Geometry in Real Life

By Carolyn Van Gorkom

Table of Contents
Unit 5: The High Pot In Use ....................................................................................2
Week 10: Pythagorean Theorem ........................................................................... 2
Week 11: Special Right Triangles....................................................................... 28
Unit 6: Solid Foundation ........................................................................................ 50
Week 12: Prisms & Cylinders............................................................................. 50
Week 13: Pyramids & Cones .............................................................................. 76
Week 14: Solid Geometry Review ...................................................................... 96
Unit 7: Triangulating a position ........................................................................... 114
Week 15: Triangle Properties ........................................................................... 114
Week 16: Congruence Theorems ...................................................................... 145
Week 17: Review ............................................................................................. 169
Week 18: Semester Review .............................................................................. 188
 Unit 5: The High Pot In Use

Introduction: I was talking to an acquaintance the other day, and I found out he
was a lawyer. I asked him a few questions about his job, and then he asked me a
question about mine.

He said, “How would you figure out what the third side of a triangle would be, if
the other two sides are 60 feet and 80 feet?” Apparently, he was putting up a fence
or something and needed the information in a hurry.

The answer was easy: 100 feet. The explanation took a few seconds longer. He was
amazed because he’d forgotten everything he had learned in Geometry. It doesn’t
take a math teacher for that, though. By the end of this unit, you’ll be able to answer
his question easily, too.

Week 10: Pythagorean Theorem

Day 1: Pythagoras and His Secret Triplet

When you hear about the Ancient Greeks, you probably think exclusively about
modern-day Greece, which is part of Europe. What you have to remember is there
were several empires that conquered the Mediterranean world and the Middle East.
The most notable of those were Babylon, Persia, Greece, and then Rome.

Euclid, whom we’ve already discussed, was from Alexandria, Egypt. Today’s
mathematician, Pythagoras, was from an island off the coast of Asia Minor (today’s
Turkey.) When we study the writings of ancient Greeks and Romans, we’re actually
studying a compilation of knowledge from North Africa, Western Asia, and
Southern Europe.

Pythagoras studied a lot of subjects, including math, science, philosophy and

politics. The latter ones got him in trouble, but the discoveries he made in the first

2
two are important even today. The most important of these still bears his name: the
Pythagorean Theorem.

We can see the concept best on a Cartesian plane. We’ll start with a right triangle
whose short sides are 3 units and 4 units long.

Now we build squares on each straight side (not the diagonal yet).

From this, we can easily see that the area of the red square is 3 ∙ 3 = 9 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑠𝑠 2.
The area of the green square is 4 ∙ 4 = 16 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑠𝑠 2. That diagonal is obviously longer
than 4, but how much longer? We can find the answer by doing some
transformations. First, copy the diagonal, then rotate it 90° to make the first side of
our triangle. Translate it by sliding over to match the vertex at a right angle. Repeat
for the other sides, until we have a square (in blue below).

3
To see how big the blue square is, we’ll rotate it until the base is horizontal and
slide it to one side.

Well, that was easy. Each side measures 5 units long, and the area is base times
height: 𝐴𝐴 = 5 ∙ 5 = 25 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑠𝑠 2 . The diagonal won’t always come out even, but I’ll

4
let you in on a secret: I chose those numbers because I knew they would. This is a
special triangle called a Pythagorean triple, where the sides are all integers.

Definition:
A Pythagorean triple represents the three sides of a right triangle where the
measurements of all three sides are integers.

To learn Pythagoras’ secret, however, we need to look more closely at the areas of
those squares.

Do you see a relationship between the 9, the 16, and the 25? If you said the two
smaller numbers add up to the biggest number, you’re on to something. Let’s learn
a couple more definitions so we can talk about it.

Definitions:
The longest side of a right triangle is called the Hypotenuse.

The two short sides of a right triangle are called Legs.

Now we can describe this picture: The square on the hypotenuse equals the sum of
the squares on the other two sides.

5
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes definitions page: Pythagorean Triple, Hypotenuse,

and Leg.

2. Get out a couple sheets of graph paper and markers or use construction paper
with a ruler and protractor. Follow these steps:

a. Cut out two identical squares with perfect right

angles. They don’t have to be any particular size,
but they should be big enough to work with.
Between 3 inches and 6 inches should be fine. (If
using construction paper, make these different
colors.)

b. On one square, measure anywhere along one edge and make a mark. Measure
the same amount with your ruler along each edge and mark it.

c. Connect the marks with your ruler. If using graph

paper, color the triangles with a marker.

d. Mark the hypotenuse of each triangle with a c,

the short leg with an a, and the long leg with a b.
Make sure the a’s and b’s are inside the triangles,
and the c’s are inside
the square.

e. Cut out the triangles and lay the square aside.

f. Rearrange the triangles (blue) on the second

square as shown. Color and label the new squares
(purple) beside them with sides a and b.

6
 g. Tape down the triangles you rearranged so that they don’t blow away. Tape
your final result from letter f above onto a sheet of notebook paper, and tape
the square you laid aside in letter e above on the same page.

h. Now it’s time for some logic. The areas of the two original squares you cut out
in letter a above are the same. Is the area covered by the four blue triangles the
same in both pictures above?

i. The area of the original (gray) squares minus the areas of the blue triangles
must therefore be the same in both cases. In letter e above, the leftover purple
square has a side of c. The leftover purple parts in letter f above are squares
with sides a and b. Since the purple areas have to be equal, what we are left
with is this:

• The purple area with side c: 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑐𝑐 2. This is equal to:

• The purple areas with sides a and b: 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑎𝑎2 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏 2 .
• ∴ 𝑐𝑐 2 = 𝑎𝑎2 + 𝑏𝑏2
• In other words, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of
the squares of the other two sides.

𝑐𝑐 2 = 𝑎𝑎2 + 𝑏𝑏2

Congratulations! You just wrote your first proof of the Pythagorean Theorem.

7
Day 2: The Pythagorean Theorem

The story goes that a natural history museum had three square picture frames on
display, showing the hides of different animals: a hippopotamus, a zebra, and a
leopard. Student groups would view the displays, feel the textures of the hides, and
guess how large the hippo hide was. One student group discovered an interesting
relationship when they measured the frames.

The square of the hippopotamus was equal to.

the sum of the squares of the other two hides!

= +

Dad jokes aside, that’s a great way to remember the principle we learned yesterday:
The square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the other two sides.

That’s too many words for a mathematician, though. They would turn that into a
formula. A square looks like this, 𝑥𝑥 2 , remember? We find it by finding the area of a
square, which is 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏 ∙ ℎ, or side times side in the case of a square. Let’s split out
the parts of our diagram so we can see this better.

8
 5 𝐴𝐴 = 32 3
3
4 3

𝐴𝐴 = 42 4

The first thing to notice is that the area of each square is the side squared. The
second piece of the puzzle is what we just discovered: that the areas of the two little
squares, added together, equal the area of the big square. In other words:
9 + 16 = 25, 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 32 + 42 = 52

If you’re a mathematician, you’re really close to an “Aha!” moment. What happens

if you substitute letters for those numbers? Then you would have a formula that
works for any right triangle. That’s what Pythagoras did, all those many years ago.
Starting in the middle, name the two legs a and b, and name the hypotenuse c.

9
 c 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑎𝑎2 a
a
b a

𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏 2 b

b
It’s not necessary, but we usually go in size order: the shortest side is a. If we
substitute a, b, and c for the 3, 4, and 5 in our previous equation, we get:
𝑎𝑎2 + 𝑏𝑏2 = 𝑐𝑐 2

That looks like a whole bunch of Mathese, but it breaks down this way: The square
of a (the short leg) plus the square of b (the long leg) equals the square of c (the
hypotenuse). That’s exactly what we just said: the areas of the two little squares,
added together, equal the area of the big square. Whenever you write down the
formula, remember that’s what it means.

Formula:
Pythagorean Theorem: 𝑎𝑎2 + 𝑏𝑏2 = 𝑐𝑐 2

List of Properties:
Pythagorean Theorem: In a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse
equals the sum of the squares of the other two sides.

10
Example:
If the legs of a right triangle measure 5 ft and 12 ft, what is the length of the
hypotenuse?

Step 1: Draw and label the triangle. Notice we always label the hypotenuse “c.”

5 ft c

12 ft

Step 2: Write down the equation, and then substitute the values we know. Solve for
the missing side.
𝑎𝑎2 + 𝑏𝑏2 = 𝑐𝑐 2
(5 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓)2 + (12 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓)2 = (𝑐𝑐 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓)2
25 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2 + 144 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2 = 𝑐𝑐 2 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2
169 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2 = 𝑐𝑐 2 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2
√169 �𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2 = �𝑐𝑐 2 �𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2
13 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 = 𝑐𝑐 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓

All of those 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2 kind of get in the way, so when we’re solving a Pythagorean
problem, we just ignore the units. Just remember that if we have area, it’s in two
dimensions, 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2 ; and if we have a side, it’s in one dimension, ft. Redoing it without
the 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2 makes it a lot easier:
𝑎𝑎2 + 𝑏𝑏2 = 𝑐𝑐 2
52 + 122 = 𝑐𝑐 2
√169 = �𝑐𝑐 2
±13 = 𝑐𝑐
Since a side can’t be measured in negative units, our answer is positive 13 ft.

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Assignment

1. Add to your List of Properties: The Pythagorean Theorem.

Add to your Geometry Notes other formulas pages:
Pythagorean Theorem: 𝑎𝑎2 + 𝑏𝑏2 = 𝑐𝑐 2

2. Given these two legs of a triangle, find the hypotenuse:

a. 5 ft and 12 ft

b. 8 in and 15 in

c. 7 cm and 24 cm

3. Given the hypotenuse and long leg of a triangle, find the short leg:

a. 29 in and 21 in

b. 41 cm and 40 cm

4. Given the area of a right triangle and one side, find the other two sides.

a. 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = 60 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2 ; 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = 8 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓

b. 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = 84 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2 ; 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = 7 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓

5. When the measurement of every side of a right triangle is an integer, we call

those three numbers together a P______________________ T____________.

12
Day 3: (Ab)surd Review

As you can tell from yesterday’s assignment, you need to know how to use squares
and square roots for the Pythagorean Theorem. In fact, you’ll need that Algebra
concept for the rest of this Geometry course.

The problem is some Algebra books teach this in Algebra 1, and some wait until
Algebra 2. Since I don’t know which book you used last school year, I can’t assume
you’ve covered surds and radicals. (At least not the kind we talk about in math
class!) Buckle your seat belts because we’re going to spend the rest of this week
reviewing Algebra.

So far in this Geometry course, we’ve talked a lot about shapes, squares, and area
measured in square units. But what about the reverse? What if we know the area of
a square, and want to know what one side is? To find it, we need a reverse
operation. Not a square, but a square root.

Think of it this way: A square is like a seed that grows the tree, while a square root
gets to the root of the tree (its base):

13
Another way to think of it is this: The square is the area, while the square root is the
side.
side = s

s 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑠𝑠 2 s

side = s

That leads us to a definition of sorts because if the area of a square is 𝑠𝑠 2, then the
square root is 𝑠𝑠. We need to expand that with our understanding of Algebra,
however.

In Algebra, we use both positive and negative numbers. Since a square is an

exponent, where two identical numbers are multiplied together, those two numbers
could be either positive or negative. When we multiply them, they will always be
positive.

For instance, 5 ∙ 5 = 25, but (−5) ∙ (−5) = 25 as well. When we take the square
root of 25, we have to include both possibilities.
√25 = +5 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 − 5
We can combine these with a special symbol, ±, which means plus or minus:
√25 = ±5

Logically, when we’re dealing with measurements, we won’t have to include the
negative values. But there are some branches of Geometry that do include the
negative values, so we have to at least acknowledge them. So, let’s agree to include
both the positive and negative when we’re doing straight Algebra and only consider
the positive when we use the formulas for measurements.

14
It’s easy to do mental math when you’re figuring the square root of a square like 25.
In fact, it’s a good idea to memorize the perfect squares up to 10. I’ve memorized a
few more just from using them a lot.

12 = 1 62 = 36 112 = 121
22 = 4 72 = 49 122 = 144 172 = 289
32 = 9 82 = 64 132 = 169
42 = 16 92 = 81
52 = 25 102 = 100 152 = 225 202 = 400 252 = 625

What do we do with the numbers that fall between the perfect squares, however? If
all we do is plug them into a calculator, we’ll lose some vital pieces of information.

Example: Find the square root of 50.

Step 1: Get out your scientific calculator. (On a smart phone, try turning your
device sideways. Some apps have a scientific calculator built in.)

Step 2: Type in 50 and press the √𝑥𝑥 button. The answer will be 7.0710678…
Normally, we would round that off to 7.07 (two decimal places) or 7.1
(one decimal place.) But there’s more to see here.

Step 3: Notice that 50 = 25 ∙ 2. I know how to take the square root of 25.
There’s an Algebra rule that says the square root of a number is the same
as the square root of each of its factors, multiplied. The short way to say
that is √𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 = √𝑎𝑎 ∙ √𝑏𝑏. That means:
√50 = √25 ∙ 2 = √25 ∙ √2
Simplify the √25 part. That equals 5. Leave the √2 at the end like a variable:
√50 = 5√2

15
For now, this seems like a useless exercise in Algebra, but by the end of this unit,
you’ll see how useful it can be to reduce square roots to surds instead of decimals.
In fact, we can reduce any kind of root, also known as a radical, to a surd.

Definitions:
A radical is any 𝑛𝑛𝑡𝑡ℎ root of a number. It is the opposite of an exponent.
A surd is any radical that doesn’t equal an integer.

In order to talk about those 𝑛𝑛𝑡𝑡ℎ roots, however, we have to refresh our
understanding of exponents.

Definition:
Exponents: Any number 𝑥𝑥 (the base) to the 𝑛𝑛𝑡𝑡ℎ power (the exponent)
equals 𝑥𝑥 multiplied by itself 𝑛𝑛 times.
𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑒𝑒 (𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒) = 𝑥𝑥 𝑛𝑛 = 𝑥𝑥 ∙ 𝑥𝑥 ∙ 𝑥𝑥 ∙ 𝑥𝑥 ∙ … (𝑛𝑛 # 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡)

Examples: 54 = 5 ∙ 5 ∙ 5 ∙ 5 = 625
35 = 3 ∙ 3 ∙ 3 ∙ 3 ∙ 3 = 243
𝑥𝑥 7 = 𝑥𝑥 ∙ 𝑥𝑥 ∙ 𝑥𝑥 ∙ 𝑥𝑥 ∙ 𝑥𝑥 ∙ 𝑥𝑥 ∙ 𝑥𝑥

That means any number 𝑥𝑥 𝑛𝑛 , taken to the 𝑛𝑛𝑡𝑡ℎ root, will return to its original base (𝑥𝑥,
the number the exponent applies to).
𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑒𝑒 (𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒) = 𝑥𝑥 𝑛𝑛
𝑛𝑛
𝑛𝑛𝑡𝑡ℎ 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟: √𝑥𝑥 𝑛𝑛 = 𝑥𝑥, 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏

I told you getting to the root would help us find the base of the tree!

4 3 5
Examples: √54 = 5 , √23 = 2 , √35 = 3 , and so on.

If the root and the exponent are the same, they are opposites. They cancel each
other out.

16
Do you remember your order of operations from Pre-Algebra? You may have
memorized PEMDAS, but I like to draw a ladder and put opposites together on the
rungs:

P( ) Parentheses rule, of course.

E Exponents

MD Multiply and Divide (opposites)

AS Add and Subtract (opposites)

Early grades don’t include an opposite for Exponents, but that’s where radicals
come in. The opposite of 𝑥𝑥 2 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 √ . (Notice if there’s no little number beside the
3
check symbol, it’s assumed to be 2.) The opposite of 𝑥𝑥 3 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 √ . The opposite of
4
𝑥𝑥 4 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 √ , and so on. We could even expand our Order of Operations to
PERMDAS:

P( ) Parentheses

ER Exponents / Roots (or Radicals)

MD Multiply and Divide (opposites)

AS Add and Subtract (opposites)

17
 3
We won’t need a radical larger than √𝑥𝑥 for our Geometry formulas, and fortunately,
3
most calculator apps have a √𝑥𝑥 button. Memorizing a few perfect cubes can come
in handy, though. The most common cubes are:

13 = 1 63 = 216
23 = 8
33 = 27
43 = 64
53 = 125 103 = 1000

If we notice a multiple of one of those numbers, we can simplify the surd to a

smaller root.

Example: What is the cube root of 250?

3 3 3 3 3
√250 = √125 ∙ 2 = √125 ∙ √2 = 5 √2

That certainly looks smaller than what we started with. Soon we’ll put those absurd
surds to use.

18
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes definitions page: Radical, Surd, and Exponent.

2. Fill in the following tables of squares and cubes, from memory if possible:

12 = 62 = 112 = 13 = 63 =
22 = 72 = 122 = 23 = 73 =
32 = 82 = 132 = 33 = 83 =
42 = 92 = 142 = 43 = 93 =
52 = 102 = 152 = 53 = 103 =

3. Find the following exponents or roots. If the radical does not equal an integer,
find the simplified surd.

4 3
a. 27 = c. √81 = e. √64 =

3
b. √125 = d. 35 = f. √75 =

4. Given the area of a square, find the sides.

a. 𝐴𝐴 = 225 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2

b. 𝐴𝐴 = 49 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2

c. 𝐴𝐴 = 200 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2

19
Day 4: More (Ab)surdity

This isn’t all you’ll need to know for Algebra 2, but we do need a few more
guidelines to deal with the surds and radicals we’ll encounter in Geometry.

The first guideline is how to multiply and divide radicals (square roots, cube roots,
and all the other 𝑛𝑛𝑡𝑡ℎ roots).

Step 1: Make sure the radical is the same. We can only combine square roots
with square roots, cube roots with cube roots, and so on.

Step 2: Collect all of the coefficients and multiply or divide them in front of the
radical sign.

Step 3: Collect all of the numbers under the radical sign and multiply or divide
them, leaving them under the radical sign.

Examples:
3√2 ∙ 2√5 = 3 ∙ 2 ∙ √2 ∙ 5 = 6√10

6√22 6 22 2
= ∙ � = 2 ∙ � = 2√2
3√11 3 11 1

The basic principle is: multiply or divide the numbers outside the radical and then
multiply or divide the numbers inside the radical. Never mix them.

In fact, the only way you are allowed to mix them is if an exponent and a radical
sign cancel each other out.

20
 3
Example: 5 √8.
Treat the 5 like the coefficient of a variable for a while. Leave it alone.

3
Look at the radical, √8. You know that 8=23 . Rewrite it that way:
3 3 3
√8 = �23 = �23 = 2
Now the exponent and the radical cancel each other out, leaving us with
just a 2. Rewrite our coefficient, 5, and replace the radical with 2.
3 3
5 √8 = 5 �23 = 5 ∙ 2 = 10

Example: 7√12
Treat the 7 like the coefficient of a variable for a while. Leave it alone.

Look at the radical, √12. You know that 12 = 4 ∙ 3. Since 4 = 22 , you

can rewrite it still further. Your problem now looks like this:
7�22 ∙ 3
There’s a tiny 2 outside that radical sign, even though we never write it:
2
7 �22 ∙ 3
Split the radical into two parts so you can cancel the exponent and root:
2
7 �22 √3
We’re left with this:
7 ∙ 2√3 = 14√3

Tip: Whenever you have perfect squares inside a square root, rewrite them as a
number, squared, times whatever’s left. Then cancel the exponent and bring the
base outside the radical, leaving the rest inside.

We’re not going to get into too much detail about the higher roots. Just remember
that the number outside the radical sign tells you how many of a number you need
inside the radical sign in order to take one out.

21
Do you need a square root (√ ) of some number? Then you need something
squared inside (𝑥𝑥 2 ) to cancel it out. (We never write the 2 outside the square root
sign because that’s the most common one we use.)

3
Do you need a cube root (√ )? Then you need something cubed inside (𝑥𝑥 3 ) to
cancel it out.

4
Do you need a fourth root ( √ )? Then you need something to the fourth power
inside to cancel it, and so on.

Examples:
√128 = √64 ∙ 2 = �82 ∙ 2 = 8√2
The square root and the 82 cancel, bringing one 8 outside and leaving the 2
inside the square root sign.

3 3 3 3 3
√128 = √8 ∙ 8 ∙ 2 = �23 ∙ 23 ∙ 2 = 2 ∙ 2 √2 = 4 √2
This is the same number, but a different root (cube root). We had to find
three of each number to bring one outside. The 8s simplified to 23 , so we
were able to bring one of each outside and leave the 2 inside the sign.

The basic principle is this: Roots cancel exponents, but it has to be the same root as
the exponent. Here’s how it might work out in a word problem:

Example: The area of a circle is 𝐴𝐴 = 18 𝜋𝜋 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 . What is the radius?

𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2 = 18𝜋𝜋 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2
←Divide both sides by 𝜋𝜋.
𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2 = 18𝜋𝜋 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2
←Square root both sides.
�𝑟𝑟 2 = �18 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 ←The squares cancel.
𝑟𝑟 = �32 ∙ 2 = 3√2 ←Simplify the radical.

22
Assignment

1. Simplify the radicals as far as possible.

3
a. √216 b. √81 c. √300

2. Multiply or divide the radicals.

3 3
a. 2√10 ∙ 3√15 c. 5 √32 ∙ 2 √6

√12 2√30
b. d.
√3 √6

3. Find the missing radii. (Hint: Write the formula = the given area or volume.)

a. The area of a circle is 𝐴𝐴 = 81𝜋𝜋 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 . What is the radius?

b. The area of a circle is 𝐴𝐴 = 24𝜋𝜋 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2 . What is the radius?

c. The area of a circle is 𝐴𝐴 = 500𝜋𝜋 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2. What is the radius?

d. The volume of a sphere is 𝑉𝑉 = 36𝜋𝜋 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 . What is the radius?

e. The volume of a sphere is 𝑉𝑉 = 288𝜋𝜋 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚3 . What is the radius?

23
Day 5: That’s (Ab)surd!

As you can see by the assignments you’ve been doing, we really do use radicals in
Geometry. They’re needed to work backward from a known Area or Volume. We
need them for our next topic, too, along with today’s final surd review.

We’ve already covered multiplying and dividing surds. You can even add or
subtract similar surds just like variables. To be similar, they have to be the same
3
type of radical (square root √𝑥𝑥 or cube root √𝑥𝑥 , etc. ) with the same number inside.
They can have any number as a coefficient, outside the radical sign. We just keep
the radical and add or subtract the coefficients.

Examples:
5√2 + 3 √2 = 8√2
14√3 − 9√3 = 5√3
3 3 3
10 √5 − 7 √5 = 3 √5

We can’t combine these, however.

5√2 + 5√3: These don’t have the same number inside the symbol.
3 3
2√3 + 4 √3: These aren’t the same kind of radical: one is √𝑥𝑥 and one is √𝑥𝑥 .

We’ve had some experience with treating numbers like variables. In the last
assignment, we treated the number 𝜋𝜋 like a variable so we could divide it out of
both sides of our equations and find the radii more easily. That gave us the ability to
work with whole numbers instead of decimals. If we solved yesterday’s problems
with decimals instead, it wouldn’t come out even.

Example: The area of a circle is about 9 𝑚𝑚2. What is the radius?

𝐴𝐴 = 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2 ≈ 9 ←Divide both sides by 𝜋𝜋.
𝑟𝑟 2 ≈ 3
Technically, 𝑟𝑟 ≈ 1.7, but we usually
𝑟𝑟 ≈ 2 ←Square root both sides.
round to the same place value.→
Use ≈ because it’s rounded.

24
As you can see, whenever we multiply or divide by pi, we have to round off. That
introduces an element of uncertainty because the number isn’t exact. We can say
the radius is about 2, but we can’t know for certain because of the rounding.

