Elements of the Plane
The lines on a soccer field, the streets of your neighborhood on a map, the corner of a window... all of these are drawn with the most basic pieces of geometry: points, lines, and angles. Before classifying triangles or calculating areas, you need to know these pieces well. By the end of the page you will be able to say where to place an antenna so that it is the same distance from two friends.
Point, line, ray, and segment
From a line you can cut smaller pieces:
Your school's playground, seen from above, is a piece of a plane: a surface that extends in all directions and contains all the points, lines, and segments you draw on it.
Measuring segments: millimeters, centimeters, and decimeters
To add or compare lengths, they must all be in the same unit. The equivalences you need are:
$$10\ \text{mm} = 1\ \text{cm} \qquad 10\ \text{cm} = 1\ \text{dm}$$And therefore $1\ \text{dm} = 100\ \text{mm}$. To convert to a larger unit you divide; to convert to a smaller unit you multiply.
Look at the following image and identify which of the drawn elements corresponds to a line, which to a ray, and which to a line segment. Briefly explain the difference…
Look at the following image and identify which of the drawn elements corresponds to a line, which to a ray, and which to a line segment. Briefly explain the difference between them by looking at their endpoints.
Use a ruler to measure the following line segments and calculate the total sum of their lengths in centimeters ($cm$). Segment $AB = 40$ $mm$ Segment $CD = 2.5$ $cm$…
Use a ruler to measure the following line segments and calculate the total sum of their lengths in centimeters ($cm$).
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Segment $AB = 40$ $mm$
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Segment $CD = 2.5$ $cm$
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Segment $EF = 0.5$ $dm$
Remember to convert all measurements to the same unit before adding.
On a hiking map, a straight trail connects point $A$ (a shelter) to point $B$ (a waterfall). If we extend the trail beyond the waterfall towards the mountain peak (point…
On a hiking map, a straight trail connects point $A$ (a shelter) to point $B$ (a waterfall). If we extend the trail beyond the waterfall towards the mountain peak (point $C$), identify which geometric concept each of the following sections represents:
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The path that starts at the shelter and ends at the waterfall.
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The path that starts at the shelter and continues indefinitely passing through the waterfall and the peak.
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The theoretical line containing the shelter, the waterfall and the peak, extending endlessly in both directions.
Positions of two lines
Two streets in your neighborhood either cross at some point or never cross.
If $r \perp s$ and $t \parallel r$, then $t$ is also perpendicular to $s$: a line parallel to $r$ "inherits" the same turn with respect to $s$.
On the map of your neighbourhood, two streets can cross or be parallel. Look at the diagram of lines $a$, $b$, and $c$. Indicate which pair of lines are parallel and…
On the map of your neighbourhood, two streets can cross or be parallel. Look at the diagram of lines $a$, $b$, and $c$. Indicate which pair of lines are parallel and which pair are intersecting. What is the orange point where two of them intersect called?
An architect is designing a new residential area. They have drawn three streets represented by the lines $r$, $s$ and $t$. Look at the plan and answer with reasoning: If…
An architect is designing a new residential area. They have drawn three streets represented by the lines $r$, $s$ and $t$. Look at the plan and answer with reasoning:
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If street $r$ is perpendicular to street $s$, and street $t$ is parallel to street $r$, how are streets $s$ and $t$ related to each other?
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If a car drives along street $s$ and wants to turn into street $t$, through what angle (in degrees) will it have to turn?
The angle: parts and measure
An angle is named with the vertex in the middle, $\angle AOB$, or with a Greek letter ($\alpha$, $\beta$...). To measure it you use a protractor: the center goes on the vertex and the $0^\circ$ mark on one of the sides.
According to its opening, an angle is:
| Type | Measure |
|---|---|
| Acute | less than $90^\circ$ |
| Right | exactly $90^\circ$ |
| Obtuse | greater than $90^\circ$ and less than $180^\circ$ |
| Straight | exactly $180^\circ$ |
Parts of a polygon
A polygon is a closed figure made of segments. The simplest one is the triangle, and in it you can see three parts:
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The vertices are the points where the sides meet.
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The sides are the segments that form the figure.
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The interior angles are the ones that open toward the inside of the figure, one at each vertex.
A triangle has $3$ vertices, $3$ sides, and $3$ interior angles. In any polygon, the three numbers are equal to each other.
A clock is a good model of angles: a full turn is $360^\circ$, and the minute hand travels $6^\circ$ each minute ($360^\circ \div 60$). At 3:00 the hands form a right angle; at 6:00, a straight angle. The hour hand moves $0.5^\circ$ per minute ($30^\circ$ per hour divided by 60 minutes).
Classify the following angles according to their size as acute, right, or obtuse. To help you, remember that a right angle measures exactly $90^\circ$. Angle…
Classify the following angles according to their size as acute, right, or obtuse. To help you, remember that a right angle measures exactly $90^\circ$.
