 180◦

C Straight angle Equal to 180◦

Many of the activities in this unit, and many of the applications of

Example 1 Calculating angles

(a) Calculate ∠ABD in the diagram below.

(b) Calculate the angle θ in the diagram below.

Activity 2 Calculating angles

This question is about the diagram below.

(a) Mark ∠ACB as α and calculate its value.

Activity 3 Calculating angles of snooker balls

Calculate the angle θ in this case.

1.2 Pairs of equal angles

Activity 4 Exploring angles Dynamic geometry

Open the dynamic geometry resource for Unit 8.

From Activity 5, we have the following result.

Opposite angles are equal.

Activity 6 Finding opposite angles

Find ∠HBE, ∠F AD and ∠BAF .

β Corresponding and alternate angles

Corresponding angles are equal.

In Figure 9, two pairs of corresponding angles are marked on the same

Alternate angles are equal. ω θ

Example 2 Finding corresponding and alternate angles

Calculate the angles α and β in the diagram below.

Here is an activity on equal angles.

Activity 7 Finding angles equal to a given angle

In the diagram below, ∠DEG = 50◦ (this is marked on the diagram).

Activity 8 Finding an angle

2 Shapes and symmetry

Activity 9 Investigating the interior angles of a triangle Dynamic geometry

The result found in Activity 9 is as follows.

The angles in a triangle add up to 180◦.

The proof in Activity 9 is one of the most famous proofs in mathematics!

Setting out a geometric argument

Example 3 Proving the result about the angles in a triangle

Prove that the angles of any triangle add up to 180◦.

Add any necessary constructions.

Activity 10 The angles of an equilateral triangle

Show that each angle in an equilateral triangle is 60◦.

Each angle of an equilateral triangle is 60◦. apex angle

Example 4 Finding angles in an isosceles triangle

Solve the equation.

Rearranging the equation gives

Now try the following activity.

Activity 11 Finding angles in isosceles triangles

Tutorial clip Example 5 Finding angles related to a garden shed

Since the lines AE and BC are parallel, ∠F AE and ∠ABC are

The following activity asks you to go through a similar process to ﬁnd

Activity 12 More angles related to the shed

The wooden strip on the shed in Example 5 is one of a pair, as shown in