That’s where Algebra comes in to help because when we can treat an infinite
number like 𝜋𝜋 or √2 like a variable, we don’t have to plug it into the calculator until
the very last step. That means we don’t keep rounding off, and we don’t keep
introducing rounding errors at every stage. That’s important to scientists, whether
they’re chemical engineers formulating a new prescription medicine or
astrophysicists sending an exploration team to Mars.

It’s even important to carpenters using Geometry, too. Let’s take one more day of
practice to nail this concept down. It really is that important.

Here’s what we’ve learned so far:

• If the root and the exponent are the same, they are opposites. They cancel
3 4
each other out. √𝑥𝑥 2 = 𝑥𝑥; √𝑥𝑥 3 = 𝑥𝑥; √𝑥𝑥 4 = 𝑥𝑥 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜.

• Roots cancel exponents, but it has to be the same root as the exponent.

• The number outside the radical sign tells you how many of a number you
need inside the radical sign in order to take one out.

• We can multiply or divide the numbers outside the radical and then multiply
or divide the numbers inside the radical, as long as the radical signs are all
the same.

• We can add or subtract similar surds just like variables, but they have to be
the same root with the same number inside.

25
Assignment

1. Matching: which of these (ab)surd expressions can be added?

(Hint: simplify the second column.)

______ 14√2 a. √99

______ 2 √3 b. √8

3 3
______ 5 √2 c. √24

3
______ 3√11 d. √54

3
______ 7 √3 e. √75

2. Simplify each radical above then add or subtract the like terms (similar radicals).

3. Multiply or divide the following. (Hint: Simplify the radical then multiply or
divide the outsides separately from what’s inside.)

5√30
a. d. √18 ∙ √12
2√10

2√77 3 3
b. e. √6 ∙ √9
7√11

4√75 3 3
c. f. 2 √25 ∙ 3 √10
6√12

26
Note: If student needs more work with this, the textbook for Algebra 1 on
SchoolhouseTeachers.com covers this in Chapter 8 (beginning on p. 288). The
textbook for Algebra 2 on SchoolhouseTeachers.com covers this in its introduction
Chapter 1, the very first lessons, and it uses Pythagoras as a real-world example.

27
 Week 11: Special Right Triangles

Day 1: The High Pot in Use

In early American history, before the Industrial Revolution made iron stoves
affordable, women had to cook dinner over the fire in the hearth. You can imagine
how heavy a pot of soup was and how difficult it might be to bend over one,
stirring. One day, a blacksmith’s wife had an idea. Why couldn’t her husband bend
some iron rods to hold up the pot for her?

The blacksmith and his wife drew up some ideas. He could anchor one rod to the
hearth and attach a crossbar to hold the pot. It would need a diagonal support rod,
however, and he wasn’t sure if he had enough iron to make it.

=
The upright metal bar needed to be 16 inches long. (Remember, this is in the old
days before the metric system was invented!) The horizontal bar needed to be at
least 12 inches long to hold the pot over the center of the fire. If the blacksmith
could figure out how long the diagonal would be, he could tell if his 50 inches of
iron was enough for the job. What do you think? Could he do it?

28
Fortunately for the blacksmith’s wife, Euclid included the Pythagorean Theorem in
his book, Elements. The blacksmith had studied a little Geometry, so he knew how
to find the diagonal using 𝑎𝑎2 + 𝑏𝑏2 = 𝑐𝑐 2.

122 + 162 = 𝑐𝑐 2
144 + 256 = 𝑐𝑐 2
√400 = �𝑐𝑐 2
20 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 = 𝑐𝑐

The blacksmith added the 12 inches, 16 inches, and 20 inches together for a total of
48 inches. His wife was very happy that he had enough iron to make her “High Pot
in Use!”

By now, you’ve figured out that the entire story was engineered to practice the
Pythagorean Theorem. If you have a pun-master in your home, you probably also
knew that the title was a play on the word “hypotenuse.” But that isn’t all.

If the blacksmith had remembered the little secret of Pythagoras, he wouldn’t have
had to do so much math. Do you remember Pythagorean triples? They work for any
multiple of the numbers as well. That’s because triangles with multiplied sides are
all similar.

In Week 7 of this course, we compared similar triangles by taking a ratio of their

sides. If the sides were in the same ratio, the triangles were similar. Let’s try that
with the most famous Pythagorean triple, the 3-4-5 right triangle.

Step 1: Multiply all the sides by 2 and then by 3.

3 5 6 10
9 15
4
8
12

29
 Step 2: Take the ratios of the sides of the first two triangles.
3 1
𝑠𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 = =
6 2
4 1
𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 = =
8 2
5 1
ℎ𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = =
10 2
𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒.
∴ 𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠.

Step 3: Take the ratios of the sides of the first and third triangles.
3 1
𝑠𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 = =
9 3
4 1
𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 = =
12 3
5 1
ℎ𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = =
15 3
𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒.
∴ 𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠.

Step 3: Take the ratios of the sides of the second and third triangles.
6 2
𝑠𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 = =
9 3
8 2
𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 = =
12 3
10 2
ℎ𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 = =
15 3
𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒.
∴ 𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠.

If you think about it, this makes sense. Multiplying all the sides by the same number
automatically makes them the same ratio because you can always divide that
number back out! (A ratio is two numbers, divided.)

30
Let’s return to our blacksmith. All he really needed to notice was that 16 divided by
4 is 4, and 12 divided by 4 is 3. That means the diagonal, the hypotenuse, should be
a multiple of 4 with a 3-4-5 right triangle. Since 5 ∙ 4 = 20, his hypotenuse should
be 20 inches long. No Algebra required!

This is also how I answered my lawyer friend so quickly. (The one who asked me
about his triangular fence with sides of 60 feet and 80 feet.) All I had to do was
notice the relationship with a 3-4-5 right triangle:
3 ∙ 2 = 6, 4 ∙ 2 = 8, 5 ∙ 2 = 10
From the resulting 6-8-10 right triangle, all I had to do was multiply each by 10!
Voilà! His final side should be 100 feet long. Of course, I took another 30 seconds
to remind him of the Pythagorean Theorem, as well.

With that in mind, it’s handy to have some of those Pythagorean Triples
memorized. There are five that start with single digits, so I recommend you learn to
recognize them.

Geometry Fact:
The most common Pythagorean Triples are:
3-4-5, 5-12-13, 7-24-25, 8-15-17, and 9-40-41.

In fact, if you look back at the assignment from Week 10: Day 2, you’ll notice I
made use of many of those triples. (There’s no point in dealing with absurd surds
unless we have to!)

Here’s another quick fact for you: If the sides of any triangle fit the Pythagorean
Theorem, the triangle is a right triangle. We’ll prove this in a later chapter, but we
can start using it now.

There is another very useful application of the 3-4-5 right triangle. In fact, we
mentioned it in the first lesson of this course.

31
 Imagine you are a construction worker laying a foundation. You have
to make sure each corner of your building is completely square, or the
walls will be crooked. Just using a T-square tool at the corner won’t
be enough because the tiniest variation at the corner will create inches
or feet of variation at the other end of the wall. How can you check
your line with just three tape measures?

Now that you have the Pythagorean Theorem in your toolbox, can you guess the
answer?

Measure out three feet from the corner on one side, and four feet from the corner on
the other side. If the distance between those endpoints is five feet, your corner is
square.

You can use the same technique to square up a fence line, a sidewalk, or even an
irrigation ditch.

That’s a handy Pythagorean Triple!

32
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Facts pages: The most common Pythagorean Triples.

2. Find the missing sides of the following right triangles. All measurements are in
centimeters.

a. The two legs are 14 and 48.

b. The short leg is 16, and the hypotenuse is 34.

c. The hypotenuse is 39, and the long leg is 36.

d, The two legs are 39 and 52.

3. Prove that the following triangles are similar. All measurements are in inches.

a. Triangle 1: 51, 68, and 85 Triangle 2: 57, 76, and 95

b. Triangle 1: 10, 24, and 26 Triangle 2: 25, 60, and 65

4. Determine whether the following are right triangles. If they are not, calculate
what the longest side should be to make a right triangle.

a. The sides are 33 m, 56 m, and 65 m.

b. The sides are 11 ft, 60 ft, and 62 ft.

c. The sides are 12 in, 35 in, and 37 in.

d. The sides are 16 mm, 30 mm, and 35 mm.

33
Day 2: Similar Right Triangles

There are two other types of similar right triangle we should pay attention to, and
this is where our surd review really comes in handy. The most common types of
right triangle in construction are the ones where the angles are also in proportion.

In the first type, the acute angles are equal, and in the second, the first angle is
double the second:
x

90 x
90 2x

Angles: 90°, x°, and x° Angles: 90°, 2x°, and x°

90° + 𝑥𝑥 + 𝑥𝑥 = 180° 90° + 2𝑥𝑥 + 𝑥𝑥 = 180°
2𝑥𝑥 = 90° 3𝑥𝑥 = 90°
𝑥𝑥 = 45° 𝑥𝑥 = 30°
𝑥𝑥 = 45° 2𝑥𝑥 = 60°
The three angles are The three angles are
45°, 45°, and 90°. 30°, 60°, and 90°.
This is called a This is called a
45-45-90 right triangle. 30-60-90 right triangle.

The sides of these triangles have specific ratios, too. In the first one, because the
angles are equal, the sides opposite them are also equal. (Trust me on this – we’ll
prove it later.) Let’s label those measurements 1 unit.

Using the Pythagorean Theorem:

1 c 12 + 12 = 𝑐𝑐 2
1 + 1 = 𝑐𝑐 2
√2 = √𝑐𝑐 2
1

34
Compare that to another pair of random right triangles where the short sides are
equal. (Again, these are 45-45-90 right triangles).

3 c 7 c

3
7

32 + 32 = 𝑐𝑐 2 72 + 72 = 𝑐𝑐 2
2(32) = 𝑐𝑐 2 2(72 ) = 𝑐𝑐 2
�2 ∙ 32 = �𝑐𝑐 2 �2 ∙ 72 = �𝑐𝑐 2
3√2 = 𝑐𝑐 7√2 = 𝑐𝑐

This is where our hard work on simplifying surds pays off. If we just reduced this to
a decimal number, we’d miss a unique discovery. I think you can predict this, but
let’s look at what happens when we investigate any 45-45-90 triangle. We’ll use a
variable instead of numbers.

𝑥𝑥 2 + 𝑥𝑥 2 = 𝑐𝑐 2
x c 2(𝑥𝑥 2) = 𝑐𝑐 2
√2𝑥𝑥 2 = √𝑐𝑐 2
x 𝑥𝑥√2 = 𝑐𝑐

It turns out that no matter what the equal sides of the triangle are, the hypotenuse
will be √2 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 that side.

That’s just the bit of information we need to solve the very first word problem we
introduced in this course, in Week 1, Day 1.

35
 Imagine you are a carpenter. You want to make a bench with three
sides that faces an outdoor fireplace. The sides of the bench will all be
equal lengths, and they will be joined at 45-degree angles*. The open
side of the trapezoid that’s formed – the part that faces the fireplace –
has to be 90 inches wide. How long should each side of the bench be?
(Assume for this exercise that you measure from the middle of each
board.)

(*Note: From the carpenter’s perspective, these are 45° angles because that’s the angle he has to
cut into the board. Technically, the angle at the top of the trapezoid is 45° + 90° = 135°.)

The key to this problem is the 45-degree angle. As always, a picture is the most
important first step to solving it. Draw the bench, and then connect the midpoints of
each piece. It forms a trapezoid.

Now draw just the trapezoid, with all of the measurements we know. Cut off the
right angle triangles on the ends, and mark the sides x. We are given that the three
sides of the bench are equal, and the end angles are 45°. Because of the right
angles, the bottom of the center rectangle is equal to the top.

36
We just learned that if the sides of a 45-45-90 triangle are x, the hypotenuse must be
𝑥𝑥√2. If we mark the equal sides with that amount, we can write an equation.

The bottom side of the trapezoid has to equal 90 inches, according to the word
problem. Add the three marked pieces:
𝑥𝑥 + 𝑥𝑥√2 + 𝑥𝑥 = 90 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒
Collect like terms:
2(𝑥𝑥 ) + √2 (𝑥𝑥 ) = 90
Factor out the x’s (the distributive property in reverse):
𝑥𝑥�2 + √2� = 90
Divide both sides by the parentheses:
90
𝑥𝑥 =
2 + √2
Use a calculator to complete the problem:
𝑥𝑥 = 26.36 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒
Because the carpenter measures in inches, we should convert this to the nearest
eighth of an inch. Three eighths of an inch equals .375, which is close enough for
woodworking.
3
𝑥𝑥 ≈ 26 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒
8

The 30-60-90 triangle has some special relationships, as well. You will discover
them in today’s assignment.

37
Assignment

Draw each of the following and find the missing sides:

1. Find the hypotenuse of a 45-45-90 triangle given it has equal sides of 12 in.

2. The hypotenuse of a 45-45-90 triangle measures 6√2 m. Find the sides.

3. In a 30-60-90 right triangle, the three angles are in a ratio of 1: 2: 3. In other

words, 30 = 1(30), 60 = 2(30) , and 90 = 3(30) . You would think that the
sides would also be in the same ratio, but not quite.

a. If the short leg measures 1 ft, the hypotenuse is exactly double that. Find the
long leg of that triangle.

b. If the short leg measures 5 ft, find what the hypotenuse and long leg are now.

c. What did you multiply each side by to get the final lengths?
short leg = ______ × 5 = 5𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓.
long leg = ______ × 5 = _______ 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓.
hypotenuse = ______ × 5 = _______ 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓.

d. If you did the above correctly, what ratio would you use for the short leg, the
long leg, and the hypotenuse? (Hint: use the first blank for each line above.)
______ : ______ : ______

4. A 30-60-90 right triangle has a short side of 7 in. Find the other two sides.

5. A 30-60-90 right triangle has a long leg of 5√3 cm. What are the other two
sides?

38
Day 3: The Distance Formula

If you started your school year in September, it may be close to Christmas soon.
One of my favorite secular Christmas songs is the 1953 hit, “I Want a
Hippopotamus for Christmas.” There are some cute videos of this available online,
including a charming one of 10-year-old Gayla Peevey singing it at the top of her
lungs. If your parents agree, it might be worth looking for on a lark.

But can you guess what the mathematician wanted for Christmas?

“I want a hypotenuse for Christmas. Only a right triangle will do. No more squares,
or rinky-dinky pluses. I only like Pythagorusses. And Pythagorusses like me, too!”

Feel free to use the whole parody at your next youth talent night. (You write the
rest, okay?) You’re welcome.

We started this Pythagorean journey with a right triangle on a Cartesian plane. But
we didn’t have the information we needed to calculate the diagonal (the
hypotenuse) without doing transformations on the plane. We can now, though.

𝑎𝑎2 + 𝑏𝑏2 = 𝑐𝑐 2
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑎𝑎 = 3 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑏𝑏 = 4, c a
32 + 42 = 52
∴ 𝑐𝑐 = 5 b

What if the math problem just gave the endpoints of the diagonal, however? We
would need some way to calculate that without drawing it all out on graph paper.

Example 1: Given the points (0,0) and (4,3), find the distance between them.

Step 1: Notice that the distance is simply the length of the hypotenuse.

39
 Step 2: Notice that two points on a Cartesian plane will always form a right
triangle on the grid, unless they are directly horizontal or vertical.

Step 3: Find the lengths of the two legs of the right triangle.
𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑥𝑥 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 0 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 4 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 4 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 4 − 0 = 4.
𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑦𝑦 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 0 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 3 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 3 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 3 − 0 = 3.

Step 4: Use the Pythagorean Theorem: 32 + 42 = 52 .

That’s not good enough for professional mathematicians, though. They want a
formula for everything, so let’s redo this with variables.

Example 2: Given the points (𝑥𝑥1, 𝑦𝑦1 ) and (𝑥𝑥2 , 𝑦𝑦2 ), find the distance between them.

We can skip the first two steps.

Step 3: Find the lengths of the two legs of the right triangle. Last time, we just
took the difference of the x values and y values to find the distance.
Here’s what it will look like with the variables.
𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑥𝑥 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑥𝑥2 − 𝑥𝑥1 .
𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑦𝑦 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑦𝑦2 − 𝑦𝑦1 .

Step 4: Substitute those differences into the Pythagorean Theorem.

(𝑥𝑥2 − 𝑥𝑥1 )2 + (𝑦𝑦2 − 𝑦𝑦1 )2 = 𝑐𝑐 2

Step 5: Solve by taking the square root of the entire equation.

�(𝑥𝑥2 − 𝑥𝑥1 )2 + (𝑦𝑦2 − 𝑦𝑦1 )2 = �𝑐𝑐 2

Step 6: Substitute d for distance instead of the c for hypotenuse, and we have an
Algebra formula instead:
𝑑𝑑 = �(𝑥𝑥2 − 𝑥𝑥1 )2 + (𝑦𝑦2 − 𝑦𝑦1 )2

40
That’s where that ugly math formula came from. The distance formula is simply the
Pythagorean theorem with variables in the place of numbers. We should practice
that one more time.

Example 3: Find the distance between points (–3, 5) and (2, –7).

Step 1: One of the reasons the formula uses (𝑥𝑥1 , 𝑦𝑦1 ) and (𝑥𝑥2 , 𝑦𝑦2 ) is to help us
keep them in the same order. No matter which point you use first, that
becomes (𝑥𝑥2 , 𝑦𝑦2 ). Just make sure you always take point 2 minus point 1
for both the x values and the y values.

Using (2, –7) as point 2, we get the following:

𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑥𝑥 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 2 − (−3) = 5.
𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑦𝑦 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 − 7 − 5 = −12.

Using (–3, 5) as point 2, we get the following:

𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑥𝑥 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 − 3 − 2 = −5.
𝑇𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑦𝑦 𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣𝑣 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 5 − (−7) = 12.

Step 2: Plug the distances into the Pythagorean Theorem. The negative distances
won’t matter in this step, but I’ll show you both ways.

Using (2, –7) as point 2:

52 + (−12)2 = 𝑑𝑑 2
Using (–3, 5) as point 2:
(−5)2 + 122 = 𝑑𝑑 2
When we square these, the minus sign will cancel out, giving us the same
next step.

Step 3: Simplify the equation and take the square root of both sides.
√169 = 𝑑𝑑 = 13

41
Formula:
Distance Formula: 𝒅𝒅 = �(𝒙𝒙𝟐𝟐 − 𝒙𝒙𝟏𝟏 )𝟐𝟐 + (𝒚𝒚𝟐𝟐 − 𝒚𝒚𝟏𝟏 )𝟐𝟐

Write that on your other formulas page of your Geometry Notes. We also need to
make one final point to wrap up yesterday’s assignment.

List of Properties:

A 45-45-90 right triangle has sides in a ratio of 𝟏𝟏 ∶ 𝟏𝟏 ∶ √𝟐𝟐.

A 30-60-90 right triangle has sides in a ratio of 𝟏𝟏 ∶ √𝟑𝟑 ∶ 𝟐𝟐.

Those little dots between the numbers are called colons in grammar class, but in
Mathese they are a symbol for ratios. Whenever you see them, read them as the
word, “to.” A 45-45-90 right triangle has sides in a ratio of 1 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 1 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 √2. A
30-60-90 right triangle has sides in a ratio of 1 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 √3 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 2.

You can use these in a proof, now, instead of deriving them from the Pythagorean
Theorem each time. Just list “45-45-90” or “30-60-90” as your reason.

If you forget what the ratio is, simply draw a little triangle, label the first leg 1, and
find the other sides with the Pythagorean Theorem. It’s as easy as 1–2–3!

42
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes other formulas page:

Distance Formula: 𝑑𝑑 = �(𝑥𝑥2 − 𝑥𝑥1 )2 + (𝑦𝑦2 − 𝑦𝑦1 )2

Add to your List of Properties:

A 45-45-90 right triangle has sides in a ratio of 1 ∶ 1 ∶ √2.
A 30-60-90 right triangle has sides in a ratio of 1 ∶ √3 ∶ 2.

2. Graph the two points, and then find the distance between them with the
Pythagorean Theorem. Simplify the radical if possible, or calculate the decimal.

a. (2, –5) and (–4, 7)

b. (–1, –3) and (5, 2)

c. (6, 3) and (–4, 1)

3. Find the distance between the two points using the formula:

a. (–1, 1) and (5, –2)

b. (6, –7) and (2, 3)

c. (13, –4) and (–2, 4)

4. Find the missing sides of the triangles using the ratios of their sides:

a. a 45-45-90 triangle with a short side of 8

b. a 30-60-90 triangle with a hypotenuse of 12

43
Day 4: Review – Garfield’s proof

You don’t generally see heads of state named in a math book. When I read that US
President James Garfield wrote a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem in 1876, I was
genuinely surprised. He was a teacher, a preacher, a lawyer, a politician, and
apparently, an armchair mathematician! His proof was published shortly before he
was elected President. (He was then a member of the House of Representatives.)

I like his proof for its simplicity, as well as the fact that it reviews several important
concepts that we’ve learned.

Garfield started his proof by drawing an a-

b-c right triangle. Then he slid and turned
it as shown in blue. (That’s translation and
rotation, by the way.) ∠c
←←←←←←←←←←x
←←←←←←←←←←90-x
Now he had to show that the green triangle
measured 90° at angle c. He started by
labeling one of the blue angles.

Since this is a right triangle, if one acute angle is x, the other has to be 90-x.

90-x
Since the two triangles are congruent, the other angles must also be x and 90-x.
Since they meet at the middle with the green angle c, we can write the following
equation:
𝑥𝑥 + 90° − 𝑥𝑥 + ∠𝑐𝑐 = 180°
The 𝑥𝑥 − 𝑥𝑥 part cancels each other out. We are left with:
90° + ∠𝑐𝑐 = 180°
Subtract 90° from both sides, and we get ∠𝑐𝑐 = 90°, which is a right angle.

44
 90-x Here are all the angles marked so you can see them.
The proof doesn’t work unless angle c is a right angle,
which we just proved.

x
Do you remember how to find the area of a trapezoid?
∠c
It was the average base times the height. On this
90-x
trapezoid, the height is a+b.
x

The average base is the top base, a, plus the bottom base, b, divided by two.

ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ𝑡𝑡: (𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏)

(𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏)
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏:
2
𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑏𝑏 ∙ ℎ
1
𝐴𝐴 = (𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏)(𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏)
2

If you’ll remember your Algebra concepts, that’s:

1
𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = (𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏)2
2

That trapezoid is divided up into three right triangles, so we could also find the
areas of those and add them together:

b
a
b

45
That gives us two triangles with height a and base b, and one triangle with height c
and base c. Our formula is:

1
𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = 𝑏𝑏 ∙ ℎ
2
Applying that to all three triangles, we get the following:
1 1 1
𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = � 𝑎𝑎 ∙ 𝑏𝑏� + � 𝑎𝑎 ∙ 𝑏𝑏� + � 𝑐𝑐 ∙ 𝑐𝑐�
2 2 2
Simplified, this equals:
1
𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 + 𝑐𝑐 2
2

Now, do you remember the transitive property? It says that if two things equal the
same thing, they equal each other. We have two formulas for the same area of the
trapezoid, so we can set them equal to each other and perform some more Algebra.
1
𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = (𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏)2
2
1
𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 + 𝑐𝑐 2
2
1 1
∴ (𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏)2 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 + 𝑐𝑐 2
2 2
Multiply both sides of the equation by 2 to clear the fraction:
(𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏)2 = 2𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 + 𝑐𝑐 2
Multiply the squared polynomial by distributing both terms:
𝑎𝑎2 + 2𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 + 𝑏𝑏2 = 2𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 + 𝑐𝑐 2
Subtract 2ab from both sides:
𝑎𝑎2 + 𝑏𝑏2 = 𝑐𝑐 2

To summarize, President Garfield took two identical a-b-c triangles, formed a

trapezoid, and then found the area of the trapezoid two ways. After some Algebra
magic, he proved the Pythagorean Theorem. Not bad for an amateur!