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Angle $A = 45^\circ$
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Angle $B = 120^\circ$
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Angle $C = 90^\circ$
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Angle $D = 10^\circ$
The hands of a clock form different angles throughout the day. a) What type of angle do the hands form when it is 3:00 o'clock? b) What about when it is 6:00 o'clock? c)…
The hands of a clock form different angles throughout the day.
- a) What type of angle do the hands form when it is 3:00 o'clock?
- b) What about when it is 6:00 o'clock?
- c) What angle (in degrees) does the minute hand turn through in 15 minutes?
Draw a three-sided polygon (a triangle) and label its main elements. You must indicate where the vertices, the sides and the interior angles are. How many of each does a…
Draw a three-sided polygon (a triangle) and label its main elements. You must indicate where the vertices, the sides and the interior angles are. How many of each does a triangle have?
You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.
Observe the hands of an analog clock when it shows exactly $15:00$ (three o'clock). The figure shows that clock: the short hand is the hour hand and the long one is the…
Observe the hands of an analog clock when it shows exactly $15:00$ (three o'clock). The figure shows that clock: the short hand is the hour hand and the long one is the minute hand.
Answer:
- a) What type of angle do the two hands form at $15:00$?
- b) If the clock moves forward to $15:10$, the minute hand has turned through a certain angle. Knowing that each minute corresponds to a $6^\circ$ turn of the minute hand, what angle has the minute hand covered?
- c) At $15:10$, is the angle formed by the two hands greater or smaller than the one they formed at $15:00$? Keep in mind that the hour hand also moves a little: it turns $0.5^\circ$ every minute.
Calculate exactly the smaller angle formed by the hands of an analogue clock when it shows $10:20$ in the morning. Bear in mind that the hour hand moves proportionally…
Calculate exactly the smaller angle formed by the hands of an analogue clock when it shows $10:20$ in the morning. Bear in mind that the hour hand moves proportionally to the movement of the minute hand. (Hint: every minute, the hour hand moves $0.5^\circ$).
Degrees, minutes, and seconds
The full turn is divided into $360$ equal parts called degrees ($^\circ$). When a degree is not precise enough, it is divided like the hour into minutes and seconds:
Dividing an angle by a number
To divide, you share out the degrees first; what is left over is converted to minutes, and then to seconds.
A traffic radar rotates on its axis sweeping a total angle of $145^\circ$ $30'$. If the radar has already rotated $82^\circ$ $45' $ $20''$, how much more does it need to…
A traffic radar rotates on its axis sweeping a total angle of $145^\circ$ $30'$. If the radar has already rotated $82^\circ$ $45' $ $20''$, how much more does it need to rotate to complete its full sweep? Express the result in degrees, minutes and seconds.
In the design of a skateboard ramp, three interior angles have been calculated that must add up to a straight angle so that the structure is stable. If the first two…
In the design of a skateboard ramp, three interior angles have been calculated that must add up to a straight angle so that the structure is stable. If the first two angles measure $\hat{A} = 48^\circ$ $25'$ and $\hat{B} = 72^\circ$ $50'$, calculate the measure of the third angle $\hat{C}$. What type of angle is it according to its turn (acute, right or obtuse)?
Complementary and supplementary angles
To find the missing one you subtract: the complement of $\alpha$ is $90^\circ - \alpha$ and the supplement is $180^\circ - \alpha$.
Two angles are complementary if their sum is $90^\circ$ and supplementary if their sum is $180^\circ$. Calculate the missing angle in each case: a) The complement of an…
Two angles are complementary if their sum is $90^\circ$ and supplementary if their sum is $180^\circ$. Calculate the missing angle in each case:
- a) The complement of an angle of $35^\circ$.
- b) The supplement of an angle of $110^\circ$.
Two angles are supplementary. If one of them measures three times as much as the other, what is the measure of each of the angles? Draw a diagram to help you visualise…
Two angles are supplementary. If one of them measures three times as much as the other, what is the measure of each of the angles? Draw a diagram to help you visualise the situation.
In the design of a metal part, two angles are supplementary. If one of them is three times the other minus $20^\circ$, how much does each angle measure? Set out a…
In the design of a metal part, two angles are supplementary. If one of them is three times the other minus $20^\circ$, how much does each angle measure? Set out a logical or mathematical strategy to find their measures in degrees, minutes and seconds.
Vertical angles and the angle bisector
When two lines cross, four angles are formed. The ones that face each other, without touching, are vertical angles and they measure the same. The ones that are next to each other are supplementary.
The angle bisector is the ray that starts at the vertex and divides the angle into two equal angles.