46
Assignment

Draw a picture to begin each problem. The first has

been done for you. Put radicals in simplified form.

1. If side a of Garfield’s trapezoid equals 4 inches, and

internal side c equals 8 inches, find side b and the
hypotenuse of triangle c (the unmarked slant side).

2. The area of a right triangle equals 12 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2 , and the long leg is 6𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐. Find the
short leg and the hypotenuse.

3. The area of a square is 18 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 . Find the sides and the diagonal.

4. A rectangle has a diagonal measuring 14 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐. Its short side is half that length.
Find the missing side and the area of the rectangle.

5. The volume of a sphere is 72 𝜋𝜋 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 3 . Find its radius.

6. Determine whether the following are right triangles. If they are not, calculate
what the longest side should be to make a right triangle.

a. Sides are 7.5, 10, and 12.5 in. b. Sides are 16, 30, and 36 cm.

7. Find the distance between points (–2, 5) and (4, –1) using the formula.

47
Day 5: Unit 5 Quiz

1. Find the missing measurements of each shape: sides, diagonals, heights, or angles.

∠a
a. b. c.
c b

c b b 17 ft 60°
3 in 3in
∠a
. 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = 25𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2 8 ft

2. Find the missing sides of the following right triangles:

a. Sides are 9, 40, and ______. d. Sides are 6, 10, and ______.
b. Sides are ____, 24, and 25. e. Sides are 3, 9, and _______.
c. Sides are 6, _____, and 12. f. Sides are 17, 17, and _____.

3. The area of a right triangle is 24 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 and the height is 6 in. Find the base and
hypotenuse.

4. The area of a circle is 450 𝜋𝜋 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2 . Find its radius.

5. Demonstrate whether the following are right triangles. If not, calculate what the
longest side should be to form a right triangle.

a. Sides are 14, 48, and 52 cm. b. Sides are 15, 36, and 39 in.

6. Find the distance between points (-3, 0) and (3, 2).

48
7. A carpenter is making an angled bench with three equal sides of 30 inches. The
two ends will meet in the middle at a 150° angle. If he follows the diagram
below, what will the all of the sides, heights, and interior angles measure?

Use the following as a guide for writing down your measurements:

30 in

30 in ∠1 ∠1 30 in
a a
∠2 ∠2
b c b

Angle ∠1: ____________

Angle ∠2: ____________

Interior height a: ___________

Triangle base b: ____________

Rectangle base c: _____________

Trapezoid bottom base 𝑏𝑏 + 𝑐𝑐 + 𝑏𝑏: _______________

49
 Unit 6: Solid Foundation

Introduction: A farmer needs to design a new silo

for cattle feed. She wants the top to be shaped like
a sphere, so that rain rolls off without causing rust.
The sides should form a cylinder with the same
radius as the top. The bottom needs to be shaped
like a funnel so that trucks can roll underneath,
open a valve, and fill up with cattle feed. The total
volume needs to hold a dozen truckloads.

She has several questions to be answered before

she finalizes the plans. First, what should the radius
of the silo be? Second, what should be the height? Third, how much metal will be
required to make the silo? (That will influence how much it costs to build the silo.)

Week 12: Prisms & Cylinders

Day 1: Boxes

We spent a great deal of time learning circles in Unit 1, but we need a few more
skills from solid geometry before we can tackle the farmer’s silo problem. We’ll
begin with the most basic three-dimensional shape, your morning box of cereal.

Marketers need to know several things about this box:

• How much will it hold?

• How much cardboard will it take to make it?
• How much should they add to the price of cereal to
cover the cost of the box?

We can answer the first two questions with some basic Geometry.

50
Way back in fourth grade or so, you learned that the volume of a box can be
calculated with length times width times height, or 𝑉𝑉 = 𝑙𝑙 × 𝑤𝑤 × ℎ. It’s based on the
area of a rectangle, which was 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑙𝑙 × 𝑤𝑤. However, we learned a more general way
to calculate area with base times height: 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏 ∙ ℎ. We had two reasons for that:
first, it doesn’t matter which is the length and which is the width, and second, it
makes memorizing all of the different shapes easier.

We’ll learn a similar principle for Volume, for many of the same reasons. And it’s
easy to memorize, too. The basic principle is this:

Geometry fact:
Area equals base times height.
Volume equals the Area of the base times height.

Just as most of our two-dimensional shape formulas were derived from area = base
times height, most of our three dimensional formulas will be derived from volume =
the area of the base times the height.

Remember, height is always the perpendicular distance between the base and the top,
whether you’re describing it in a two-dimensional shape or a three-dimensional
object.

Most of the time, you won’t see an actual picture of a 3-D object. Books will just
draw a diagram, like this one. Sometimes they will shade the bottom so you can
identify what 2-D shape it is. You just have to use a little imagination to turn it.

51
Example 1: Find the volume of a box that measures 5 in by 5 in by 8 in.

Step 1: A box in real life is usually rectangular. In Geometry, it

always is. Since two of the measurements of the box are
equal, we can safely assume they form a square.

Step 2: Find the area of the base: 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏ℎ = 5 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 ∙ 5 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = 25 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 .

Step 3: Multiply by the height of the box, 8 in, to find the volume.
𝑉𝑉 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ𝑡𝑡 = 25 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 ∙ 8 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = 200 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3

Step 4: Notice how keeping the units (𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 and in) in the calculation
automatically gives us the correct units for three dimensions, 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3.
Otherwise, we’ll just have to remember that volume units are always
cubed because it’s three-dimensional.

Now, the formula we used is too long to write out every time, so we’re going to
abbreviate. Since we use a capital A for the area of any shape, we’ll use a capital B
for the area of any base shape. Just get in the habit of saying “Volume equals area
of the Base times the height” every time you write this:

Formula:
𝑽𝑽(𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑) = 𝑩𝑩 ∙ 𝒉𝒉

We have a bit of Mathese to learn, too. Mathematicians have another name for
boxes: rectangular prisms. The rectangle part comes from the shape of the base.
The prism part comes from the fact that the sides go straight up and down from the
base.

Definition:
A prism has congruent, parallel polygons on the top and bottom, connected
by sides that are all parallelograms.

52
That doesn’t mean the top and bottom polygons are parallelograms; it just means
the planes they are in don’t intersect.

This is a prism:

Top and bottom shapes are polygons.

Top and bottom are in parallel planes.
Sides are all parallelograms.

This is not a prism:

Top and bottom shapes are not polygons.

Top and bottom are not in parallel planes.
Sides are not all parallelograms.

Our cereal box has a plethora of names in Mathese: a cuboid, a rectangular

hexahedron, a right rectangular solid, and even a rectangular parallelpiped. We’ll
just stick with rectangular prism because rectangles have right angles by definition.

By the way, our earlier example works even if we don’t notice the square on one
end.

53
Example 2: Find the volume of a box that measures 5 in by 5 in by 8 in.

Step 1: Identify the base, which is the bottom where all the parallelogram sides
attach. This time, we’ll use the 8 in by 5 inch rectangle as the bottom.

Step 2: Find the area of the base: 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏ℎ = 5 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 ∙ 8 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = 40 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 .

Step 3: Multiply by the height of the box, 5 in, to find the volume.
𝑉𝑉 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ𝑡𝑡 = 40 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 ∙ 5 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = 200 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3

When we find the Area, capital A, we use the base of the shape, small b, times the
perpendicular height, small h.

When we find the Volume, capital V, we use the whole area of the Base, capital B,
times the perpendicular height, small h.

These heights are two different distances. We won’t confuse the two different
heights, however, if we find the Area of the Base first, using the height that is
perpendicular to the base side. Then when we find the Volume, we have to use the
height that is perpendicular to the entire Base area. It’s all about remembering that
the height is always at right angles to the other measurements.

54
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes definitions page: Prism.

Add to your Geometry facts page:
Area equals base times height.
Volume equals the Area of the base times height.
Add to your page for Shape Formulas, three dimensions:
𝑽𝑽(𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑) = 𝑩𝑩 ∙ 𝒉𝒉

2. Find the area of a rectangular prism (box) with these measurements:

a. 12 in by 15 in by 9 in

b. 35 cm by 40 cm by 52 cm

3. A mail order company has to ship a mop to a customer. The handle breaks down
into three sections, the longest of which is 17 inches. Will it fit diagonally inside
a box that measures 9 inches by 8 inches by 12 inches?

(Hint: You’ll have to calculate two

different hypotenuses: first using
the measurements marked in blue,
and then using the triangle marked
in yellow.)

4. Find an empty box, like a cereal or tissue box. Cut it apart along the edges. How
many sides does it have? Are any of those sides the same size? Which ones? (Tape
the top pieces together and count those as one side; repeat with the bottom.)

55
Day 2: Surface Area Blueprints

We did a lot of work with dimensions in our first unit. To summarize, all distances
are measured in one dimension. All areas are measured in two dimensions. And all
volumes are measured in three dimensions.

There are a number of one- and two-dimensional measurements in a 3-D shape,

however. You have the perimeter of the shape. That’s a distance, so it’s in one
dimension. You have the areas that make up the flat surfaces of the shape. We call
that the surface area, and that’s in two dimensions. The flat surfaces are called
faces. And you have the line segments that make up the borders between shapes,
which are one-dimensional edges.

Three-dimensional shapes even have zero-dimensional points in them. The point

where line segments meet is called a vertex, just like it was for 2-dimensional
shapes. (Remember, the plural is vertices.)

Definitions:
Edges are the line segments that make up the borders between shapes.
Faces are the flat surfaces that make up a 3-D shape.
Surface area is the sum of the areas of a shape’s faces.

When you cut apart a box yesterday, you should have discovered that a rectangular
prism has six faces:
• The front and back are the same size.
• The top and bottom are the same size.
• The left and right are the same size.

There is a whole branch of Geometry focused on making nets of 3-D solids. Those
are useful if you want to cut out a cardboard shape and fold it into a box. For
instance, a net of a perfect cube forms the shape of a cross:

56
I’ll not draw any spiritual connections here. I just think it’s cool. Meanwhile, the
nets for higher-order polyhedra (multi-faceted 3-D shapes) can be quite convoluted
and fascinating. For our purposes, however, a simple blueprint is more useful.

Here’s a blueprint for a cereal box that’s 3 in by 9 in by 12 in:

= + +
Front+back + Left + Right + Top + Bottom

Since parallel sides are equal, that’s the same as two fronts, plus two sides, plus two
tops. Nobody expects you to draw it out like an artist, though.

57
A simple blueprint is all that’s required:
2(fronts) + 2(sides) + 2 (tops)

9 in
12 in 12 in

3 in
9 in 3 in
Now we simply plug the areas into our blueprint:
2(fronts) + 2(sides) + 2 (tops)
2(9 ∙ 12) + 2(3 ∙ 12) + 2(3 ∙ 9)
2(108) + 2(36) + 2(27)
342 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2

Remember, area is always measured in square units. Volume is always in cubed

units. Let’s use cubes to do an inductive proof of the volume of a rectangular prism.
(Remember, inductive reasoning arrives at a conclusion based on observation.)

First, mentally line up cubes to form a 4 by 3 rectangle. If it helps, you can follow
along using sugar cubes. Its area is 12 square units. Because it’s only one layer
thick, the volume is also 12: 12 cubic units.

58
Now we’ll stack an identical layer on top of the first. Its volume is another 12
cubes, for a total of 24 cubic units.

If we stack another layer on top of this one, it adds another 12 cubes, for a total of
36 cubic units.

In fact, no matter how many layers we stack, the volume will always be the first
layer (the base) times the number of layers (the height). That means we get to use
those three little dots that mean “therefore:”
∴ 𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ

59
We also learned an important two-dimensional formula, but it only works for boxes
(also known as rectangular prisms).

Formula:
𝑺𝑺𝑨𝑨(𝒃𝒃𝒃𝒃𝒃𝒃) = 𝟐𝟐(𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇) + 𝟐𝟐(𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔) + 𝟐𝟐(𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕)

Now, usually S.A. (surface area) has a long algebraic formula. The whole point of
this book, however, is to be able to remember how to find these values. If you know
how, you’ll be able to find the number without any problem. If you’re curious,
here’s the Algebra. But do me a favor and don’t write this one down:
𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴. = 2(𝑙𝑙 × 𝑤𝑤 ) + 2(𝑤𝑤 × ℎ) + 2(𝑙𝑙 × ℎ).

60
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes definitions page: Edges, Faces, and Surface Area.
Add the Formula for Surface Area to the 2-dimensional Shape Formulas list.
𝑺𝑺𝑨𝑨(𝒃𝒃𝒃𝒃𝒃𝒃) = 𝟐𝟐(𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇𝒇) + 𝟐𝟐(𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔) + 𝟐𝟐(𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕𝒕)

2. Use sugar cubes or toy blocks or your imagination to build rectangular prisms
with the following dimensions. Fill in the following table:

Rectangle Rectangle Area of Height of the Volume of

base height the Base prism (# of layers) the prism
a. 2 2 2
b. 2 3 3
c. 3 3 3
d. 3 3 4
e. 4 4 2
f. 4 4 3
g. 5 4 5

3. Use either the formula or the cubes to compute the surface area of any three of
the prisms from the table above.

4. For each of the rectangular prisms you built, answer the following:

a. How many faces does it have?

b. How many vertices does it have?
c. How many edges does it have?

61
Day 3: Right Prisms

As we’ve learned, a box is a rectangular prism. Its base is a rectangle and its sides
go straight up to the top, which is parallel and congruent to the bottom. It always
has 6 faces, 8 vertices, and 12 edges.

Now we’ll extend what we’ve learned to any other prism that goes straight up from
the base to a parallel and congruent top. What shape bases do these prisms have?
• Triangular prism
• Pentagonal prism
• Hexagonal prism
• Octagonal prism

Of course, they have triangles, pentagons, hexagons, and octagons. The prism is
named for the shape of its base because the sides are all the same. In fact, they’re
usually rectangles because we assume the shape is a right prism unless told
otherwise. Prisms that are pushed over into parallelepipeds are usually called
oblique prisms.

Definition:
A right prism has adjoining faces that are perpendicular to the base. Its sides
go straight up to the top.

Oblique means leaning over. It is neither perpendicular nor parallel.

An oblique prism has adjoining faces that are not perpendicular to the base,
making the sides slanted.

Parallelepipeds are oblique prisms where every face is a non-rectangular

parallelogram.

62
By the way, it would be really useful if we could calculate the volume and surface
area of any right prism, not just boxes. Take this gift box, for instance. It would be
good to know if it is big enough to hold the gift I bought. It would also be good to
know if there were a smaller or less expensive option.

I could just try out different boxes until I find one that worked, or I could measure it
and find the volume. I have a formula for rectangular boxes. Do you suppose it
would work for this? Let’s see.

The first thing I need to know is, what shape is the base of this
prism? It’s sitting on a face that’s a rectangle, but the front and
back don’t go straight up and down. They slant together at the
top. That can’t be right. Let’s rotate it 90°.

h = 8 in
That’s better. The base is a triangle, with a parallel and
congruent triangle on top. The faces that join them are
perpendicular, forming the height of the prism, 8 in.

h=2 in
I have one other height to find, though. I need the height of the
b=3 in
triangle to find its area, so I’ll measure one side, 3 in,
and the perpendicular distance to the opposite vertex, 2 in.

63
 1 1
The area of the triangle is 𝑏𝑏ℎ, or 3 ∙ 2 = 3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 . If we use the formula 𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ,
2 2
we find the volume is 3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛 ∙ 8 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = 24 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 . To check our work, let’s draw the
2

triangle one layer at a time.

The first layer will have an area of 3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 , and its volume will
be 3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 because it’s only one layer deep. In other words,
anything that takes three squares to cover its area, will also take three
cubes to cover its first layer of volume. Now let’s apply the second layer.
• 3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 + 3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 = 2(3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 ) = 6 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3

The third layer:

• 3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 + 3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 + 3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 = 3(3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 ) = 9 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3

Do you see a pattern here? We could go all the way up to 8, but we

should probably stop and apply the pattern to the rest:
• 3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 + 3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 + 3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 + 3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 = 4(3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 ) = 12 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3
• 5(3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 ) = 15 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3
• 6(3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 ) = 18 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3
• 7(3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 ) = 21 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3
• 8(3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 ) = 24 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3

Since the sum of all the layers is the same as multiplying

the bottom layer times the height of the prism, our formula
holds true. The volume of any prism is the area of the base
times the height.
𝑽𝑽(𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑) = 𝑩𝑩 ∙ 𝒉𝒉

In fact, this can be demonstrated for any shape, not just prisms. If the top base is
parallel and congruent to the bottom base, the volume will be the area of the base
times the height.

64
 That’s why I did a special experiment for my math
class one year. I was teaching at a Christian school
where the mascot was a cougar, so I made a cougar
paw print out of Styrofoam.

We used a grid to figure the approximate number of

squares covered by the paw print, and then we stacked copies of it, layer by layer.

In each case, the Volume equaled the area of the base

times the height.

That means we also have a formula for the volume of a cylinder, which is the shape
of a can of peaches. Any cylinder has a circle on top and on the bottom. The circles
are congruent and parallel, and the sides are perpendicular to the base. Therefore, its
volume must be area of the base times the height.

Definition:
A cylinder has congruent and parallel circles as its base and top, and its sides
are perpendicular to the base.

Formula:
𝑽𝑽(𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄) = 𝑩𝑩 ∙ 𝒉𝒉

65
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes definitions pages: Right prism, Oblique, Oblique
prism, Parallelepiped, Cylinder.
Add the volume of a cylinder to your 3-D formulas page:
𝑽𝑽(𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄) = 𝑩𝑩 ∙ 𝒉𝒉

2. Find the volume of each of the following:

a. A cylinder with a radius of 2 in and a height of 3 in.

b. A triangular prism with a triangle measuring 5 cm wide by 4 cm high, and a

prism height of 6 cm.

c. A box with sides measuring 7.5 in, 9.25 in, and 11 inches.

d. A heart-shaped pipe 20 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 long, with the area of the heart measuring 10 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2 .

3. Fill in the following chart for the prisms. Yesterday’s data is entered for you.

Type of prism Shape of base # Sides # Faces # Vertices # Edges

of base of prism of prism of prism
Triangular Triangle 3
Rectangular Rectangle 4 6 8 12
Pentagonal Pentagon 5
Hexagonal Hexagon 6

4. Can you invent a rule that tells how many faces, vertices, or edges a prism will
have if its base has n sides?

66
Day 4: Surface Area with a Can Opener

We started making blueprints of Surface Areas a couple days ago. The concept of 2
fronts, plus 2 sides, plus 2 tops worked well for boxes, but it doesn’t work as well
for other prisms.

Example 1: Make a blueprint for the Surface Area of a triangular prism.

4 in
4 in Step 1: We need a bit more information than before.
Each side of the triangle is important to finding the
area of the rectangular faces.

Step 2: Draw a blueprint.

h = 8 in
2x + + +

Step 3: Find and add the areas.

h=2 in 2 ∙
1
(3 ∙ 2) + (4 ∙ 8) + (3 ∙ 8) + (4 ∙ 8)
2
b=3 in
6 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛 + 32 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 + 24 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 + 32 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 = 94 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2
2

There is an easier way. I call it the “Can Opener Method.” We’ll practice on an
actual can first: a cylinder.

Example 2: Find the Surface Area of a cylinder with radius 5 cm and height 10 cm.

Step 1: Imagine cutting this completely apart with a can

opener. The can lids, top and bottom, are circles.
The rest is a little more difficult, but taking off the
can label is a little like cutting down one side and
flattening it out.

67
 Step 2: Draw a blueprint of the pieces: two circles and a very long rectangle.

Step 3: The area of the rectangle will be the height of the cylinder, times the
distance around the circles. Distance is in one dimension, so look at the
formulas on your page under the “One Dimension” heading. Do you see
the one for Circumference? That’s the one: the distance around a circle.

Step 4: Label the blueprint with the dimensions you know.

2 r=5 . + h=10 cm

𝐶𝐶 = 2𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋

Step 5: Find the areas and add them.

2 (𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2) + 2𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋 ∙ ℎ
2(25𝜋𝜋) + 2𝜋𝜋(5 ∙ 8)
50𝜋𝜋 + 80𝜋𝜋 = 130𝜋𝜋 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2

Now let’s apply the can opener to our triangular prism. There’s no circumference
because it’s not a circle. But we do have a distance around: the Perimeter.

Example 3: Find the Surface Area of given triangular prism, using the Can Opener
Method. The base is a 3-4-5 cm right triangle, and the height of the prism is 6 cm.

68
 Step 1: Draw the triangle bases and the three rectangle
sides, connected into one long rectangle.

2( 4 cm )+ 6 cm

3 cm 3 cm 4 cm 5 cm

Step 3: Find the areas and add them.

1
2 � 3 ∙ 4� + 6(3 + 4 + 5)
2
12 + 6 ∙ 12 = 84 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2

In words, we’d say, “Take two base areas, plus a rectangle that’s the base’s
perimeter times the prism height.” Using Mathese to abbreviate, we get this:

Can Opener Formula:

𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟ℎ𝑡𝑡 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) = 2𝐵𝐵 + 𝑃𝑃 ∙ ℎ

Now you have two different ways to find Surface Area: the Blueprint Method and
the Can Opener Method. Just remember to add all of the involved sides, including
the two bases. Some shapes can get a little complicated, however.

Example 4: A lighthouse operator needs to paint the facility every year.

In order to buy enough paint, he has to calculate how many square feet
needs to be painted. The lighthouse itself is a cylinder, but he also has to
paint the house and workshop.

For simplicity, we will assume the roof

and gables do not need to be painted, but
the windows and doors do.

69
 Step 1: Identify the shapes involved. Since the roof and ground won’t be
painted, we’ll just include the sides.
• The lighthouse cylinder will include just the rectangle sides, with one side
equal to the circumference and one equal to the height.
• The house will only need three sides painted because one side backs up to
the workshop.
• The workshop will need to have three and a half sides painted because the
fourth side is partially shared with the house.

Step 2: Using the Can Opener Method, we would have three rectangles to add.

Lighthouse Wkshp Workshop Wkshp Half

h= height side 1 side 2 side 3 side 4
b= Circum-
ference
House House House
side 1 side 2 side 3

That’s as far as we need to go to illustrate the point. When figuring Surface Area,
you have to account for all of the missing sides, as well. Then calculate the Surface
Area using the perimeter of what’s left.

70
Assignment

1. Add the Can Opener formula to your 2-D formulas list.

𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟ℎ𝑡𝑡 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) = 2𝐵𝐵 + 𝑃𝑃 ∙ ℎ

2. Fill in the blanks using the following word bank:

Subtract Add Base Height Area

Circumference Perimeter Rectangle Triangle Circle

In the Blueprint Method of finding Surface Area, we draw each shape

individually, and then we ______ up the areas.

In the Can Opener Method, we draw two things: a _______, which we need
two of, and a _____________ with a height equal to the __________ of the
prism and a base equal to the ____________________ of the prism’s base.

3. Find the Volume and Surface Area of the following. For each, make a blueprint
or a Can Opener sketch.

a. Can of peaches with radius 5 cm and height 12 cm.

b. Box of cereal that measures 4 in by 10 in by 14 in.

c. Triangular building where each side is 25 feet long, and the height is 40 feet.
(Hint: draw the base separately and use the Pythagorean Theorem to find its
height and area.)

71
Day 5: Special Prisms

In Unit 2, we started by studying rectangles, and then we pushed them over to form
parallelograms. Do you remember what happened to the height?

h h

The sides became slanted. The height had to be perpendicular to the base, so we
marked it separately. Based on what we know of solid, 3-D shapes, we might expect
the same to hold true for pushed over prisms, which we now know are called
oblique.

Let’s investigate further by stacking layers:

1 layer, V=20 2 layers, V=40 3 layers, V=60

72
Did you notice that the blue line, which would represent the side of an oblique
prism, got more stretched-out and slanted? Meanwhile the red line, representing the
height of the shape, increased steadily by one layer each time. The Volume also
increased steadily by one layer each time.

We saw that same relationship with the parallelogram. The area formula stayed the
same, but the height had to be perpendicular to the base. We’ll make the same
observation here: the Volume formula stays the same, but the height has to be
perpendicular to the base. The Volume is still the area of the Base times the height:

Formula:
𝑽𝑽(𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐 𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑) = 𝑩𝑩 ∙ 𝒉𝒉

The same can be said for any shape base. As long as the top is congruent and
parallel to the bottom, all we have to do is find the area of the Base times the height.

Example 1: Find the volume of an oblique prism where the base is a triangle with
area 14 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 , the slanted sides are all 7 in, and the height is 6 in.

Step 1: Notice that we are given

some extra information. We do not
need to know the slanted sides in
7in order to find the volume.

6 in Step 2: 𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ
𝑉𝑉 = 14 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 ∙ 6 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
𝑉𝑉 = 84 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3
𝐴𝐴 = 14 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2

73
Example 2: A resort hotel is built in an L shape with equal wings surrounding the
courtyard. The blueprint of its floorplan is shown below. If it is 12 stories
high, and each story is 14 feet tall, what is the total volume of the building?

160 ft

40 ft

Step 1: Separate the floorplan into two rectangles.

160 ft

+
40 ft
40 ft 160-40 ft

Step 2: Find the area of the base: 𝐴𝐴 = 160 ∙ 40 + 120 ∙ 40 = 11,200 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2

Step 3: Find the height by multiplying the number of stories by the height of
each story: ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ𝑡𝑡 = 12 𝑥𝑥 14 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 = 168 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓.

Step 4: Find the volume of the building.

𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ = 11200 ∙ 168 = 1,881,600 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 3

74
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes 3-D formulas:

𝑽𝑽(𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐𝒐 𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑) = 𝑩𝑩 ∙ 𝒉𝒉

2. Match this week’s definitions:

______faces a. bases are congruent, parallel polygons

______surface area b. line segment borders between shapes
______oblique c. the flat surfaces that make up a 3-D shape
______prism d. the sum of the areas of a shape’s faces
______right prism e. adjoining faces are perpendicular to the base
______cylinder f. neither perpendicular nor parallel
______edges g. sides are not perpendicular to the base
______oblique prism h. bases are congruent, parallel circles

3. Use the Can Opener Method to find the Volume and Surface Area:

a. Cylinder with base area = 9 𝜋𝜋 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 and height = 5 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖.

b. Triangular prism with a right triangle base measuring 3 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐, 3 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 3√2 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐.
Its height is 8 cm.

c. Right rectangular prism measuring 8 ft by 6 ft by 9 ft.

4. Find the volume of an oblique parallelogram prism (known as a parallelepiped) if

its base is a parallelogram with 𝑏𝑏 = 5 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 and ℎ = 4 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐, and the height of the
solid (not the slanted side) is 7 cm.

75
 Week 13: Pyramids & Cones

Day 1: Pyramid Volume

The Great Pyramid of Giza was constructed nearly 3000 years BC. Of the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World, it is the only one that hasn’t been destroyed. Its
shape is so iconic that it persists in modern times. Can you think of some examples?

I’ll start. The Transamerica Pyramid is an office building in San

Francisco, California. Spires on the top of old-fashioned churches were
often pyramid-shaped. The one pictured here has an octagon base,
though many others had a square base. Even my piano teacher’s old
metronome was a pyramid shape. I could still order an identical one on
Amazon. I could also order a pyramid salt lamp, painter’s stands, fishing
weights, or a triangular version of the Rubik’s Cube toy.

The pyramid, then, is a timeless shape, and we have countless reasons to find its
volume and surface area. The only question is how.

If you have access to a set of geometric solids, you could experiment. Most of us
don’t, though. I made a series of videos for my local co-op class, but I can’t attach
them here. Instead, allow me to show you screenshots of my demonstration.

76
The basic principle is that the base and height of the pyramid and the prism are the
same. The only difference is that one shape comes to a point.

One pyramid’s worth is in the prism. The second pyramid The third pyramid
The second one is on its way. is poured in. fills the prism.

What this demonstration with juice shows is that, if the base and height are the
same, it takes three pyramids to fill a prism. That is true for any pyramid, no matter
what shape its base is.

Now let’s do a bit of Algebra:

3(𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑎𝑎𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚) = 1(𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝)
Divide both sides by three:
1
1(𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 ) = (𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝)
3
That means we should divide the Volume by 3 as well.

Formula:
𝟏𝟏
𝑽𝑽(𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑) = 𝑩𝑩 ∙ 𝒉𝒉
𝟑𝟑

If you think about it, that makes sense. Let’s compare the pyramid to its 2-
dimensional counterpart, the triangle. Both come to a point at the top.

77
 1
In 2 dimensions, the area of a triangle in 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑠𝑠 2 is 𝑏𝑏 ∙ ℎ.
2
1
In 3 dimensions, the volume of a pyramid in 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑠𝑠 3 is 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ.
3

In Geometry, most of the time we will be talking about a right pyramid. That’s one
where the apex is directly over the center of the base. Any other kind would be
called an oblique pyramid. The height will always be the perpendicular distance
from the base to the apex.

Definitions:

The apex of a pointed shape is the place where all sides come together at a
point.

A pyramid is a pointed 3-D shape with a polygon as its base.

A right pyramid has its apex directly over the center of the base.

An oblique pyramid has an apex that is not centered.

Example 1: Find the volume of a pyramid with a triangular base. The three sides of
the triangle are equal, 6 cm. The height of the pyramid is 4 cm.

78
 Step 1: Draw just the base and mark its sides and height.

6 cm 6 cm
h

3 cm 3 cm
Note: the bottom base is split in half by the height.
We will prove this in a later chapter.

Step 2: Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the height of the triangle, or
recognize it as a 30-60-90 right triangle with sides in ratio of 1: √3 ∶ 2.
ℎ = 3√3 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 ≈ 5.2 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

Step 3: Find the area of the triangle base.

1 1
𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏 ∙ ℎ = ∙ 6 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 ∙ 5.2 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = 15.6 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2
2 2

Step 4: Find the Volume of the pyramid. (The height of the pyramid itself was 4 cm.)
1 1
𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ = (15.6)(4) = 20.8 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚3
3 3

So far, so good. Now do you see why we learned the Pythagorean Theorem
before we tackled pyramids?

79
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes definitions page: Apex, Pyramid, Right pyramid,
Oblique pyramid. Add to your 3-D formulas:
𝟏𝟏
𝑽𝑽(𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑) = 𝑩𝑩 ∙ 𝒉𝒉
𝟑𝟑

2. Find the volume of the following pyramids:

a. Triangular pyramid with base sides 8, 15, and 17 cm. Height to apex is 9 cm.

b. Square pyramid with base sides all 4 in. Height to apex is 5 inches.

c. Hexagonal pyramid with base sides all 6 in. Height to apex is 8 in. (Hint:
divide the hexagon into 6 equal triangles with 60 degree angles, all radiating
from the center, and find the other measurements from that.)

3. XYZ Metronome company wants to produce a thousand prototype metronomes

in the shape of a clear acrylic pyramid with a square base. Each square base must
measure 8 inches on every side, and it must be 10 inches tall. Inside, each must
have an empty space in the shape of a 3-inch cube to house the internal timing
mechanism. How much raw acrylic do they need to have enough for all 1,000
prototypes?

80
Day 2: Pyramid Surface Area

1
Yesterday we learned that, while the 2-D area of a triangle is 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏 ∙ ℎ, the 3-D
2
1
volume of a pyramid is similar: 𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ. Easy peasy, right? Not quite.
3

The real trick is when we have to find the Surface Area of the pyramid. We won’t
find the Can Opener Method as easy to use here, but the Blueprint Method works
just fine. We will need one more measurement, and that’s the slant height.

Definitions:
Altitude is another name for the perpendicular height of a shape.

A lateral face is one of the side faces of a 3-D shape, not the top or bottom.

Slant height is the altitude of a lateral face of a 3-D shape like a pyramid.

Example 2: Find the surface area of the same pyramid.

The sides of the triangle are equal, 6 cm. The height
of the pyramid is 4 cm. The area of the base was
already calculated to be 15.6 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2 . We also need the
distance from the center of the bottom to the middle
of a side of the base. We’ll estimate that it’s 3 cm*.

Step 1: Make a blueprint drawing of what we need to know. We will have one
base this time, plus three lateral faces. Since this is a right triangular
prism, and all of the base sides are 6 cm, the three lateral faces will all
be the same as well.

(*Note: By the time you finish this course, you should know how to calculate this, but for now, I
chose an easy number for our example.)

81
 + 3( )
𝐴𝐴 = 15.6 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2
b=6 cm

Step 2: The trick is to find that red line, the height of the lateral triangle. Let’s
look at it more closely in 3-D.

By definition, the height of the pyramid is perpendicular

to the base at its center. We were given that the distance
from the center to the middle of the side was 3 cm. That’s
the yellow line in the drawing.

The height of the pyramid – the gray line – was given as 4 cm. That
means the slant height in red is the hypotenuse of a 3-4-5 right triangle.

h=4 cm slant = 5 cm h=5 cm

3 cm 6 cm

Step 3: Write the slant height (red line) on the lateral face (as shown above).
Calculate the area of the lateral triangle (the side faces).
1 1
𝑏𝑏 ∙ ℎ = 6 ∙ 5 = 15 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2.
2 2

82
 Step 4: Calculate the surface area using the original blueprint.

One base plus three lateral faces:

+ 3( )
𝐴𝐴 = 15.6 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2
𝐴𝐴 = 15 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2

𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴. = 15.6 + 3(15) = 60.6 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2

That seems like an awfully long process, but trust me, it gets easier. The trick is to
learn to see all of the right triangles that exist in three dimensions.

83
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes definitions page: Altitude, Lateral face, Slant
Height.

2. Find the volume and surface area of these pyramids:

a. Base is a triangle. Each side is 4 cm.

Height to the apex is 5 cm.
Distance from center to edge of base
is 2.3 cm.

b. Base is a square. Each side is 8 in.

Height to apex is 7 in.
(Hint: where is the center of the square?)

3. The Louvre Museum in Paris, France, has a grand entrance in the shape of a
pyramid. It is made entirely of glass and metal frames. The facilities manager has
to know the volume of air inside so he can update the air conditioning system.
The square base has sides of 34 meters, and the height is 21.6 meters. Help him
calculate the volume of air inside the glass pyramid.

84
Day 3: Pyramid Can Opener

We mentioned that the Can Opener Method wouldn’t be as easy to use on

Pyramids, but it’s not impossible. Let’s look at a prism and a pyramid with the same
base and height. We’ll make blueprints of each. For simplicity, we’ll say the sides
and height are all 6 in.

←Perimeter of the base→

= 2( )+

= 1( )+
←Perimeter of the base→

= + 4( )
Yesterday’s blueprint focused on finding one base and four equal triangle sides.
Today, I want you to notice the four lateral triangles (in blue) stacked side-by-side.
If we took four equal triangles and cut one in half, we could arrange the whole thing
to equal the rectangle in the first drawing.

←Perimeter of the base→ ←Perimeter of the base→

85
Would you look at that. The lateral triangles, stacked together, equal exactly half of
the lateral sides of the prism that we cut apart with a can opener. That makes sense
because a triangle is half the base times the height, so when we line them up, we’ll
still take half. We’re using half the number of bases, too, because a pyramid only
has one base.

Mind you, this only works if the base of the pyramid is a regular polygon. In other
words, a shape like a square, pentagon, or hexagon with equal sides and equal
angles. That describes most pyramids you’ll see in real life. The oblique kind are
possible but not as common.

That’s enough for us to derive a new formula for Pyramid Surface Area. If it’s a
right pyramid with a regular polygon base, the Surface Area will be half that of an
equivalent right prism. Since our right prism formula was 2 base areas plus the
Perimeter times the height (2𝑏𝑏 + 𝑃𝑃 ∙ ℎ), our right pyramid formula should be:
1
𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴. = 𝐵𝐵 + 𝑃𝑃 ∙ ℎ*
2

Remember, B is the area of the Base, P is the Perimeter of the base, but what is the
h* here? Unfortunately, it’s not the height of the pyramid. That would be too easy.
Instead, it’s the slant height of the lateral face of the pyramid.

Some math books use a lowercase l for the slant height, but
that looks too much like the number 1. For this course, we
will use the letter s. Let’s adjust our formula:

Formula:
1
𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟ℎ𝑡𝑡 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) = 𝐵𝐵 + 𝑃𝑃 ∙ 𝑠𝑠
2

In words, Surface area equals the area of the Base, plus half the perimeter times the
slant height.

86
Let’s try that formula on yesterday’s homework.

Example 1: Find the Volume and Surface area of a pyramid where the base is a
triangle. Each side is 4 cm. The height to the apex is 5 cm. The distance from
the center to an edge of the base is 2.3 cm.

Step 1: We have just two triangles to chart out: the Base and one Lateral.

Base: Lateral:

4 cm 4 cm
h = 2√3
2 cm 2 cm

Step 2: Because the base has all equal sides, when we drop a height down from
top to bottom, it forms two congruent 30-60-90 right triangles. That
means the sides of each one are in a ratio of 1 ∶ √3 ∶ 2. We’ll draw that
in above and calculate the area of the base here.
1
𝐵𝐵 = (4)�2√3� ≈ 6.9 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2
2
Note: we use 4 for the base of the triangle because that’s the whole side.
We cut in in half to use the right triangle triple to find the height.

From this, the Volume is easy to calculate:

1
𝑉𝑉 ≈ (6.9)(5) ≈ 11.5 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚3
3
Now we have to calculate the Surface Area.

87
 Step 3: The Perimeter of the base is easy because all three sides are equal.
𝑃𝑃 = 4 + 4 + 4 = 12 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

Step 4: Now we come to the lateral triangle. To find its height (or altitude) we
have to see it in 3-D.
Since the height of the pyramid is 5 cm and the
distance from the center to the base edge is 2.3,
we can solve the Pythagorean Theorem to find
the slant height, s.

52 + (2.3)2 = 𝑠𝑠 2
30.29 = 𝑠𝑠 2; 𝑠𝑠 ≈ 5.5 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

Step 5: This is where our formula saves us a step. Instead of charting out a base
and three sides, we can put in the numbers we just found.
• B, the area of the base: 6.9 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2
• P, the perimeter of the base: 12 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
• s, the slant height: 5.5 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
1
𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟ℎ𝑡𝑡 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) = 𝐵𝐵 + 𝑃𝑃 ∙ 𝑠𝑠
2
1
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 ≈ 6.9 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2 + (12 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐)(5.5 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐)
2
≈ 39.9 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2

It’s still complicated, but it helps to see where these formulas come from. The
overall principle is that, if a shape comes to a point instead of being parallel, in 2
1 1
dimensions, the formula will have a in it, and in 3 dimensions, it will have . The
2 3
only other thing to remember is that area is always in two dimensions, even if it’s
Surface Area of a 3-D shape.

88
Assignment

1. Add this formula for Surface Area to your Geometry Notes 2-D formula list:
1
𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟ℎ𝑡𝑡 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) = 𝐵𝐵 + 𝑃𝑃 ∙ 𝑠𝑠
2

2. A tiny historic church in Anytown, Nebraska was built in 1898 with an octagon
spire that is 12 feet tall. The builders constructed it on a square base, and
measured off equal lengths from each corner to create a regular octagon. Using
what you know of the Pythagorean Theorem, calculate the following:

a. The length of each side of the square and the octagon, given this diagram:
2 ft x 2 ft
2 ft x x 2 ft

x x

2 ft x x 2 ft

2 ft x 2 ft

b. The area of the octagon. (Hint: find the area of the square and subtract the four
cut-off triangles.)

c. The volume of the spire.

d. The surface area of the spire. Hint: find the slant height using this triangle.
The variable x is what you found above.
The base of the triangle is half the distance
12 ft s across the square. Find s, the slant height.

1
(4 + 𝑥𝑥)
2

89
Day 4: Cone Volume

What’s your favorite kind of ice cream cone? My mom always bought
the kind with a square bottom. It tasted like Styrofoam to me. My
favorites were the sugar cones with the pointy end, but don’t bite off
that end too soon! Otherwise, the ice cream will leak out.

Of the two shapes, though, only one is a true geometric

cone. That’s because a cone has two things: a circle base, and a
point at the other end. (Higher math might consider a pyramid to
be a special type of cone, but we’re going to stick with the
circular variety.)

Definition:
A cone is a 3-D shape that tapers smoothly from a circle base to its apex.

You will recognize many of the terms we use to describe cones. Apex, right,
oblique, slant height: they all continue to be part of our conversation. Geometry is
like that: everything builds on what came before. So, if you can predict what the
rest of this lesson will say, so much the better. That means you’re catching on. If
not, stick with me and I’ll explain.

Most of the cones we’ll encounter in this class with be right, regular cones. Regular
means the circle is perfectly round (not oval). Right means the line between the
apex and the center of the circle is perpendicular to the circle. (Oh goody: that
makes a right triangle! Be sure to look for those!)

Cones can also be oblique, which means they’re slanted. Technically, the line
between the apex and the center of the base is not perpendicular.

90
To get a better idea of how the formulas of cones are related to what we’ve already
studied, let’s look at them side-by-side. Remember, all volume formulas are in 3
dimensions, and all areas are in 2 dimensions. B stands for area of the Base.

1
𝑉𝑉(𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ 𝑉𝑉(𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ
3

𝑉𝑉(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐) = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ 𝑉𝑉(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐) = ?

If you predicted that the Volume of a cone formula will be the same as the Volume
of a pyramid, you’re on to something. Again, I can’t show you my video, but maybe
a few screenshots will help:

One cone of juice in the cylinder Two cones Three cones

It takes exactly three cones to fill a cylinder with the same base and height. That
means our guess for the formula was correct.

Formula:
𝟏𝟏
𝑽𝑽(𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄) = 𝑩𝑩 ∙ 𝒉𝒉
𝟑𝟑

1 1
To review, triangles are 𝑏𝑏ℎ because areas are in 2D. Cones are 𝐵𝐵ℎ because
2 3
volumes are in 3D. (Notice the multiplication dot is optional between letters.)

91
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes definitions page: Cone.

1
Add to your 3-D formulas page: 𝑉𝑉(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐) = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ
3

2. Fill in the following chart to compare major 2-D and 3-D formulas. Be sure to fill
in the unit exponents correctly. Use a colored pencil to highlight all of the 2s and
3s in the exponents and fractions.

Dimen-
Measurement Units Polygons Circles
sion

Perimeter 1 cm Add all sides 𝐶𝐶 = __________

𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴(𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟) _____ cm 𝐴𝐴 = __________ 𝐴𝐴(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐) = _________

𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) _____ cm 𝐴𝐴 = __________

𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉(𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) _____ cm 𝑉𝑉 = __________ 𝑉𝑉(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐) = _________

𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉(𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) _____ cm 𝑉𝑉 = __________ 𝑉𝑉(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐) = __________

3. If you substitute the formula for the area of a circle for the B in the Volume of a
cylinder or cone, does it work out to be a Volume in three dimensions? How do
you know?

4. For each of the following, draw and calculate the volume of the related cylinder
and the cone:

a. 𝑟𝑟 = 3 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖, ℎ = 5 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 b. 𝑟𝑟 = 10 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐, ℎ = 12 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐

92
Day 5: Cone Can Opener

We won’t be done with cones until we open them with a can opener. At first glance,
we get different shapes when we do:

Circumference

= +

Circumference

= +

The first part is easy: it’s always the circle base. For the second part, it helps to
remember where the sides come from. Its radius is not the radius of the base (in
yellow above). Instead, its radius is the slant height of the cone (in red above). The
curved part is what fit around the circumference of the base circle before we used
the can opener on it.

Let’s compare the formula for the surface area of a pyramid to what we know about
these cones. The surface area of a right pyramid was one base plus half the base
perimeter times the slant height. Remember, the half came from its relationship to
the triangles involved, and the fact that it’s in 2 dimensions.

𝟏𝟏
𝑺𝑺. 𝑨𝑨.(𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓 𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑) = 𝑩𝑩 + 𝑷𝑷 ∙ 𝒔𝒔
𝟐𝟐

93
If you compare that to what we know of the cone, we also need to use one base. We
know the perimeter of the base, which is the circumference of the circle. The slant
height of a cone is the same as that of a pyramid. To translate it into a new formula,
all we really need to remember is that the Perimeter of a circle is the
Circumference.

Formula:
𝟏𝟏
𝑺𝑺. 𝑨𝑨.(𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓 𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄) = 𝑩𝑩 + 𝑷𝑷 ∙ 𝒔𝒔
𝟐𝟐

Now, obviously, we have to remember our circle formulas to substitute here. In

fact, if you look this up in Mathese, they’ll ask you to memorize the exact
𝟏𝟏 1
substitution: . 𝑨𝑨.(𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓𝒓 𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄𝒄) = 𝝅𝝅𝒓𝒓𝟐𝟐 + (𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐) ∙ 𝒔𝒔 . Since the 2 and the cancel out,
𝟐𝟐 2
𝟐𝟐
we’re left with 𝝅𝝅𝒓𝒓 + 𝝅𝝅𝝅𝝅𝝅𝝅.

However, in this course we’re learning Geometric principles. That’s why we’re not
going to memorize a different formula. We’ll simply use the principle that the
surface area of any cone or pyramid is one base plus half the perimeter times the
slant height. That principle, then, will translate into either formula.

94
Assignment

1
1. Add to your Geometry Notes 2-D formulas: 𝑺𝑺. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟ℎ𝑡𝑡 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐) = 𝐵𝐵 + 𝑃𝑃 ∙ 𝑠𝑠.
2

2. Explain how to substitute your circle formulas into the formula for the Surface
Area of a cone.

3. Find the Volume and Surface Area of each of the following:

a. Right Prism with a square base of 40 ft on each edge and height of 30 ft.

b. Cylinder with r = 15 cm and h = 25 cm.

c. Pyramid with a triangle base of 60 in on each edge and height of 48 in. The
slant height is approximately 51 in.

d. Cone with r= 3 ft and h = 4 ft.

4. The Crazy Cone Motel* has 10 cabins in the shape of cones. The facilities
manager needs to paint the outer walls and to replace the air conditioning units.
Each cabin has a radius of 7 feet and a height of 32 feet. Calculate the following:

a. The volume of a single unit. The manager will need to order 10 individual
HVAC units that can handle that volume of air.

b. The lateral surface area of a single unit. Note: this is the lateral surface area
because there is no need to paint the floor.

c. The manager can save money by buying 5-gallon buckets of paint. Each gallon
will cover about 150 square feet. How many buckets should she buy?

*There is a historic landmark similar to this on Route 66 in Holbrook, Arizona.

95
 Week 14: Solid Geometry Review

Day 1: Putting It All Together

Studying solid geometry, in many ways, is simply an extended practice of the area
formulas we’d already learned. If you can find the area of a shape’s base, you can
find its volume. All you have to do is apply some basic principles.

• If the solid shape goes straight up from the base, with two parallel and
congruent bases, use 𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ. These shapes are prisms or cylinders.

𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵ℎ 𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵ℎ

• If the solid shape comes to a point (in other words, it ‘tapers smoothly from
1
base to apex’), we divide by 3 because it’s in 3 dimensions: 𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ. These
3
shapes are pyramids or cones.

1 1 1
𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵ℎ 𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵ℎ 𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵ℎ
3 3 3

96
We have two guiding principles for surface area, as well. This measurement is in
two dimensions, not three. Area is always measured in squares. Volume is always
measured in cubes.