When two lines intersect, vertically opposite angles are equal. In the following drawing, if we know that the orange angle $\hat{\alpha}$ measures $40^\circ$, how much…
When two lines intersect, vertically opposite angles are equal. In the following drawing, if we know that the orange angle $\hat{\alpha}$ measures $40^\circ$, how much will angles $\hat{\beta}$, $\hat{\gamma}$, and $\hat{\delta}$ measure?
A gardener wants to divide a flowerbed shaped like a circular sector into two equal sectors. To do this, he needs to draw the angle bisector of the central angle formed…
A gardener wants to divide a flowerbed shaped like a circular sector into two equal sectors. To do this, he needs to draw the angle bisector of the central angle formed by the original flowerbed, which measures $135^\circ$.
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Calculate the measure of each of the new angles after drawing the bisector.
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If the gardener makes a mistake and draws a line that leaves an angle of $60^\circ$ $40'$, how many degrees, minutes, and seconds of difference are there compared to the correct bisector?
You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.
Draw an obtuse angle $\widehat{AOB} = 150^\circ$. Draw its bisector $OC$. Afterwards, draw the bisector $OD$ of angle $\widehat{AOC}$. Without using a protractor for the…
Draw an obtuse angle $\widehat{AOB} = 150^\circ$. Draw its bisector $OC$. Afterwards, draw the bisector $OD$ of angle $\widehat{AOC}$. Without using a protractor for the final measurement, calculate arithmetically the measure of the supplementary angle of angle $\widehat{DOB}$. Show all the steps of the calculation in the sexagesimal system.
You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.
A pizzeria wants to divide a circular pizza of $30 \text{ cm}$ diameter into 7 equal slices. a) What is the exact measure of the central angle of each slice in degrees,…
A pizzeria wants to divide a circular pizza of $30 \text{ cm}$ diameter into 7 equal slices.
- a) What is the exact measure of the central angle of each slice in degrees, minutes and seconds?
- b) If by mistake the first cut is made at $52^\circ$, how many extra minutes and seconds does that slice have compared to the correct measure?
Parallel lines cut by a transversal
Two parallel streets, crossed by an avenue. What relationship is there between the angles that are formed?
When a line $t$ (the transversal) cuts two parallel lines $r$ and $s$, eight angles are formed, four at each crossing.
In total there are only two different measures: an angle $\alpha$ and its supplement $180^\circ - \alpha$.
Two parallel lines, $r$ and $s$, are cut by a transversal $t$. It is known that two alternate interior angles are given by the measures $2x + 15^\circ$ and…
Two parallel lines, $r$ and $s$, are cut by a transversal $t$. It is known that two alternate interior angles are given by the measures $2x + 15^\circ$ and $3x - 10^\circ$.
- a) Find the value of $x$.
- b) Calculate the measure of all eight angles formed at the intersection.
Points at the same distance: perpendicular bisector
Ximena and Mateo want to put a Wi-Fi repeater antenna in the school courtyard, at the same distance from both of them. Where?
With a straightedge and compass: open the compass more than half of $\overline{AB}$, draw an arc from $A$ and an equal one from $B$; the two points where the arcs cross determine the perpendicular bisector. If $A$ and $B$ are $12$ m apart, the antenna at the midpoint is $6$ m from each; at any other point on the perpendicular bisector it is more than $6$ m away.
If the antenna must also be at the same distance from two roads that form an angle, you draw the angle bisector of that angle. The point that meets both conditions is where the angle bisector and the perpendicular bisector cross.
Two friends, Ana and Diego, want to install a Wi-Fi repeater antenna in the school playground that is exactly at the same distance from both of them. If Ana is at point…
Two friends, Ana and Diego, want to install a Wi-Fi repeater antenna in the school playground that is exactly at the same distance from both of them. If Ana is at point $A$ and Diego is at point $B$:
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What is the name of the imaginary line where they could place the antenna?
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If the distance between Ana and Diego is $12$ meters, what is the minimum distance from each of them that the antenna will be?
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Draw a diagram showing points $A$ and $B$, the line segment joining them, and the line where they must place the antenna.
Three towns, Atlixco ($A$), Bernal ($B$), and Comala ($C$), are situated such that the angle with vertex at $A$ formed by the roads going to $B$ and $C$ measures…
Three towns, Atlixco ($A$), Bernal ($B$), and Comala ($C$), are situated such that the angle with vertex at $A$ formed by the roads going to $B$ and $C$ measures $74^\circ \ 12'$. A cell phone tower is to be built that is exactly the same distance from road $AB$ as from road $AC$. In addition, the tower must be situated at the same distance from towns $B$ and $C$. Describe with reasoning which geometric construction lines (special lines) you must draw to find the exact location of the tower and state the name of their point of intersection.
Summary
Go back to the beginning: the antenna at an equal distance from Ximena and Mateo goes on the perpendicular bisector of $\overline{AB}$.