• For prisms or cylinders, take two bases, plus the rectangle formed by the
perimeter of the base times the height of the solid.
𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴. = 2𝐵𝐵 + 𝑃𝑃ℎ
Perimeter

= 2( )+

height
• For pyramids or cones, take half of that: one base, plus half the rectangle
formed by the perimeter and the slant height. This only works if the slant
height is given, or if we can calculate it with the Pythagorean Theorem.
𝟏𝟏
𝑺𝑺. 𝑨𝑨. = 𝑩𝑩 + 𝑷𝑷𝑷𝑷
𝟐𝟐

Perimeter

1
= +2 height
slant

Algebra note: Remember that if two letters or a number and a letter are printed
next to each other, they are supposed to be multiplied. Writing the multiplication
dot is optional.

97
Assignment

1. Review the guiding principles of Solid Geometry in today’s lesson and then
answer the following:

a. If you were to sum up the most basic principle of finding Volume, how would
you describe it?

b. What changes would you make to the Volume calculation if the shape comes
to a point instead of being a prism?

c. If you were to sum up the guiding principle to Surface Area, what would you
say?

d. What changes happen to the Surface Area formula when the shape is pointed?

2. A building designer is trying to design the largest hotel possible on an odd-

shaped plot of land. It will have a grand V-shaped entrance in the front. Building
costs are calculated based on square footage, and HVAC costs are based on the
volume of air the building contains. Calculate total surface area and volume for
this building, given that the ground floor has an area of 5722 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2 , its perimeter is
426 ft, and it will be 6 stories tall. (Each story should be 14 ft.)

98
Day 2: Spheres

We have only one more geometric solid to cover, and then we’ll have a full
complement of formulas to use.

Do you remember how to find the volume of a sphere? The formula had 𝜋𝜋 in it
because all circle formulas have 𝜋𝜋. It had the radius in it, for the same reason. The
radius should be cubed because it’s in three dimensions. If we take a fraction, it will
be in thirds because of the three dimensions. Have I given you enough hints? It was
this:

𝟒𝟒
𝑉𝑉(𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒) = 𝜋𝜋 𝑟𝑟 3
𝟑𝟑

All we had to do was remember the four thirds!

That’s also our clue to the Surface Area of a sphere. In case you’re thinking, “Who
cares?” May I remind you of the age-old problem of how to draw a map of the
globe? How do you flatten a sphere onto a sheet of paper?

In 1689, a mapmaker in
Amsterdam used four circles
to show the Earth from four
different angles: North,
South, East and West.

99
An even earlier map was created in 1514 by Leonardo da Vinci. He divided the
Earth into little triangles! History buffs, you’ll love the fact that he used the name
America for the New World. Look for it below.

Again, this map uses groups of four. It’s not that easy to cut a sphere apart, though.
If you’ve ever deflated a child’s play ball or beach ball, you’ll know it just doesn’t
lay flat! Instead, let’s try a different experiment. At least follow along and use your
imagination.

Step 1: Select an orange or tangerine with a thin peel. Use the orange to trace
four circles on a sheet of paper.

100
 Step 2: Peel the orange, saving all of the peelings. You can snack on the rest.

Step 3: Cut the peel into little pieces to fill each of the circles, trying to make
sure there are very few gaps or overlaps.

Step 4: Were you able to fill all four circles? If not, go back and see if you have too
many overlapping pieces. Cut off some bits to fill in the gaps. Did you have too
much? Cut off the overlapped edges and fill them into the gaps.

There are videos of this being done online if you don’t have access to oranges
where you live. The point of the exercise is to help you remember the number four:
It takes four circles to cover the surface area of a sphere.

Formula:
𝑺𝑺. 𝑨𝑨.(𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔) = 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒𝒓𝒓𝟐𝟐

101
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes 2-D formulas: 𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒) = 4𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2

2. Research “world map projections” and look at the variety of shapes mapmakers
have used to represent the spherical Earth on a flat piece of paper.

a. List five of the map shapes you find most intriguing. (I like the butterfly
projection!)

b. If you had to choose, would you stretch the ocean parts out so the land sizes
look right, or would you stretch the land parts out so the ocean is accurate?

c. Which of those would be more important for sailing ships?

3. Find the Volume and Surface Areas:

a. Sphere with r= 7 cm.

b. Cylinder with r = 7cm, h=7 cm.

c. Cone with r= 7 cm, h=7 cm.

4. If you want the maximum volume of a shape with the same radius and height,
should you choose a cylinder or a sphere?

102
Day 3: The Silo Problem

This unit opened with a farmer who needs a new silo. She had several specifications
for the design.

“She wants the top to be shaped like a sphere, so

that rain rolls off without causing rust. The sides
should form a cylinder with the same radius as
the top. The bottom needs to be shaped like a
funnel so that trucks can roll underneath, open a
valve, and fill up with cattle feed. The total
volume needs to hold a dozen truckloads.”

To begin with, she had to answer several questions.

• What should the radius of the silo be?

• What should be the height?
• How much metal would be required?
• How much will it cost to build?

To calculate the total volume, we have to know how large a truckload is. Standard
shipping containers come in 20 ft and 40 ft lengths. For this exercise, we’ll assume
she’s using the smaller ones, which hold about 1200 cubic feet of material.

1,200 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 3
12 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 × = 14,400 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 3
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡

That’s a lot of feed! Because the majority of the volume will be stored inside the
cylinder part of the silo, let’s reverse-engineer what its radius and height could be.

𝑉𝑉 = 14,400 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 3 = 𝐵𝐵ℎ = 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2ℎ

103
If the height were 50 ft, we need to solve for r:
14400 = 50 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2
Dividing both sides by 50 𝜋𝜋, we get:
14400
= 𝑟𝑟 2
50𝜋𝜋
We’ll plug that into a calculator and take the square root:
𝑟𝑟 ≈ 9.6 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓

A tower with radius of about 10 (diameter about 20) and a height of 50 would look
a little too tall and skinny, don’t you think? Let’s redesign this with the height equal
to 30:
𝑉𝑉 = 14400 = 30𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2
14400
= 𝑟𝑟 2
30𝜋𝜋
𝑟𝑟 ≈ 12 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓

That’s better. Now we can evaluate the rest of the shape.

• The top is half a sphere.
• The middle is a cylinder.
• The bottom is a cone.

We can find the volume of all of these as long as we have

the radii and heights of each.

The volume of the half-sphere on top, using r= 12 ft, is:

1 4 2
𝑉𝑉 = � 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 3 � = 𝜋𝜋123
2 3 3
𝑉𝑉(ℎ𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒) ≈ 3619 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 3

The volume of the cylinder, using r = 12 ft and h = 30 ft, would be:

𝑉𝑉 = 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2ℎ ≈ 13,572 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 3

104
Added together, we can see that these volumes are already too much. Let’s redesign
with a shorter height.

The volume of the cylinder, using r = 12 ft and h = 25 ft, is:

𝑉𝑉(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐) = 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2 ℎ ≈ 11,310 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 3

That’s not too much more than 12 truckloads of feed, so let’s keep going.

The volume of a cone, using r = 12 ft and a relatively short height, say 10 ft, is:
1 1
𝑉𝑉(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐) = 𝐵𝐵ℎ = (𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2)ℎ ≈ 1508 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 3
3 3

Now let’s add all three together to get the total volume of the silo:
𝑉𝑉(ℎ𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒) ≈ 3,619 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 3
𝑉𝑉(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐) ≈ 11,310 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 3
𝑉𝑉(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐) ≈ 1,508 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 3
𝑉𝑉(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠) ≈ 16,437 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 3

This is still more than the required 14,400 cubic feet, but it’s close enough for this
stage of the design. Let’s keep going.

For the surface area of the silo, our calculations should be a little simpler.
• We need half the surface area of the sphere.
• We need only the rectangle part of the cylinder, with the circumference times
the height.
• We need only the lateral part of the cone, with half the circumference times
the slant height.

The surface area of the sphere part is easy, now that we know a sphere takes exactly
four circles to cover it. Half of that would be two circles.
𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(ℎ𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒) = 2𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2 = 2𝜋𝜋122 ≈ 905 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 2

105
The lateral side of the cylinder forms a rectangle with the height (25 ft) as one side
and the perimeter (circumference) as the other.
𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙) = (2𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋)(ℎ) = 24𝜋𝜋(25) ≈ 1885 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2

The lateral side of the cone will be easy once we figure out the slant height.

12 ft The slant height forms a right triangle with the radius and
10 ft cone height. Use the Pythagorean Theorem:
s 102 + 122 = 𝑠𝑠 2
244 = 𝑠𝑠 2; 𝑠𝑠 ≈ 15.6 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓

Since the lateral side of the cone is half the circumference times the slant height, we
can calculate the following:
1 1
𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙) = (𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶)(𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ𝑡𝑡) = (2𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋) 𝑠𝑠 = 𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋
2 2
2
𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙) = 12𝜋𝜋 (15.6) ≈ 588 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡

𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(ℎ𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒) ≈ 905 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 2

𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙) ≈ 1885 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2
𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙) ≈ 588 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2
𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠) ≈ 3378 ft 2

Whew! Aren’t you glad we did that together?

106
Assignment

1. The silo we designed for the farmer contained an extra 2,000 cubic feet, which is
a couple more truckloads.

a. If we shortened the cylinder height to only 21 feet, would the entire silo be big
enough to hold 14,400 cubic feet of cattle feed?

b. Would a 20-foot cylinder be big enough?

c. If sheet metal costs $4 per square foot, how much will the original 25-foot
design cost the farmer?

d. How much money would she save by making the cylinder only 21 feet high?

2. One of the techniques we used for the silo was reverse engineering. In other
words, we knew the volume and height we wanted, and we worked backward to
find the radius. Using the same technique, find the missing measurement of the
following. Round each answer to one decimal place.

a. Sphere; 𝑉𝑉 ≈ 393 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 , 𝑟𝑟 ≈____________

b. Sphere; 𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴. ≈ 1018 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2, 𝑟𝑟 ≈____________

c. Square Pyramid; 𝑉𝑉 = 300 𝑚𝑚3, 𝐵𝐵 = 100 𝑚𝑚2 , ℎ =____________

Related: what does each side of the square measure? ____________

d. Triangular Prism; 𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴. = 1000 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 , ℎ =____________

You also need the sides of the base triangle: 8 in, 15 in, and 17 in.

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Day 4: Review

A Russian fort, built in the early 1800s, still stands on the north coast of California.
(Wait. Russian? That’s a good question to ask your history teacher. Or look up Fort
Ross State Historic Park.)

The stockade has two many-sided towers on diagonal corners, giving the settlers a
clear view of both the land and ocean on all sides. Interestingly, one of those is an
octagon, and the other is a heptagon (with 7 sides). Both have roofs shaped like
pyramids, sloping up to the apex.

Ft. Ross
photo c.
2010 by
the author
Today’s review assignment will have two parts.

First, use your notes or your good memory to review the vocabulary we’ve learned
this unit.

Then use the following statistics to answer questions about the fort. (All
measurements are rough approximates, based on photos and historical accounts of
nineteenth century observers. They are not actual measurements from the historical
site.)

• Tower height from floor to the roofline: 18 feet.

• Radius of the tower from the center to one corner: 8 feet.
• Height of the pyramid-shaped roof: 6 feet

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Assignment

1. Match the vocabulary word with its definition.

__________ prism a. perpendicular height of a shape

__________ edge b. pointed 3-D shape with a polygon as its base

__________ face c. altitude of a lateral face of a 3-D shape

__________ right d. refers to the sides of a 3-D shape

__________ oblique e. means the shape has 90° angles

__________ cylinder f. congruent, parallel, polygon bases

__________ apex g. tapers smoothly from a circle base to its apex

__________ pyramid h. flat surface that makes up a 3-D shape

__________ altitude i. where all sides come together at a point

__________ lateral j. congruent, parallel, circle bases

__________ slant height k. line segment border between shapes.

__________ cone l. slanted; neither perpendicular nor parallel

The rest of today’s assignment investigates the blockhouses of Fort Ross. Each
section builds on the last, so keep your answers organized in a table, like this:

Cylinder Octagon Heptagon

Base area = Base area = Base area =
Total V= Total V= Total V=
LSA= LSA= LSA=
Remember, LSA is the lateral surface area, without the top and bottom bases.
PS: Use plenty of scratch paper!

109
2. A historian is curious why the builders of Ft. Ross used an octagon or a heptagon
for the blockhouse instead of a cylinder. He wants to compare the area of the
bases.

a. Find the area of the base of a cylinder with r= 8 ft.

b. Finding the area of an octagon and heptagon are a little more difficult. Instead,
find the whole area of the octagon if one wedge (shown below) has an area of
22.6 square feet.

= 22.6 ft

c. Find the area of the heptagon if one wedge has an area of 25 square feet.

d. Which shape has the greatest square footage? Why do you think the builders
chose the octagon and heptagon?

3. A mathematician wants to compare the volumes of the three figures. He has to

add the volume of the blockhouse main room with the volume of the pyramid
roof.

a. Find the volume of a cylinder and a cone with r = 8 feet. The cylinder height is
18 feet, and the cone height is 6 feet.

b. Find the volume of the octagon blockhouse with its pyramid roof, using the
area you found above, the prism height of 18 feet, and the pyramid height of 6
feet.

110
 c. Find the volume of the heptagon with the heptagon Base area, prism height,
and pyramid height listed above.

d. Which of the three shapes would have a greater volume?

4. The conservancy director at Fort Ross needs to know the lateral surface areas
(LSA) of the two blockhouses, in order to have materials on hand to repair them
as needed. For good measure, he wants to compare it to a circular structure as
well.

a. Find the lateral surface area of a cylinder with r = 8 ft, h= 18 ft plus the lateral
surface area of a cone with r= 8 ft, h= 6 ft. Use the Pythagorean theorem to
find the slant height.

b. Given that each side of the octagon measures 6.1 feet, and there is a slant
height of 9.5 on the roof, find the lateral surface area of the cylinder with
height 18 ft and the 8-sided pyramid with height 6 ft.

c. Given that each side of the heptagon measures 6.9 feet, and there is a slant
height of 9.4 on the roof, find the lateral surface areas of the cylinder and the 7-
sided pyramid with heights of 18 ft and 6 ft.

d. If you were buying paint or lumber to replace one of these shapes, which one
would cost less for materials?

111
Day 5: Unit 6 Quiz

1. Match the formulas to the correct measurement. You may use some letters more
than once.
a. = 4𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2
________ 𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟ℎ𝑡𝑡 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝)
1
________ 𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟ℎ𝑡𝑡 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) b. = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ
3
________ 𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒)
________ 𝑉𝑉(𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒) c. = 2𝐵𝐵 + 𝑃𝑃 ∙ ℎ
________ 𝑉𝑉(𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝)
𝟒𝟒
________ 𝑉𝑉(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐) d. = 𝜋𝜋 𝑟𝑟 3
𝟑𝟑
________ 𝑉𝑉(𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝)
1
________ 𝑉𝑉(𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) e. = 𝐵𝐵 + 𝑃𝑃 ∙ 𝑠𝑠
2
________ 𝑉𝑉(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐)
f. = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ

2. A square pyramid has a height is 4 cm, and the area of the Base is 36 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2 . Draw
a sketch, and find the following:

a. Side of the square

b. Slant height

c. Surface Area

d. Volume

112
3. Archimedes was another ancient Greek who studied math and science. He proved
that if a sphere and a cylinder have the same radius and height, the surface area of
the sphere will equal the lateral surface area of the cylinder. (That would be just
the sides, not the top and bottom.)

Even though hatboxes hadn’t yet been invented, this is known as Archimedes’
Hat Box Theorem. Show it’s true by calculating the lateral surface area of a
cylinder with a radius of r and a height of 2r.

4. Find the missing measurements:

a. Oblique square prism with Volume of 36 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 and height of 4 inches. Find one
side of the square base.

b. Sphere with Volume of 121.5 𝜋𝜋 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚3 . Find the radius.

c. Right triangular pyramid with Volume of 78 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 3 and a height of 8 ft. Find the
area of the base.

113
 Unit 7: Triangulating a position

Introduction:
An architect is designing a model home. Included in the blueprints are odd corner
closets in the utility room. The sides of each closet are not at right angles, but he
knows the lengths of all three sides. How can he find the square footage of the
closet without knowing the height of the triangle?

Week 15: Triangle Properties

Day 1: Triangle Terms

Now that we’ve had a broad overview of the major geometric shapes, it’s time to go
into more detail about the smallest among them.

Can you make a closed, 2-dimensional shape with any fewer than three sides? Go
ahead and try. I’ll wait.

Not possible, right? If you stack the line segments on top of each other, you have a
single line. If you split them apart, they are either parallel, or they form some kind
of angle. There’s not a closed shape among them.

Triangles have another characteristic

that is very important to construction.
We’ll start there.

When I was a kid, I remember playing

with my dad’s old wooden measuring device. It was designed like a bunch of
wooden rulers, all hinged together so you could stretch them out for a dozen feet or
so. It was a lot of fun to form it into different shapes.

114
My own kids had a plastic version to play with. Perhaps you’ve done the same. If
not, you can get the same effect by connecting plastic straws with safety pins. The
point is this: What happens to each shape when you push it over?

That’s right. The square gets pushed over into a parallelogram (technically, a
rhombus), the pentagon gets skewed into an odd shape, and so will any other shape
you form. Their angles all change. The only rigid shape in Geometry is the triangle,
which is why you’ll see it in many construction projects, including bridges.

115
Definition:
A rigid shape is one whose angles cannot change. Only a triangle is rigid.

Something so useful deserves its own set of labels, don’t you think? We typically
describe triangles either by the size of their angles, or by the length of their sides.
Let’s review the descriptions.

Triangles described by angles are:

• Right Triangles
• Obtuse Triangles
• Acute Triangles, or
• Equiangular Triangles.

We already met the right triangle. It has one perpendicular corner.

We know that obtuse angles measure more than 90°. An obtuse triangle has one
obtuse angle.

Acute angles measure less than 90°. Since right triangles and obtuse triangles also
have acute angles, we have to make a special rule. An acute triangle has all three
acute angles.

Equiangular means equal angles. An equiangular triangle has all equal angles. Since
180° divided by 3 equals 60°, by definition an equiangular triangle has all 60°
angles.

Definitions:
A right triangle has one right angle.
An obtuse triangle has one obtuse angle.
An acute triangle has all three acute angles.
An equiangular triangle has all three 60° angles.

116
To be clear, a right triangle cannot also be an acute triangle, and an obtuse triangle
can’t be acute, either. We can combine some of those terms with the next set of
definitions. (An equiangular triangle is also acute because 60° is less than 90°.)

Triangles described by the lengths of their sides are:

• Equilateral Triangles
• Isosceles Triangles
• Scalene Triangles

Lateral always refers to the side of something. Remember, we said that lateral
surface area was the area of the sides. And if a football quarterback throws a lateral
pass, it’s a pass to the side instead of forward. Therefore, this next definition should
be no surprise.

Equilateral means equal-sided. The cool thing about this one is that, if the sides are
equal, the angles are as well. That means equilateral triangles are also equiangular.

Isosceles triangles have two equal sides. The third side can be smaller or larger than
the other two. If you remember our 45-45-90 triangle, with side ratios of 1: 1: √2,
you’ll probably recognize it as an isosceles right triangle. The fun fact about
isosceles triangles is that when two of the sides are equal, the two opposite angles
are equal as well. You can remember this one because it’s the only one with two
sides equal and two S’s in the word.

Scalene triangles are what’s left: they have no sides equal. No fun facts here. We
can remember it, though, because scalene triangles lean over!

Definitions:
An equilateral triangle has all sides equal. It also has three 60° angles.
An isosceles triangle has two sides and two angles equal.
A scalene triangle has no sides equal.

117
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes definitions page: Rigid, Right Triangle, Obtuse
Triangle, Acute Triangle, Equiangular Triangle, Equilateral Triangle, Isosceles
Triangle, and Scalene Triangle.

2. Explain how to make a parallelogram rigid with only one crosspiece. Can this be
accomplished with a pentagon? Can you think of a reason why triangles might be
useful in construction projects?

3. Match the qualities of the triangle to its official name. More than one name can
be used, and names can be used more than once.

________ It has two equal angles. a. Scalene Triangle

b. Isosceles Triangle
________ It has all three acute angles. c. Equilateral Triangle
d. Equiangular Triangle
________ It has two equal sides. e. Acute Triangle
f. Obtuse Triangle
________ It has no sides equal. g. Right Triangle

________ It has a right angle with two equal sides.

________ It has a right angle with no equal angles.

________ It has one obtuse angle.

________ Its angles all equal 60°.

118
Day 2: Construction Crew 2

It’s time to get out your Geometry tools again. In the old days, only a compass and
a straightedge were allowed. Remember our desert island example? Our tools were
a piece of string, an analog watch, and a board from the wrecked ship. But back
when Euclid was writing his Geometry book, Elements, he didn’t have pocket
watch. Sundials were a little hard to carry.

In modern times, you’re allowed to use a ruler and protractor, but mostly to check
your work. So get out all three: compass, ruler, and protractor.

To begin with, do you remember constructing a triangle in Unit 2? You don’t need
to look it up. Allow me to refresh your memory. We were given the lengths of the
sides of the triangle: 5, 12, and 13 centimeters. Our instructions were to construct
the triangle.

Now that you’ve completed nearly a semester of Geometry, I hope you recognize
those side lengths because 52 + 122 = 132 . It’s a Pythagorean triple. (Aha! So
that’s why I chose it!)

We started by drawing the longest line, 13 cm. Then we measured the next longest,
12 cm, and drew an arc.

119
Next we measured the last side, 5 cm, and moved to the other endpoint of the
longest line segment. Using the 5 cm measurement, we drew another arc. That
became the point where the two short sides would meet, and we drew our lines.

Now that you’ve got some Geometry in your tool belt, you can tell that we formed a
90° angle at that top corner because the right angle is always directly across from
the hypotenuse.

In fact, that leads us to another observation about triangles: the longest side is
always across from the widest angle, and the shortest side is always across from the
smallest angle.

120
 Longest side: Ray: Shortest side:

Widest angle→
Ray:
Smallest angle→
Geometry Facts:
In triangles, the size of the angle determines the relative size of the side
opposite it.

In right triangles, the right angle is always opposite the hypotenuse.

Again, the words opposite and adjacent are going to be important to our discussion.
Adjacent means beside, so an angle is surrounded by adjacent sides that meet at the
angle’s vertex. Those adjacent sides would be rays (shown above) if the triangle
didn’t stop them.

We need two additional basic skills: how to copy a congruent segment, and how to
copy a congruent angle. They’re similar processes, so they shouldn’t be too hard.

Task 1: Given line segment ����

𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 , make a congruent copy.
A B
● ●

Step 1: Draw a line segment longer than necessary with a straightedge. You may
use a ruler, but don’t use it to measure. Label the endpoint C.
C ●

Step 2: Use your compass to measure the original line segment. Open the arc of
the compass so that the point rests on one end of the segment, and the
pencil tip rests on the other.

121
 Original line segment:
A B
● ●

Step 3: If your compass has a locking mechanism, lock it now. If not, make sure
the compass stays at the same distance. Put the point of the compass on
the new line segment you drew, and draw an arc to mark the distance
you measured with the compass.
C D
● ●

Step 4: Label the place where the arc meets the line segment as point D. The line
���� is a copy of the line segment 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴
segment 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 ���� . We say ���� ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
because it meets the definition of congruent: the same size, with the
same angles. Since no angle is involved, the same size is enough to say
the segments are congruent.

122
Now let’s use those same skills to make a copy of an angle. Note: The angle has to
be named for points on the rays, so even though points technically have no
dimension, we’ll make dots big enough to see. We’ll also be switching back and
forth between the two shapes, so keep careful track of the labels, ∠ABC and ∠DEF.
You don’t have to use colors for these drawings, but it helps.

Task 2: Given angle ∠ABC, make a congruent copy.

B● ● A

C●

Step 1: Draw a ray and label the vertex E and a point on the ray D.
E D
● ●

Step 2: Open your compass to a place where it is shorter than both ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 and ����
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 .
Put the point of the compass on the original point B and draw an arc that
crosses both rays.

B● ● A

C●

Step 3: Copy that arc onto ray �����⃗

𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸 .
E D
● ●

123
Step 4: Now we need the distance between the two rays, at the arc we marked.
We’ll put the point of the compass on one end of the purple arc, where it
�����⃗ and measure how far it is to where the purple arc crosses
meets ray 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴
ray �����⃗
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 . We'll make a little green arc to show where we measured. Lock
the compass so you don’t lose the measurement.

B● ● A

C●

Step 5: Go to the other shape and put the point of the compass on the place
�����⃗ . Make a green arc with the new
where the purple arc crosses ray 𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸
distance, and make sure the arc crosses the purple one.

E D
● ●

Step 6: Mark the place where the green and purple arcs cross as point F. Draw a
new ray through the point, ray �����⃗
𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸 . We can now say that ∠ABC ≅ ∠DEF.
It fits the definition of congruent.

E D
● ●

●
F

124
You can check your work with the protractor, just to make sure everything went
according to plan.

Let’s review our basic construction techniques.

• We can measure with a compass to copy distances from one shape to another.
• If we measure an arc from a vertex, then the distance between the two rays, at
that arc, we can copy a congruent angle.

We’ll use those techniques as this unit progresses. For now, let’s stop and practice.

125
Assignment

1. Add these to your Geometry Facts page:

In triangles, the size of the angle determines the relative size of the side
opposite it.
In right triangles, the right angle is always opposite the hypotenuse.

2. Use your straightedge and compass to copy line segments and angles. Start by
drawing the shape without measuring, and then see if you can create the same shape
with just the compass and straightedge.

a. Draw a line segment of any length, and then copy it.

b. Draw an acute angle of any size, and then copy it.

c. Draw an obtuse angle of any size, and then copy it.

3. As a review, draw a triangle with sides measuring 5 cm, 5 cm, and 8 cm. What
should be the height of the resulting triangle? What is its total area? (Hint:
separate it into two right triangles.)

126
Day 3: Construction Crew 3

Construction in real life means building something. In Geometry, a construction is a

shape built with only a compass and a straightedge.

Definition:
A construction is a shape built with only a compass and a straightedge.

In Unit 2, we did another classic construction: bisecting a straight angle. Don’t look
it up. I have it right here:

127
Remember, to bisect something means to divide it in half. The neat thing about
what we accomplished here is that, not only did we cut the straight angle in half, we
also cut the line segment in half. So if you’re ever asked to bisect a line segment
(hint, hint), simply follow the same steps. Measure an identical arc from each end,
and connect the arcs where they meet. To bisect an angle, we’ll do nearly the same
steps.

Task 1: Bisect angle ∠ABC.

B● ● A

● C
Step 1: Open your compass to a place where it is shorter than both ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 and ����
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 .
Put the point of the compass on point B and draw an arc that crosses
both rays.
B● ● A

● C

128
 Step 2: Move the compass to where the arc crosses one ray. Make an arc in the
middle of the angle.
B A
● ●
C ●

Step 3: Move the compass to where the arc crosses one ray. Make an arc in the
middle of the angle.
B● ● A

C ●

Step 4: Draw a line from point B to the place where the arcs cross.

B● ● A

C ●
● D

Step 5: Label point D. Ray ������⃗

𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 is the angle bisector of ∠ABC. That means
∠ABD ≅ ∠DBC.

This construction technique is very similar to the last one: Measure an arc, and then
measure from both ends of the arc. Are you seeing a pattern here? Remember the
pattern, and the individual cases should flow directly from it.

129
We have one more basic construction technique to learn, and it’s an extension of
one from yesterday. We have to learn how to construct a parallel line.

Think about it. We aren’t really on a desert island, so a “sort of” parallel roofline
made of twigs and branches isn’t going to cut it. We need to know for sure that the
roofline, or the concrete forms for the sidewalk, or whatever else, truly are parallel.
Our hint for this construction is to remember all of those angles we learned with
two parallel lines and a transversal.

Task 2: Construct a line parallel to line segment ����

𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 through point C.

● C

A ● ● B

Step 1: Draw a transversal of any degree from point C to line segment ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 . Label
the intersection point X.

● C

A ● X ● B

Step 2: The goal is to copy the angle at X onto the transversal at C. Put the point
of the compass at X and draw an arc smaller than the distance from X to
C. Then, keeping the measurement the same on the compass, copy that
arc to point C.

130
 ● C

A ● X ● B

Step 3: Moving back to the angle at point X, measure the distance between the
two arms of the angle, where it crosses the purple arc. Copy that distance
to the purple arc above angle C.

● C

A ● X ● B

Step 3: Draw the parallel line.

● C

A ● X ● B

131
Do you remember what those angles are called? The reason this construction works
is because we created congruent corresponding angles, making the lines parallel.

And once again, we used the same technique. We drew an arc in both places, and
then we measured the distance between the arms of the angle where we drew the
arc.

Geometry Fact:

Constructions use arcs to measure.

132
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Facts page: Constructions use arcs to measure.

2. Construct a parallel line by following these steps.

a. Use your straightedge and another full sheet of paper. Draw any triangle and
label the vertices X, Y, and Z, with X at the top and ����
𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌 along the bottom.

b. Turn your paper so that ����

𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 is along the bottom facing you. Bisect that line
segment using the skills we learned in Unit 2, which were reprinted at the
beginning of today’s lesson. Use light marks or a different color because
we’re not finished. Once you’ve found the center of the line segment, label it
point D.

c. Turn the paper so that ����

𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌 is along the bottom again. Using the instructions in
today’s Task 2, construct a line through point D that is parallel to ����
𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌. Use
darker marks or a different color.

d. There are several special qualities to that middle line. For one thing, we
constructed it to be parallel. Do you notice anything else?

When you are finished, your drawing should look like this, with some arcs drawn
where you measured.
X

Y Z

133
Day 4: The Midpoint Theorem

In Unit 3, we said that similar triangles have the same shape, angles, and ratios, but
not the same size. That description is actually a bit redundant because anything with
the same angles and ratios will have the same shape. We used it as a bridge between
what you know (shapes) and the Mathese that mathematicians use.

We also learned this week that triangles are rigid, which means if their sides are set,
the angles can’t change. That means for triangles, if their angles are the same, their
sides are automatically proportional (in the same ratio). The opposite is also true. If
their sides are proportional, their angles are the same.

45-45-90 45-45-90

1 √2 2√2
2
1
2

This is sometimes called the Angle-Angle-Angle Theorem, or AAA. But we don’t

even have to know all three angles of the triangle. If we know two angles, we
automatically know the third because they always add up to 180°. That gives us the
AA Theorem of Similarity.

We say that triangle ABC is similar to triangle PQR by writing ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴~∆𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃,

where the sideways s (a single squiggle) ~ means “is similar to.”

List of Properties:

AA Theorem of Similarity: If at least two of the angles of a triangle match

those of another triangle, the triangles are similar. Abbreviation: AA~.

134
In yesterday’s assignment, you found the midpoint of one side of a triangle and
extended a line across it, parallel to the base. Let’s name the place where it crosses
the other side as point E.

D E

Y Z

Today, we’ll investigate the special qualities of that middle line. To start with, we
made sure to construct it so that:
• D is the midpoint of ����
𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 , and
• ����
𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 is parallel to ����
𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌.

It looks like the two triangles formed, ∆𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 and ∆𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋, are similar. We need to
know for sure, though, before we can claim it.

Task: Prove ∆𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 and ∆𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 above are similar.

Step 1: Similar means equal angles or ratios of the sides, so evaluate what we
have: parallel lines. That means the sides are transversals and we have
some equal angle pairs. Create a proof using equal angles.

Step 2: Plan the proof. The angle at D and the angle at Y are corresponding
angles. So are the angles at E and Z. The angle at the top, X, is common
to both triangles. We don’t even need that third angle, but it’s good to
list if we have it.

135
 Step 3: Write the proof. Remember, this is just a list of what we know
(Statements) and why we know it (Reasons).

1. In ∆𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 and ∆𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋, ����

𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 is 1. Given
parallel to ����
𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌, and transversals
���� and ����
are 𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 .
2. ∠D ≅ ∠ Y and ∠E ≅ ∠Z 2. Corresp. ∠s ≅

3. ∠X ≅ ∠X 3. Reflex. =

4. ∴ ∆𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋~∆𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 4. AA~

That probably looks like Greek to you, so allow me to remind you of our
abbreviations.
• 1. Given means we’re just listing what we started with.
• 2. Corresp. ∠s ≅ means we’re using the Parallel Postulate, which states that
corresponding angles will be congruent.
• 3. Reflex. = means we’re using the Reflexive Property of Equality. That says
anything is equal to itself.
• 4. AA~ is our new theorem, the Angle-Angle Theorem of Similarity.

You’ll get the hang of these Mathese abbreviations as we go along. They developed
over the years because everyone got tired of writing everything out longhand.

We started today’s lesson by making a list of what we know about a Midpoint line.

D E

Y Z

136
Now we’ll finish the list.
• ����
𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 is parallel to ����
𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌
• D is the midpoint of ����
𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋
• E is the midpoint of ����
𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋
• The sides of the small triangle are half the sides of the large triangle because
of the definition of midpoint.
����
𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 1 ����
𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 1 ����
𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 1
• Short sides: ���� = ; Middle sides: ���� = ; Long sides: ����
=
𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 2 𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 2 𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌 2
• That means the midpoint line is half the length of the base of the triangle.

If we sum up everything on that list, we have the Midpoint Theorem.

List of Properties:

Midpoint Theorem: If the midpoints of two sides of a triangle are joined, the
resulting line segment is parallel to and half the length of the other side.

137
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes List of Properties: the Angle-Angle Theorem of

Similarity and the Midpoint Theorem.

2. Construct an angle bisector of an isosceles triangle by following these steps.

a. Use your straightedge and a full sheet of paper. Draw two lines that meet at a
point. Label the place they meet as point A.

b. Place the point of your compass on point A and open it wide, to exactly 5
inches. Draw an arc across both lines you drew. Label the place where the arc
meets the lines as points B and C.

c. With your straightedge, connect points B and C. You have completed an

isosceles triangle.

d. Following the steps given in yesterday’s Task 1, bisect angle A of the triangle.
Draw the line segment all the way from point A to line segment BC. Label the
point X.

e. What do you notice about the relationship between the angle bisector and the
line segment BC? Measure each line segment with your ruler and explain
whether what you noticed was true.

3. What adjective would you put with the word trapezoid to describe one that has
both slanted sides equal?

138
Day 5: Proving Congruence by Transformation

If you have siblings who’ve already taken Geometry, you might know that the heart
of the course is proving that triangles are congruent. That’s pretty useful if you’re
an engineer building a bridge with about 7269 triangles in it, don’t you think?
Unfortunately, it comes with a whole alphabet soup of theorems to remember, so
let’s start with something we already know.

Back in Unit 3, we talked about transformations, which move shapes while keeping
them similar or congruent. The congruent ones are rigid transformations because
the shape is completely unchanged. (There’s that word again: rigid. We know that
triangles are rigid shapes, too, because if the sides are the same, the angles can’t be
changed.)

Let’s review the transformation vocabulary.

• Similar ~ same angles
• Congruent ≅ same size and angles
• Reflect = flip ≅ congruent
• Translate = slide ≅ congruent
• Rotate = turn ≅ congruent
• Dilate = scale (shrink/expand) ~ similar

Today, we’re going to prove two triangles are congruent by transforming them.

Task 1: Given that ∆𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 and ∆𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽 are constructed with equal sides (blue and
red) and an equal included angle (∠𝑥𝑥), prove that they are congruent by
rigid transformations.

139
 Step 1: Slide ∆𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 up and to the right so that point P maps to point J.
(Remember, mapping happens when we make points match.)

Step 2: Rotate ∆𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 around point P/J until the sides line up.

Step 3: Now every part of ∆𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 and ∆𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽 line up exactly, so we can say that
∆𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 ≅ ∆𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽.

If we wrote our conclusions in standard proof format, it might look like this:

1. ����
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 ≅ ���
𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽 , ���� � , 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 ∠P ≅ ∠ J 1. Given
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 ≅ 𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽

2. ∠P maps to ∠ J 2. Translation

3. ∆𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 maps to ∆𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽 3. Rotation

4. ∴ ∆𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 ≅ ∆JKL 4. Rigid Transformations

140
Notice that with the original construction, we made the sides and included angle
equal. The rest of the triangle just came along for the ride as we slid and rotated,
and yet it ended up being congruent as well. That’s the very first theorem we have
to memorize, and the start of our whole congruent triangle journey: the Side-Angle-
Side Theorem.

Just like the Angle-Angle Theorem of Similarity, all of the congruence theorems are
named for the sides and angles that are equal. That gives us a whole alphabet soup
of S’s and A’s, so it helps to remember that the order matters.

There are three sides and three angles in a triangle. Image you’re walking around
the perimeter of the shape, starting at the first part that you know is congruent.
Name off the parts in order as you walk. If you get to a part that you don’t know is
congruent, you have to start over. Those parts you name off become the sides and
angles that the theorems are named for. So let’s look at our triangles again and see
what we’ll call this theorem.

In simple terms, we can start at point Q or K, walk down the red side, cross over the
green angle, and walk up the blue side. We described that as “two sides and the
included angle,” but it’s really Side-Angle-Side, or SAS. That becomes the name of
the theorem, too. One word of warning: not all combinations of sides and angles
give us congruent triangles, so be patient as we work through these one at a time.

List of Properties:
Side-Angle-Side Theorem: If triangles have two sides and the included
angle congruent, then the triangles are congruent. Abbreviation: SAS.

141
By no means is this mathematics course a class on Bible theology, but we know that
in all things, “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). I believe the
character of the Creator is reflected in creation. Studying the natural world, even in
mathematics, can let us discover those. It’s like going on an Easter egg hunt, only
for something of much greater value. So here’s the “Easter egg” I discovered with
triangles.

We learned that triangles are the only rigid shape. We can count on triangles in
construction like no other polygon on earth.

God is a Holy Trinity. We can count on the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit like no one
else in the universe.

• Malachi 3:6a: “For I am the LORD, I change not…”

• Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

• 1 John 5:7: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

There are any number of other Bible verses on the same topic, but all of them lead
me to exclaim with the prophet Jeremiah:

• Jeremiah 10:6a: “…There is none like unto thee, O Lord…”

142
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes List of Properties: The SAS Theorem.

2. a. Draw a triangle. Construct a congruent triangle on the other side of its base, so
that the base is shared between both triangles. (In other words, create a
reflection of the triangle below it.)

b. What shape have you drawn?

c. What do you observe about the diagonals?

3. Given the following diagram, find values using the Midpoint Theorem from
yesterday.

X ���� is 8 in, how long is �����

a. If 𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 ?
x
M m n N b. If 𝑚𝑚∠𝑥𝑥 = 55 and 𝑚𝑚∠n = 42, find 𝑚𝑚∠y.

Y y z Z ���� is 9 in, how long is ����

c. If 𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 𝑁𝑁𝑁𝑁 ?

M is the midpoint of ����

𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 .
N is the midpoint of ����
𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 .

Assignment continues on the next page.

143
4. Draw a triangle, and extend one side to form an exterior angle. Using what you
already know about the sum of the angles in a triangle and the definition of a
straight line, design a formal proof for the following:
A
a

b c y
B C

Given ∆ 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐶𝐶 with exterior ∠ 𝑦𝑦, prove that ∠ 𝑦𝑦 equals the sum of ∠ 𝑎𝑎 and ∠ 𝑏𝑏.

1. 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 ∠y and ∆ 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 1. Given

2. 𝑚𝑚∠𝑦𝑦 =_________________ 2. Definition of _____________

3. ___________= 𝑚𝑚∠𝑎𝑎 + 𝑚𝑚∠𝑏𝑏 3. ________________________

4. ∴ _____________________ 4. _____________ property of =

(Note: you may either fill in the blanks on the above proof, or design another of
your own.)

144
 Week 16: Congruence Theorems

Day 1: SAS and friends

All of the congruence theorems are named for the sides and angles that are
congruent. However, there are only so many ways to combine sides and angles.

If we have two congruent sides, the angle could be between or beside. If we have
two angles, the side could be between or beside. If we have three of each, we have
either SSS or AAA.

I’m not going to list all of the combinations, though. Some of you have already
figured out that one of those spells a word that is not family-friendly. Conveniently,
that is the one combination that does not produce congruent triangles. Allow me to
demonstrate.

Example 1: Triangles with two sides and a non-included angle congruent.

It seems like everything is as it should be, until we see the alternative

solution.

Example 2: Triangles with two sides and a non-included angle congruent.

//

145
Oops! Those second two triangles aren’t congruent at all. If we start with an angle
and an adjacent side congruent, and then we try to build an opposite side that’s
congruent, we will have two options. We wouldn’t be certain which one we should
choose.

All of that goes to show we can’t ever use a Side-Side-Angle congruence because it
doesn’t work.

Now that we know what doesn’t work, let’s make a list of what does.

List of Properties:
• AA Similarity, or 𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨~
• SSS Congruence, or 𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺 ≅
• SAS Congruence, or 𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺 ≅
• ASA Congruence, or 𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨 ≅
• AAS Congruence, or 𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨 ≅

Notice, we can have two angles and a side in any order. However, if we have two
sides, the angle has to be in between them.

Meanwhile, if we have three sides congruent, the triangles are congruent. If we

have three angles congruent, the triangles are similar. (Whether you write it as
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴~ 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴~ is entirely your choice.)

Many Geometry books would make you prove all of the above theorems because
Euclid and the other Greeks wanted to create a system where everything was proved
by what came before it.

For the SSS Congruence Theorem, I’m going to walk you through a couple of
inductive proofs because the deductive ones use trigonometry or complicated
hypotheticals.

146
Task 1: Prove the SSS Congruence Theorem.

Step 1: The construction proof follows the steps we did back in Unit 2, which we
reviewed last week. There are only two ways we can draw this: either
above or below the longest side. It forms a kite shape, which we already
know is made of two congruent triangles when divided along the longest
diagonal.

Step 2: The transformation proof follows the steps we did yesterday to prove the
SAS congruence. All we have to do is follow the three sides as they
rotate around, instead of two sides and the included angle.

147
Task 2: Prove the AAS Congruence Theorem.

Step 1: First, we need to notice that both of these include two angles. We know
from the AA Similarity Theorem that they must be similar, and the sides
must be in the same proportion. Since one side is congruent, the sides
1
are all in a ratio of 1:1, or .
1

Step 2: Draw and label a picture for what’s given: any two angles and a side.

Notice, it doesn’t matter how we draw it. We can even spin it upside down.

Step 3: Write the proof.

��� ≅ ����
1. 𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 , ∠J ≅ ∠ P and 1. Given
∠L ≅ ∠ R

2. ∆𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽~∆𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 2. 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴~
����
𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽 1 3. Definition of congruence
3. ���� =
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 1

4.
����
𝐾𝐾𝐾𝐾
=
1
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎
���
𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿
=
1 4. Definition of similarity
����
𝑄𝑄𝑄𝑄 1 ����
𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 1

5. ���� ���� 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿

𝐾𝐾𝐾𝐾 ≅ 𝑄𝑄𝑄𝑄 � ≅ 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅
���� 5. Definition of congruence

6. ∴ ∆𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽𝐽 ≅ ∆𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 6. 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 ≅ 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 ≅

148
Task 3: Prove the ASA Congruence Theorem.

Step 1: We could redo the proof we just did, but why? Any time we have two
angles congruent, the triangles are already similar. Any time we have a
side congruent, it locks the similar triangles into a 1:1 ratio, which
means the two triangles are automatically congruent. The only thing that
matters is remembering to write the ASA and AAS in the order given in
the original problem.

Given: AAS Given: ASA

149
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes List of Properties the five similarity or congruence
theorems: AA, SSS, SAS, ASA, and AAS.

2. Below are pairs of angles. Based on the parts marked equal, choose which of the
congruence or similarity statements applies. There is one example of each.

Note: this exercise also introduces the traditional markings for angles and sides:
single, double, or triple curves for angles, and tally marks for sides.

______ SSS

______ SAS

______ ASA

______ AAS

______ AA similarity

______ Side-Side-Angle
no congruence

______ Side-Angle
no congruence

150
Day 2: Right Triangle Congruence

We just learned that Side-Side-Angle doesn’t work because the other angle and its
supplement can both fit the description.

//
180–x x x

In fact, we know that’s the angle and its supplement because the gray triangle is
isosceles. That makes its base angles equal.

But what if the angle equaled its supplement? Then the two arms of the isosceles
triangle would become one (blue arrows), and that triangle would work. All we
have to do is figure out what kind of angle that is. Since half of 180° is 90°, of
course we’re talking about a right angle.

We can’t name this concept, “Side-Side-Angle Exception,” however, because that

would be too confusing. Instead, mathematicians name it for the exact angle it
works with: a Right angle, a Hypotenuse, and a Leg: RHL.

If you think about it, using any HL (hypotenuse-leg) is the same as SSS because all
we have to do is apply the Pythagorean Theorem to find the other leg. Sometimes,
however, the lengths of the sides aren’t given. We only know the fact that they’re
equal, so we need another tactic. That’s where RHL comes in.

List of Properties:
• RHL Congruence, or 𝑹𝑹𝑹𝑹𝑹𝑹 ≅

Now we have a useful tool for our architect. In order to fill in all of the lengths on
his CAD drawing, he needs measurements that the engineers forgot to give him.

151
(CAD stands for Computer-Aided Design.) He does know, however, the following
information from the blueprints. Does he know enough about this bay window to
fill in the missing measurements? Remember, anything that’s off by more than a
fraction of an inch could ruin the building.

90°

4 ft x
45° 45°

3 ft 1 in 5 ft y
90°
z1 z
Looking at how this is drawn, you can probably guess the answer, but our architect
has to know for sure. So let’s walk through each measurement, step by step.

By the way, the white parts of the blueprint are the actual walls and windows. (X is
a window; Y is a wall; Z is open to the rest of the room.) The gray lines show where
the measurements start and end. Let’s focus on just the triangles.

4 ft x
45° 45°
+ +
3 ft 1 in 5 ft y
90°
z1 z

152
Do we know enough about these triangles to say that they are equal?
• The marked 90° angle is a linear pair with the other triangle, so we have two
right angles.
• The top angle in both triangles is 45°.
• The 5 ft side is only marked on the left side, but it is a shared side with the
triangle on the right. Since a common side is always equal to itself, both
triangles have a 5 ft side.

5 ft 5 ft

These are right triangles, so you might suspect that we would use the RHL (Right
Angle-Hypotenuse-Leg) Congruency, but notice that we do not have the hypotenuse
listed. Instead, we have ASA Congruency (Angle-Side-Angle) because a right angle
is always equal to another right angle.

That’s plenty to be able to say that these triangles are congruent. You might also
notice they are 45-45-90 right triangles, which means that both legs of both
triangles are equal, and the hypotenuse should be the leg times √2. If we check that,
we find that 5√2 = 7.07 ft, which is about 7 ft, 1 in. That equals the sum of the two
parts: 4 ft + 3 ft 1 in.

The architect’s final measurements are z= 5 ft, z1= 5 ft, x= 4 ft and y = 3 ft 1 in.

153
We need write another tool on our list of properties, and it’s something so obvious
that only a mathematician would think to write it down. You see, if triangles are
congruent, we can’t just say, “Okay, then all the parts are congruent.” We have to
be very specific about which parts.

List of Properties:

Corresponding Parts of Congruent Triangles are Congruent.

Abbreviation: CPCTC.

That’s why we spent so much time in yesterday’s assignment, figuring out which of
the sides and angles matched up. The ones that matched up, in the same order and
next to the same other parts, are the ones that were congruent. In Mathese, we call
them corresponding parts because they occupy the same position in both triangles.

Once we know the triangles are congruent, all of the other corresponding parts will
be congruent, too.

One final note about common sides and angles. If two shapes are back-to-back with
one side shared between them, the common side is congruent. If one shape is inside
the other, any common angle will be congruent.
))

Common side Common angle

List of Properties:
Common sides or angles are congruent. Abbreviation: common.

154
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes List of Properties: RHL, CPCTC, and Common.

2. Are these triangles congruent? Similar? How do you know? Use abbreviations.
Be sure to notice common sides, vertical angles, or alternate interior angles.

a. b.

c. d.

)) (
)) (

3. Find the measurement of the angles marked with letters.

a. b.
a b c 50

40 25 d e f g

4. In figure 3a., combine the obtuse angles of the parallelogram:

a. ∠𝑎𝑎 + ∠𝑏𝑏 = _______________ b. ∠𝑑𝑑 + 25° = ___________

c. What happens when you add an obtuse angle with an acute angle of the
parallelogram? ∠𝑎𝑎 + ∠𝑏𝑏 + ∠𝑐𝑐 = _______________

155
Day 3: Isosceles Triangle Properties

One of the common shapes you’ll see in construction, diagrams, or other planning is
an isosceles triangle. If our architect from yesterday had noticed, even his right
triangles were isosceles.

Our definition of isosceles states that it has two equal sides. We mentioned it also
has two equal angles, but at the time, you were just taking my word for it. Let’s see
if we can prove that fact, instead.

Task: Prove that the angles opposite the congruent sides of an isosceles triangle
are also congruent.

Step 1: Draw and label a picture. To find angles that are opposite sides, simply
draw an imaginary arrow from the angle to the side facing it (or vice
versa).
A

B C

Step 2: Draw and label the midpoint of ����

𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 .

A
///

B / D / C

Step 3: Because we chose the midpoint of ����

𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 , each half is equal. Since the
common side is also equal, we now have two congruent triangles.

156
 Step 4: Write the proof: In isosceles ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴, prove ∠B ≅ ∠C

1. ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 1. Given
2. Draw a line from ∠A to the 2. Construction
midpoint of ����
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 .

3 ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 3. Reflexive property of equality

4. ����
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 ≅ ����
𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 4. Definition of midpoint

5. ∴ ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 5. SSS ≅

6. ∴ ∠B ≅ ∠C 6. CPCTC (corresponding parts of

congruent triangles are congruent)

Here’s a practical application of our newfound skill. Back in Week 13, Day 1, we
used isosceles triangles to find the volume of a pyramid. I promised you then that
we would prove that property in a later chapter. Well, the time has come.

From Week 13:

Draw just the base and mark its sides and height.

6 cm 6 cm
h

3 cm 3 cm
Note: the bottom base is split in half by the height.
We will prove this in a later chapter.

What we need to prove now is very similar to what we just did, except this time, we
have to prove that the line we drew to the midpoint is perpendicular to the base in
order to be the height. Let’s copy our proof so far and see if we can extend it.

157
Here’s what we just wrote in Step 4, so it’s all on one page:

1. ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 1. Given
2. Draw a line from ∠A to the 2. Construction
midpoint of ����
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 .

3 ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 3. Reflexive property of equality

4. ����
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 ≅ ����
𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 4. Definition of midpoint

5. ∴ ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 5. SSS ≅

6. ∴ ∠𝐵𝐵 ≅ ∠𝐶𝐶 6. CPCTC (corresponding parts of

congruent triangles are congruent)

A
///

B / D / C

Step 5: We only need a few more lines to finish our proof that ���� ���� .
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ⊥ 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵

7. ∠𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ∠𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 7. CPCTC

8. 𝑚𝑚∠𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 + 𝑚𝑚∠𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = 180° 8. Definition of linear pair

9. 𝑚𝑚∠𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 + 𝑚𝑚∠𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = 180° 9. Substitution property of =

10. 𝑚𝑚∠𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = 𝑚𝑚∠𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = 90° 10. Algebra; Transitive prop. =

11. ∴ ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ⊥ ����
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 11. Definition of perpendicular

158
We could use the same tactic to prove everything in reverse, but let’s save that for
homework. Instead, we’ll list what we now know about isosceles triangles. After
all, every time we go to the trouble of proving something, we get to put that in our
tool box to use later.

Isosceles Triangle Definitions:

The base angles of an isosceles triangle are the angles opposite the congruent
sides.
The base of an isosceles triangle is the side between the base angles.
The height of an isosceles triangle is drawn perpendicular to the base side,
connecting it to the third angle.

List of Properties:

Isosceles Triangle Theorems: Abbreviation: Isosceles

• If a triangle has two congruent sides, the base angles are congruent.
• If the base angles are congruent, then the opposite sides are congruent.
• The height of the triangle (⊥) bisects the base side (at its midpoint).

159
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes definitions page: Isosceles Triangle Definitions:

Base angle, Base, and Height.
Add to your List of Properties the three Isosceles Triangle Theorems.

2. Using steps similar to those in the lesson, prove that if the base angles of a
triangle are equal, the triangle must be isosceles (opposite sides equal).

a. Finish the drawing and mark sides and angles that you know are equal,
including perpendiculars.

B D C

1. ____________________ 1. Given

2. Draw line segment ����

𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ⊥ to line 2. Construction
segment ______________

3. �����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ _________ 3. Reflexive property of equality

4. . 𝑚𝑚∠𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = 𝑚𝑚∠𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = _____° 4. Definition of _______________

5. ∴ ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 5. __________________ ≅

6. ∴ ����
AB ≅ ___________ 6. ________ (corresponding parts of
congruent triangles are congruent)

160
Day 4: Heron’s Formula for Area

This unit began with a perplexing problem.

An architect is designing a model home. Included in the blueprints are

odd corner closets in the utility room. The sides of each closet are not
at right angles, but he knows the lengths of all three sides. How can he
find the square footage of the closet without knowing the height of the
triangle?

Those closets in utility room (on the left) are a little hard to see on the drawing, so
let’s enlarge them.
Closet 1: Closet 2:
28 in 41 in

36 in 34 in
42 in 56 in

161
Neither one of these closets has an exact measurement for the triangle height, so
there are two other ways the architect can solve this. One uses a formula, and one
uses trigonometry. Let’s learn the formula first because it’s a very useful thing to
know.

Formula:
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = �𝑠𝑠(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑎𝑎)(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑏𝑏)(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑐𝑐 )
1
where 𝑠𝑠 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃
2

1 1
Okay, so I get where the comes from: that’s similar to the 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏ℎ formula we
2 2
already know. The square root probably has something to do with the Pythagorean
Theorem. But this is one time I’ll admit: unless you memorize the formula, you
won’t reinvent it by yourself. Let’s just agree to look it up when we want to use it.

Here’s how it works:

Task 1: Find the area of a triangle with sides of 6 inches, 7 inches, and 11
inches.

Step 1: Find the Perimeter and take half (the semiperimeter). (This also uses a
small s, like the slant height. You’ll have to remember which is which.)
𝑃𝑃 = 6 + 7 + 11 = 24 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒
1
𝑠𝑠 = 𝑃𝑃 = 12 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒
2

Step 2: Substitute all of the values into the formula.

𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = �12(12 − 6)(12 − 7)(12 − 11)

Step 3: Simplify and solve.

𝐴𝐴 = �12(6)(5)(1) = √360 = 6√10 ≈ 19 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2

162
Well, that seems to work. Let’s test it on a triangle we already know and see if we
can get the same answer both ways.

Task 2: Find the area of a triangle with sides of 5 inches, 12 inches, and 13
inches using both formulas.

Step 1: Recognize that 5, 12 and 13 are a Pythagorean Triple. The base and
height are 12 inches and 5 inches.
1 1
𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏ℎ = (5)(12) = 30 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2
2 2

Step 2: Use the other formula. Find the perimeter first.

1
𝑃𝑃 = 5 + 12 + 13 = 30 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖; 𝑠𝑠 = 𝑃𝑃 = 15 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒
2
𝐴𝐴 = �15(15 − 5)(15 − 12)(15 − 13)
𝐴𝐴 = √15 ∙ 10 ∙ 3 ∙ 2 = √900 = √9 ∙ √100 = 3 ∙ 10 = 30 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2

It works! Let’s try it on Closet 2, and you can try it on Closet 1 in your homework.

Task 3: Find the area of a triangular closet with sides of 34 inches, 41 inches, and
56 inches.
1
𝑃𝑃 = 34 + 41 + 56 = 131 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒; 𝑠𝑠 = 𝑃𝑃 = 65.5 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒
2
𝐴𝐴 = �65.5(65.5 − 34)(65.5 − 41)(65.5 − 56)
𝐴𝐴 = �65.5(31.5)(24.5)(9.5)
𝐴𝐴 ≈ 693 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2

A little backstory to this formula: It was first published in 60 AD by Heron of

Alexandria, Egypt. Since he wrote it in a collection of known math facts, it was
probably known for much longer. In learning this formula, you’re learning
something that goes all the way back to the time of Christ. How’s that for cool?

163
Assignment

1. Add Heron’s triangle formula to your Geometry Notes 2-D formulas page:
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = �𝑠𝑠(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑎𝑎)(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑏𝑏)(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑐𝑐 )

2. Find the area of these triangles twice, using both formulas to check your work:
1
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = �𝑠𝑠(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑎𝑎)(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑏𝑏)(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑐𝑐 ) and 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏ℎ.
2

a. Triangle with sides measuring 8 cm, 15 cm, and 17 cm. (Hint: If there’s no
height given, you should automatically check the Pythagorean Theorem to see
if it’s a right triangle.)

b. Triangular yard with sides measuring 36 ft, 77 ft, and 85 ft.

c. Triangle with sides measuring 9 in, 13 in, and 15 in. Internal height measured
to the longest side is approximately 7 ¾ in. (Use 7.7554 for your calculator.)

3. Use Heron’s Formula to calculate the size of the first closet from today’s lesson.

Closet 1:
28 in

36 in
42 in

164
Day 5: Triangle Geometry = Trigonometry

Heron’s formula isn’t the only way you can calculate a triangle’s area.

Trigonometry uses triangles and Geometry.

It’s almost a portmanteau: a word that packs
both its original words into one suitcase.
(Other examples include telethon, camcorder,
and ironically, suitcase.)

We won’t go over the finer points here, but

it’s important to introduce the relationships
used in trigonometry.

Every acute angle in a right triangle has a leg that is opposite it, as well as a leg that
is adjacent to it. The acute angles are also next to the hypotenuse, but we don’t call
the hypotenuse adjacent—just the legs.

Example 1: Angle x below has the following relationships with the sides of a right
triangle.
x
Adjacent Hypotenuse

Opposite

Example 2: Angle y below has the following relationships with the sides of the
same right triangle.

Opposite Hypotenuse
y
Adjacent

165
Notice that the hypotenuse stays the same: it’s always the longest side, opposite the
right angle. Just the words “Adjacent” and “Opposite” switch places because those
are related to whichever acute angle you’re talking about. Adjacent is always the
side next to it, and opposite is always the side across from it.

Trigonometry uses those relationships to create ratios, called the sine, cosine and
tangent of an angle.

Geometry Facts:
𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 ∠𝑥𝑥 =
ℎ𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑗𝑗𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 ∠𝑥𝑥 =
ℎ𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦
𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 ∠𝑥𝑥 =
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎

Fortunately, scientific calculators already

have those ratios programmed into them. All
we have to do is push the right buttons.

So let’s consider a random triangle. If we know two sides and the included angle
(SAS), we can use the calculator to find the area. The rule is, take half the two sides
multiplied, times the sine of the included angle.

Formula:
1
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴(∆ 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆) = (𝑆𝑆 ∙ 𝑆𝑆) 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝐴𝐴
2

Remember, this only works with SAS triangles. You have to know two sides and
the included angle. (The abbreviation for sine is sin. Fewer letters makes it easier to
fit on the calculator keys.)

166
Example 1:
35°
7 in 5 in

1
𝐴𝐴 = 7 ∙ 5 ∙ 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 35°
2
To do this on the calculator, work backward. Type the following:
35 sin × 5 × 7 ÷ 2 =
The answer should be about 10.0 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 , rounded to one decimal place.

Example 2:
70°
11 cm

14.55 cm
This is not an SAS triangle because the angle is not included between the
given sides. It cannot be solved with this formula.

Example 3:
70°
11 cm 14 cm

This is an SAS triangle. Use the formula.

1 1
𝐴𝐴 = 𝑆𝑆 ∙ 𝑆𝑆 ∙ 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝐴𝐴 = 11 ∙ 14 ∙ 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 70°
2 2
Type this into the calculator, working backward:
70 sin × 14 × 11 ÷ 2 =
2
The answer should be about 72.4 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚 , rounded.

167
Assignment

1. Add the Trigonometry triangle formula to your Geometry Notes 2-D formulas
1
page: 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴(∆ 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆) = (𝑆𝑆 ∙ 𝑆𝑆) 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝐴𝐴. Write the Sine, Cosine, and Tangent
2
relationships on your Geometry facts page.

2. In your own words, describe what a sine, a cosine, and a tangent are.

3. Use the Trigonometry formula to find the areas of the following:

a. Isosceles triangle with equal legs of 7 inches and an included angle of 50°.

b. Obtuse scalene triangle with sides of 8 ft and 12 ft, with an included angle of
about 95°.

c. Right triangle with legs of 8 cm and 15 cm, and non-included angle of about
28°. (There’s a trick here. Can you find it?)

4. The architect from yesterday’s lesson used his protractor to measure the angle at
the back of each closet. Use the Trigonometry formula to check the areas he got
from Heron’s Formula. Was he right?

Closet 1: Closet 2:
28 in 41 in
Angle 81°→
←Angle 96°
36 in 34 in
42 in 56 in
Heron’s area: ≈ 498 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 Heron’s area: ≈ 693 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2

168
 Week 17: Review

Day 1: Under Construction

This unit spent a lot of time making constructions, which is Mathese for copying
shapes with only a compass and straightedge. Instead of reviewing every single type
of construction we did, I’d like you to focus on what they had in common.

Every single time, we began by measuring something with an arc. That’s how
constructions measure: by making an arc with a compass.

If that weren’t enough, we’d make another arc from another point, and draw a line
where the two arcs cross. This isn’t done at random. There are some parallel
techniques going on here.

Example 1: Bisect a line segment.

Make an arc from each endpoint.
Draw a line to connect where the two arcs cross above and below the line.

Example 2: Bisect an angle.

Make an arc from the vertex.
Move the compass to where the arc crosses the rays.
Make two new arcs, one from each ray.
Draw a line to where the two arcs cross.

169
Example 3: Copy an angle.
Make an arc from the vertex, and
copy the same arc to a new line segment.
Measure the distance between the rays at that arc.
Copy that distance to the arc on the new line segment.
Draw a line to where the two arcs cross.

Example 4: Make parallel lines.

Draw a transversal.
Make an arc. Copy that arc to another point on the transversal.
Measure the distance between the sides of the angle at that arc.
Copy that distance to the new arc.
Draw a line to where the two arcs cross.

In each case, we’re repeating some of the same steps:

• Make an arc.
• Copy that arc.
• Make a new set of arcs.
• Draw a line to where two arcs cross.

If you get the hang of the process, it makes it easier to remember what to do. Every
construction builds on those principles.

170
Assignment

1. Make the following constructions with your straightedge and compass.

a. Construct a triangle with sides measuring 9 cm, 17 cm, and 20 cm.

b. Draw an angle and bisect it.

c. Draw a line segment. Place a point approximately 2 inches above it, and draw a
parallel line through that point.

2. Write down three of the following triangle descriptors for each shape.
Right Obtuse Equilateral Scalene
Acute Equiangular Isosceles Rigid

a. b. c.

//
//

d. e. f.

3. Find the measure of ∠x:

61

a. b. c. x
35
82
42 x
x

171
Day 2: Suitcase theorems

Portmanteau words combine two meanings into one word, like suitcase (a case for
suits). Theorems can pack even more meaning into one compact statement. We saw
that demonstrated with the Midpoint Theorem:

Midpoint Theorem: If the midpoints of two sides of a triangle are joined,

the resulting line segment is parallel to and half the length of the other side.

In fact, we know that the midpoint line segment is half the length of the base
because 1) the two triangles are similar and 2) the midpoint is halfway between the
two endpoints.

D E

Y Z

1
���� ∥ ����
𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 ���� =
𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌 ; 𝑚𝑚𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 ����
𝑚𝑚𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌
2
∆𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 ~∆𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋
We also know that, because of the parallel lines cut by transversals XY or XZ, the
acute angles at D and E are equal to the angles at Y and Z. That’s a whole lot of
information packed into a single Midpoint Theorem!

This connects quite nicely with some things you learned last school year in
Algebra 1. The problem is mathematicians want to prove that every single instance
of a formula will work. They use so many letter variables that the results are
completely lost on the rest of us. We’re going to do an inductive proof instead,
with a specific example, and let the mathematicians draw deductions from there.

172
You remember the Cartesian coordinate plane from Unit 3, right? Let’s draw a
triangle with endpoints at A (0, 0), B (6, 0), and C (8, 6).

●C

A● ●B

���� and ����

Next we need to find the midpoints of 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 . Of course Algebra has a formula
for that, but we’ll use words instead: find the average x value and the average y
value between the two points.
Start Midpoint End
A (0, 0) Average: (4, 3) C (8, 6)
B (6, 0) Average: (7, 3) C (8, 6)

To make your Algebra teacher happy, I do have to mention: that’s exactly what the
formula does. It adds the x values and divides by 2. It adds the y values and divides
by 2. We know that’s an average, so connecting the two concepts makes the
formula more tolerable.

Here’s where our Midpoint Theorem comes in. Let’s connect the average midpoints
we just found, and label them points X (4, 3) and Y (7, 3).

173
 ●C

X● ●Y

A● ●B

The first thing we can notice is that ���� ���� , so they are
𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 is a horizontal line, just like 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴
automatically parallel. We also notice that the length of ����
𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 is 3, exactly half the
length of ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 (6).

The other thing we need to investigate is the area of the triangles. We know that the
ratio of the sides is 1:2. If we squared that, we’d get 12: 22 = 1: 4. Is that true for
these triangles? Let’s calculate!

1
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 ∆𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋: 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 = 3, ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ𝑡𝑡 = 3, 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑑𝑑 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏ℎ = 4.5.
2
1
𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴: 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 = 6, ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ𝑡𝑡 = 6, 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏ℎ = 18
2
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 4(4.5) = 18, 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑎𝑎 1: 4 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟.

Now, if we turned the triangle on its side and made the same calculations for each
side, we’d find the same areas for each of these small triangles.
●C
1
X● ●Y
4
2 3
A● ●B

174
And since ∆1 ≅ ∆2 ≅ ∆3, they must be ≅ ∆4 as well, because each one
represents a quarter of the whole.

In fact, we know that all of the triangles are similar, too, because each is similar to
the large triangle. The center one just flipped over.
∆1~ ∆2~∆3 ~∆4~∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴

List of Properties:
Midpoint Theorem Corollary: Connecting the midpoints of all three sides
of a triangle produces four small congruent triangles similar to the original.

As I said, that’s a whole lot of information packed into one Midpoint Theorem!

The Isosceles Triangle Theorem is another “suitcase theorem.” Whether we know

the sides are equal, or the base angles are equal, it gives us a whole lot of
information about the triangle. We even know that the ⊥ height of the triangle
bisects both the base side and the apex angle. Why? Because it creates two
congruent triangles.

The only thing left to do is use CPCTC. (Say that three times fast!) Since CPCTC
(corresponding parts of congruent triangles are congruent), the top angle is also
bisected!

That’s a lot of information to review, so let’s pack our bags and break for a
homework assignment.

175
Assignment

1. Add to your Geometry Notes List of Properties: Midpoint Theorem Corollary.

2. Find the sides marked with letters, using the Midpoint or Isosceles Theorems:

a. 10 in b.
y
z 3 in a h b
x
8 in w 60°
5 cm d

3. Given that the Area of the center triangle in equilateral triangle ∆𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋𝑋 below is
50√3 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 , find the Area of the entire triangle and the length of each side.

Y Z

Assignment continues on the next page.

176
 C

A D B

4. Given isosceles triangle ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 above, prove that the height bisects ∠ 𝐶𝐶.

1. ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 is isosceles 1. ________________

���� ≅ 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵
2. ∴ ∠𝐴𝐴 = ∠𝐵𝐵 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ���� 2. Definition of _______________

3. Draw the height of ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ⊥ �����

𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴. 3. Construction.

4. 𝑚𝑚∠𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = 𝑚𝑚∠𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 = ________ 4. Definition of _______________

5. ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ∆𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 5. ________________

6. ∴ ∠𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ∠𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 6. ________________

177
Day 3: Triangulate Areas Three Ways

We now have three different strategies to find the area of triangles.

For our basic formula, we have to know the base and perpendicular height:
1
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = 𝑏𝑏ℎ
2

For Heron’s formula, we have to know the lengths of all three sides:
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = �𝑠𝑠(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑎𝑎)(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑏𝑏)(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑐𝑐 )
1
where 𝑠𝑠 = 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃
2
Notice the small s in Heron’s formula is different than the big S in the next one.
Lowercase s = semiperimeter. Uppercase S = Side (from the Side-Angle-Side
relationship).

For the Trigonometry formula, we have to know two sides and the included angle:
1
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴(∆ 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆) = (𝑆𝑆 ∙ 𝑆𝑆) 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝐴𝐴
2

We learned that sine, cosine and tangent are ratios related to the acute triangles.
𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 ∠𝑥𝑥 =
ℎ𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 ∠𝑥𝑥 =
ℎ𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦
𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 ∠𝑥𝑥 =
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎

So here’s the question: if the included angle we know is the right angle, will the
formula still work? Happily, the answer is yes. Even though it’s impossible for an
acute angle to be 90°, mathematicians observed something special about the sine as
the angle approaches 90°: in other words, they looked at angles 85°, 86°, 87°, 88°,
and 89°.

178
 85° 86° 87° 88° 89° 90°

What they noticed was, the closer the angle got to 90°, the closer the two sides
came to being the same length. That’s how they came up with a value of 1 for the
sine of 90° because any number divided by itself is one.
𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 (1)
𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 90° = =1
ℎ𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦 (1)

By the way, that is the same reason why the cosine of 90° is zero: because the
adjacent side gets smaller and smaller until it disappears. Zero divided by anything
is zero.
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑡𝑡 (0)
𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 90° = =0
ℎ𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦

That’s also how we know the tangent of 90° is undefined because anything divided
by zero is not a real number.

𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜
𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 90° = = 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 (0)

Try it now. Type 90 into the buttons of your scientific calculator, then push the tan
button. You should get an error message.

Now type 90 and push the cos button. You should get a value of zero.

Finally, type 90 and push the sin button. You should get a value of 1.

That means we have a special case for right triangles. The angle between the two
shorter sides of the triangle is the 90° right angle. Those shorter sides are also the

179
base and height of the triangle because the right angle creates a perpendicular
height. Let’s put those values into the Trigonometry formula.

1
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴(∆ 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆) = (𝑆𝑆 ∙ 𝑆𝑆) 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝐴𝐴
2

We know that one side is the base and the other is the height. The angle is 90°.
1
𝐴𝐴 = (𝑏𝑏 ∙ ℎ) 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 90°
2

Since the sine of 90° equals 1, we are left with:

1
𝐴𝐴 = (𝑏𝑏 ∙ ℎ).
2

Voilà! That forms a Trigonometry proof of our original Area formula! I love it
when facts confirm each other.

180
Assignment

1. Draw each triangle below, choose the best formula, and find its area. Round all
answers to one decimal place.

a. Right triangle with a leg measuring 7 cm and a hypotenuse of 41 cm.

b. Isosceles triangle with two equal sides measuring 7 cm and included angle 42°.

c. Obtuse triangle with sides of 13 in, 20 in, and 29 in.

d. Equilateral triangle with sides measuring 12 ft.

e. Scalene triangle with sides of 12 cm, 19 cm, and 21 cm.

2. An isosceles triangle has base angles measuring 45°. Its short sides measure 10
cm. Calculate the height from the apex angle to the longest side. Find its area all
three ways.

181
Day 4: Congruency Proofs

Just as every construction follows a pattern, every proof will follow a pattern, too.
• Identify parallel and perpendicular lines.
• Identify equal angles and right angles.
• Identify equal sides.
• Identify congruent triangles and corresponding parts.

That’s why we have learned so many theorems about how to prove triangles
congruent or similar.
• AA Similarity, or 𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨~
• SSS Congruence, or 𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺 ≅
• SAS Congruence, or 𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺 ≅
• ASA Congruence, or 𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨 ≅
• AAS Congruence, or 𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨 ≅
• RHL Congruence, or 𝑹𝑹𝑹𝑹𝑹𝑹 ≅
• CPCTC for corresponding parts
• Common sides or angles

There are several things you should remember, though.

First, when you’re checking for angle and side congruence, you have to make sure
they are in the same order.

AAS congruence: No congruence:

Starting from the arrow, this is This has the marked side
Angle – Angle – Side congruence. in the wrong order.

182
You also can’t assume that every right triangle listed has RHL congruence.
Sometimes it will be SAS or AAS/ASA:

Congruent by ASA: Congruent by SAS:

Finally, don’t forget to include common sides or angles in your proofs:

))
Common side Common angle

Example: Prove ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴.

A

B D C

Step 1: Make a plan.

• We could mark ����𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 as a common side. We can recognize this as an
isosceles triangle, so the perpendicular height bisects the base. That means
���� ���� . That would give us SSS congruence.
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 ≅ 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷
• Also using the isosceles definition, we could mark ∠𝐵𝐵 ≅ ∠𝐶𝐶. Since both
sides of ∠𝐷𝐷 are 90°, those are equal, giving us AAS congruence.

183
 • The isosceles definition also means ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 bisects the angles at vertex A,
leaving other possibilities for congruency open as well.

Step 2: Write a proof. (We’ll use a completely different possibility.)

A

B D C

1. ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ; 𝑚𝑚∠𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 = 90° 1. Given

2. 𝑚𝑚∠𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 = 𝑚𝑚∠𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 = 90° 2. Definition of linear pair

3 ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 3. Common side

4. ∴ ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 4. RHL ≅

Remember, there’s more than one way to paint a picture!

184
Assignment

1. Study the triangles and decide which of the congruency or similarity theorems to
use in a proof: SAS ≅, SSS ≅, AAS or ASA ≅, RHL ≅ or AA~.

a. b.

c. d.

2. Prove ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ∆𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶

A B

D C

1. ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ∥ ����
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 ; 1. ____________________
𝑚𝑚∠𝐷𝐷 = 𝑚𝑚∠𝐵𝐵 = 90°

2. ∠𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 ≅ ∠_______________ 2. ___________________ angles

���� ≅ 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴
3. 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ���� 3. _________________ side

4. ∴ ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ∆𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 4. __________________

185
Day 5: Unit 7 Quiz

1. Using letters a-f, put the steps in order to construct a line parallel to ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴.

_____ Measure the distance between the sides of the angle.

_____ Make an arc.
_____ Copy the distance to the new arc.
_____ Copy the arc to another point on the transversal.
_____ Draw a transversal.
_____ Draw a line to where two arcs cross.

2. Match each drawing to a correct description of the triangle.

a. b. c.

//
//

d. e. f.

_____ Scalene right triangle _____ Acute isosceles triangle

_____ Obtuse scalene triangle _____ Isosceles right triangle
_____ Equilateral triangle _____ Obtuse isosceles triangle

3. The area of central triangle ∆𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 of this figure is 6 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚2. ����

𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 is 4 cm. Find the
following: A
a. Area of trapezoid 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷: _____
b. Area of ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴: _____ D E
c. Sides of ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴: _____ , _____ , _____
B /// F /// C
d. Sides of ∆𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷: _____ , _____ , _____

186
4. State how you know the following triangles are congruent. Use the abbreviations
SAS, ASA, AAS, SSS, or RHL.

a. b.

c. d.

5. An equilateral triangle has one side equal to 10 cm. Calculate the height of the
triangle, and then show how to calculate the area of the triangle all three ways.
Keep any radicals in simplest form until the very end, and then round your
answer to one decimal place.

A
���� ≅ 𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷
6. Prove that 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ����.
B C

1. ∠𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ∠𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷; 1. ____________________

∠𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ∠𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷
���� ≅ 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵
2. 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 ���� 2. ____________________
3. ∆𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ∆𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 3. ____________________
4. ����
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ ����
𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 4. ____________________

187
 Week 18: Semester Review

Day 1: Shape Formulas

The focus of this semester has been to equip you with knowledge that will be useful
in multiple real-life situations. These are skills you shouldn’t just learn for the test
and then forget because you’ll never know when they will come in handy. That
said, let’s spend some time this week reviewing some MIPs: Most Important Points.

MIP 1: Dimensional Awareness

You earned a bonus at work right before you took the family to the county fair.
Walking by the spa tent was just too tempting to resist, and you are seriously eyeing
a new model hot tub. The salesperson tells you it’s a spacious 2,500 square inches.
Did he give you an estimate of the base area, the surface area, or the volume? What
does that work out to be in feet? (That would give you a better view of whether it
will fit into your back yard.) No one expects you to work it out without a calculator,
but since you already have one on your phone, you now have the tools you need.

Step 1: The salesperson gave you a number in square inches. That means it’s
area (2 dimensions), not perimeter (1 dimension) or volume (3-D). Ask
him whether that’s the total base area, or if it’s the surface area.

Step 2: Assuming it’s base area and the hot tub base is a square, work out the
length of one side.
𝐴𝐴 = 2500 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖2 = 𝑏𝑏ℎ
𝑏𝑏(𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠) = √2500 = √25 ∙ √100 = 5 ∙ 10 = 50 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖

Step 3: Convert the side of the square into feet.

50 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 1 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓
𝑏𝑏 = ∙ = 4 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓, 2 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
1 12 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖

188
You’ve got a spot on your back deck that measures exactly 4 feet square, so you
now have enough information to know that this hot tub won’t fit. Time to move on
before you spend money!

MIP 2: Perimeter and Area

Our focus this semester has been on learning guiding principles instead of
memorizing a list of formulas.
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 ∙ ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ𝑡𝑡

Of course, that came with a few tweaks we have to do here and there. First, the area
principle is basically for quadrilaterals—or anything we can divide up into quads. If
the corners are square, it’s even easier. There are just a few adjustments to make for
less common shapes.

Separate into height is Triangle is half a Average the ⊥ diagonals

two pieces. perpendicular. parallelogram. bases first. make triangles.
1 1
𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏1 ℎ1 +𝑏𝑏2 ℎ2 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏ℎ 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏ℎ 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑏𝑏ℎ 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑑𝑑1 𝑑𝑑2
2 2

MIP 3: Volume

We had two major types of shapes we considered. The first set had parallel,
congruent shapes as the top and bottom bases. Those were called either prisms (if
the bases were polygons) or cylinders (if the bases were circles). They had the
same formula for volume. The formula still held true even if the shape were oblique
(pushed over at a slant).
𝑉𝑉 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ

189
 h h h h

Triangular prism Irregular prism Cylinder Oblique prism

𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵ℎ 𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵ℎ 𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵ℎ 𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵ℎ

The second major type of shape we covered came to a point at the top, called the
apex. They were either pyramids (with polygons at the base) or cones (with circles
at the base). In every case, because volume is 3-dimensional, we multiplied the
1
volume by (or divided by 3, which is the same thing).
3
1
𝑉𝑉 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ
3

MIP 4: Surface Area

After we got volume into our tool belt, we went back to another important 2-
dimensional concept: surface area. You have to know that in order to estimate how
much materials will go into making a shape, whether it’s a gift box or a silo for
cattle feed.

190
We developed a couple of strategies for finding surface area, as well, because it’s
not about memorizing formulas. There are too many shapes in the universe for that.

Strategy 1: Draw a Blueprint

This involves drawing every single shape, putting the dimensions on them,
and solving each shape for its area. In general, for prisms you’ll have two
bases and a series of rectangles. For pyramids, you’ll have one base and a
series of triangles.

= 2( ) + 3( )
= 1( ) + 3( )
Since a triangle equals half a parallelogram, you can see that the second blueprint is
generally half of the first one. That should make sense because surface area is in
two dimensions. That leads us to our second strategy and a pair of formulas.

Strategy 2: Can Opener Method

Drawing out all of the shapes led us to another discovery. For prisms, we will
always need two bases. That’s like cutting the lid off the top and bottom of a
can of peaches. But the rest of the sides, if we don’t cut them apart, form a
really long rectangle with a base the length of the perimeter (or
circumference, if it’s a circle).

b= Perimeter/Circumference

191
 When we did the same with a pyramid, we noticed that again, we had two
bases, but we also had half of a rectangle. The base was the perimeter again,
and the height was the slant height of the pyramid.

s = + s

b=Perimeter or Circumference

From this, we developed two formulas. First, surface area of any right prism
or cylinder can be found by finding two base areas, plus a rectangle formed
by the perimeter and the height. For a circle, the perimeter is the
circumference.
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 = 2𝐵𝐵 + 𝑃𝑃ℎ
( 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑟𝑟 )

Second, the surface area of any right pyramid or cone can be found by taking
one base area, plus half a rectangle formed by the perimeter and the slant
height.
1
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = 𝐵𝐵 + 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃
( 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 ) 2

By recognizing basic principles, we only need to memorize a few differences

between them. In fact, even though circles deserve their own topic, we’ve already
covered the formulas for cylinders and cones!

MIP 5: Circles

We began our Geometry journey by learning that “Pie Are Square.”

192
All we really had to do was use the three dimensions to help us remember the
formulas. Remember, circumference of a circle is its perimeter, and it’s measured in
one dimension. That means neither the units nor the formula will have an exponent.

𝐶𝐶 = 2𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋: 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

𝐴𝐴 = 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2 : 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

4 3
𝑉𝑉(𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒) = 𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 : 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
3

Now, if you plan on sending a sphere traveling through time (the fourth dimension),
that’s on you to figure out. None of our formulas will have an exponent greater than
three. In fact, the three dimensions explains the bottom part of that fraction for the
Volume of a sphere because when it’s in three dimensions, we divide by three.

Remembering the four relates to something completely unexpected: the surface

area. As you might recall, it takes four circles to completely cover a sphere. We
even tore apart orange peels to prove it. So you can remember the four in the
surface area and volume formulas by remembering the four circles of orange peels.

𝑆𝑆𝐴𝐴(𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒) = 4𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2

That’s also why the exponent is a 2: we’re simply taking four circles. Remember,
surface area is always in two dimensions.

193
In six pages, we reviewed the content of three units of this Geometry course. You
should feel good about the progress you’ve made, and about how much you’ve
learned by simply focusing on the basic principles involved. With that in mind,
we’re going to combine all of those shapes into a big picture problem that requires
you to apply all of the steps you’ve just learned.

Example: A luxury hotel is built in the shape of two trapezoids connected at an

angle. Find the area of the base to determine how much tile and/or carpet
to purchase for each of the ten floors. Find the volume of the building to
determine what the HVAC capacity should be to heat and cool the space.
Find the lateral surface area of the building to calculate how much paint
to buy.
T1 Base:
T2 T2 + T1

Measurements:
The height of both trapezoids is 60 ft.
The slanted sides of both trapezoids measure 70 ft.
The parallel bases of T1 measure 40 ft and 80 ft.
The parallel bases of T2 measure 50 ft and 65 ft.
The height of the ten stories is 140 feet.

Step 1: Find the area of the two trapezoids.

40 + 80
𝐴𝐴 𝑇𝑇1 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑏𝑏ℎ = ∙ 60 = 3600 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2
2
50 + 65
𝐴𝐴 𝑇𝑇2 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑏𝑏ℎ = ∙ 60 = 3450 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2
2
𝐴𝐴 𝑇𝑇1 + 𝐴𝐴 𝑇𝑇2 = 3600 + 3450 = 7050 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2
Each floor of the building will need 7050 square feet of carpet or tile.

194
Step 2: Find the volume of the building.

𝑉𝑉 = 𝐵𝐵ℎ = 7050 ∙ 140 = 987,000 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 3

Wow, the combined HVAC capacity is nearly a million cubic feet!

Step 3: Find the lateral surface area of the building. Remember, that’s just the
sides, without the bases. We don’t need to paint the roof or the floor.

𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 = 𝑇𝑇1 + 𝑇𝑇2 − 𝑠𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

𝑃𝑃 = 70 + 40 + 80 + 70 + 50 + 65 = 375 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓
𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 = 𝑃𝑃ℎ = 375 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 ∙ 140 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 = 52,500 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2

That’s still a lot of paint to buy! If a 5-gallon bucket covered 750 square
feet, we would divide to find the number of buckets required.

52500 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2 1 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏

∙ = 70 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
1 750 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2

195
Assignment

1. Make sure you have read the lesson thoroughly. If you skipped over parts, go
back and reread it. This is a critical part of studying for the semester final. Make
a list of the MIPs (the Most Important Points). Add these to your Geometry
Notes.

2. Find the following measurements for each shape:

a. Prism with an equilateral triangle base. Each side of the base

measures 6 inches, and the height of the prism is 5 inches.

Area of the base:__________________

Volume of the prism:_________________
Total surface area: _________________

b. Pyramid with a square base. Each side of the square

measures 8 ft, and the height of the pyramid is 6 ft.

Area of the base:__________________

Volume of the prism:_________________
Total surface area: _________________

c. Basketball with a diameter of 75 cm.

Area of the central circle (in gray):__________________

Volume of the sphere:_________________
Total surface area: _________________

196
Day 2: Parallels and Perpendiculars

There’s something about parallel lines and right angles that humans find pleasing.
Most planned developments have roads that meet at square intersections. Most
houses have square rooms. Most city skylines are made of geometric shapes.

Even the Leaning Tower of Pisa wasn’t originally built that way. (The ground
underneath sank.) In fact, construction workers use T-squares, levels and plumb
lines to make certain the structures they build line up correctly.

Isn’t it amazing, then, that there are so many congruent or related angles involved
with parallel and perpendicular lines? Let’s review some.

MIP 6: Supplements and Complements

• Supplements that add to 180°: ∠5 ∠4

• Linear pairs (∠1+∠2)
• Sum of angles in a triangle ∠1 ∠2 ∠3
(∠2+∠3+∠4)
• Consecutive (same-side) interior angles (∠1+∠5)

• Complements that add to 90°:

• Corners of a rectangle divided by a diagonal
(∠1+∠2 or ∠3+∠4)
• Acute angles of a right triangle (∠5+∠6)

197
MIP 7: The Parallel Postulate

The Parallel Postulate (written down by Euclid, himself) gives us a whole set of
congruent angles. If we learn to recognize them, we will have a much easier time of
developing triangle proofs later. Each of the corollaries involves parallel lines, cut
by a transversal (a line that goes across them).

Congruent angles:
• Vertical (∠1 ≅∠4, ∠2 ≅∠3, ∠5 ≅∠8, ∠6 ≅∠7.)
• Alternate interior (∠3 ≅∠6, ∠4 ≅∠5)
• Alternate exterior (∠1 ≅∠8, ∠2 ≅∠7)
• Corresponding (green, pink, blue, or yellow pairs)
∠1 ∠2
∠3 ∠4

∠5 ∠6
∠7 ∠8
MIP 8: Transformations

Speaking of triangle proofs, we used the Transformations from Unit 3 to prove the
SAS congruency theorem. Do you remember what they were?
• Reflection – flip the image over
• Translation – slide the image to a new position
• Rotation – turn the image around

Each of those transformations mapped every single point of a shape onto a new
location, making the two shapes congruent. They couldn’t be equal because they
weren’t in the same location. However, there was one transformation that did not
produce a congruent shape. Instead, it made a shape that was similar, with the same
angles, the same proportions, but not the same size.
• Dilation – scale the shape (shrink or expand)

198
MIP 9: Similarity

That introduced a whole concept of similarity, where we investigated the ratios of

the sides. If the triangles’ ratios were the same, they were similar. (That’s because
triangles are the only rigid shape. With other shapes, you have to check the
proportions and the angles.)

8 cm

2 cm 3 cm
6 cm 4 cm
4 cm

Example:
2𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 1
𝑆𝑆ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠:=
4𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 2
3𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 1
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠: =
6𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 2
4𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 1
𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠: =
8𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 2
1 1 1
= = , ∴ 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
2 2 2

Similar triangles also gives us Pythagorean Triples. For instance, we know the
3-4-5 right triangle very well indeed. Likewise, we know all of its multiples: the 6-
8-10 right triangle, the 9-12-15 right triangle, and so on. Why? Because when you
multiply all of the sides by the same number, they always will have the same ratio.

199
 3 in 5 in
4 in 6 in 10 in
8 in

3𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 1 4𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 1 5𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 1

𝑆𝑆ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠: = 𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠: = 𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠: =
6𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 2 8𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 2 10𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 2

MIP 10: The Pythagorean Theorem:

That brings us to our final MIP for today: the Pythagorean Theorem. We went to a
lot of trouble making this one memorable. We even cracked a few jokes as your
daily PUNishment. Remember this one?

The square of the hippopotamus was equal to.

the sum of the squares of the other two hides!

= +

Substitute “hypotenuse” and “side” where they rhyme, and you have the
Pythagorean theorem: The square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the
squares of the other two sides. We learned to write it this way:
𝑎𝑎2 + 𝑏𝑏2 = 𝑐𝑐 2
c
a

200
Assignment

1. Take out yesterday’s list of MIPs (Most Important Points) and add today’s MIPs
to it.

2. Are the following triangles similar? Calculate the ratios to support your answer.

a. One has sides 4, 7, 10. The other has sides 5, 8, 11.

b. One has sides 5, 7, 9. The other has sides 10, 14, 18.

3. Find the missing angles. The blue lines are parallel.

a. b. 42 21
52 a 35 f
g i
h
b c d e j k l

4. A farmer needs to construct a silo from flat panels instead of curved ones. He
chose an octagon shape to maximize his storage capacity. The top is slanted like
a steeple in order to let rain roll off. The height from the base to the apex of the
pyramid is 4 feet. The height of the prism is 6 ft. The sides of the octagon are all
the same, and the other measurements are printed on the diagram (next page).

a. What does each side of the octagon measure?

b. What is the area of the octagon base?

c. What is the combined volume of the two parts?

d. What is the combined (lateral) surface area of the two parts?

201
Diagram for number 4 above:

3 ft x 3 ft
3 ft x x 3 ft

x x
h=6 ft h=4 ft

3 ft x x 3 ft

3 ft x 3 ft

202
Day 3: SAS and friends

Most students your age think that what happened in the ancient world should stay in
the ancient world. It couldn’t have any bearing on our lives now, could it?

Now, my Christian friends are shouting at the PDF: “You’ve got to be kidding!”
Don’t worry! I am. What Jesus Christ did 2,000 years ago is still immensely
relevant today!

I would make the case, though, that Bible history isn’t the only history that’s still
relevant. The skills and logic developed in the ancient world shaped and molded the
Geometry we’re learning and using to this day. We couldn’t have sent men to the
moon without it.

And lest you think this is solely the brainchild of some old European guys, let me
remind you that the Mediterranean World encompassed Europe, Asia, and Africa.
We’ve studied men from all three continents in this course so far: Euclid and Heron
were from Alexandria, Egypt. Pythagoras was from Asia Minor, and Archimedes
was from an island off the coast of Italy.

So in order to develop our globe-spanning Geometry skills into the next semester,
we need to develop our tools of logic. One of the most important concepts was how
to tell if triangles are congruent.

MIP 11: SAS and friends

We learned several tests for proving triangles congruent:

• SAS
• ASA or AAS
• SSS
• RHL

203
There were two related concepts as well.
• AA test for similarity
• CPCTC, for corresponding parts of congruent triangles

For now, make sure you remember what the letters stand for. You’ll see them again
next semester.

MIP 12: The Midpoint Theorem

When we connect the midpoints of the sides of a triangle, we get a bunch of

interesting results.
• There are now four congruent triangles that are all similar to the
original.
• Each line connecting the midpoints is parallel to the side opposite it,
creating congruent corresponding angles, etc.
• Each midpoint line is exactly half the length of the opposite side.

MIP 13: The Isosceles Triangle Theorem

204
Since equilateral triangles are a special kind of isosceles triangle, remember that
these hold true for them as well.
• The ⊥ height of the triangle bisects the apex angle.
• The ⊥ height of the triangle bisects the base.
• If the base angles are congruent, the opposite sides are congruent.
If you think about it, the opposite of those are also true:
• The line drawn between the midpoint of the base and the apex angle is
the ⊥ height.
• If the opposite sides are congruent, the base angles are congruent.

MIP 14: Triangle Area Formulas

We learned how to find the area of a triangle three ways because we won’t always
know the base and the height.
1
• 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = 𝑏𝑏ℎ
2

• 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴(𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡) = �𝑠𝑠(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑎𝑎)(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑏𝑏)(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑐𝑐 )

1
• 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴(∆ 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆) = (𝑆𝑆 ∙ 𝑆𝑆) 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝐴𝐴
2

Remember that the capital S stands for the sides, and the A is the angle between
those sides. On the calculator, we start at the end and work our way backward.

Meanwhile, the small s in the middle formula stands for the semiperimeter, which is
half of the perimeter, and the a, b, and c stand for the lengths of the three sides.

MIP 15: Trigonometry Ratios

That about wraps up our Most Important Points, except to remind you that
Trigonometry uses Triangle Geometry to make calculations about angles and sides.
The basic relationships are sine, cosine, and tangent.

205
 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 ∠𝑥𝑥 =
ℎ𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 ∠𝑥𝑥 =
ℎ𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦
𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 ∠𝑥𝑥 =
𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎

I want to round out our semester with one final, practical Geometry use.
Construction workers use tools to keep door frames, window frames, and
foundations lined up, but they have another friend: diagonals. It doesn’t always
work, though. See if you can tell me why.

Example: Determine whether a doorframe is square by measuring the diagonals.

The carpenter measured the sides to make sure opposite sides are equal, but he has
to be sure the frame is a perfect rectangle instead of a parallelogram.
A B

C D

To show that diagonal ���� ���� , all we have to do is show that the triangles
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ≅ 𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵
are congruent. Since we already know the legs of the triangles are equal, if
the hypotenuses are also equal, then the triangles have to be congruent by
SSS. The diagonals of a parallelogram are not equal, so this is a rectangle.

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There is one danger with this, however. If the carpenter does not measure the
opposite sides to ensure they are equal, he could end up with an isosceles trapezoid,
instead. Try hanging a door in that shape doorframe!

=
door frame

• The top is a common side.

• The trapezoid is isosceles, so the left and right are equal by definition.
• The obtuse angles on each side of the top are equal because it’s isosceles.
• The triangles are equal by SAS, making the diagonals equal by CPCTC.

All of that goes to show the cardinal rule of carpentry: Always Measure Twice!

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Assignment

1. Take out your list of MIPs (Most Important Points) and add today’s MIPs to it.

2. Since all of the points reviewed today were from the most recent unit, it would be
redundant to include any other exercises. Instead, make sure you’re ready for the
semester final. It is designed to be taken over the course of two days.

3. Reread the answer key for Week 18, paying special attention to the MIPs. These
fifteen points are the ones you need to remember going forward. You may print
out the three pages of the answer key that have those listed. (They are the first
question of Days 1-3 in Week 18.)

4. Put the MIPs in your notebook for future reference, and be sure you know them
before you begin the semester final tomorrow.

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Day 4: Semester Final, Part 1

Match the shape to its Area formula. Some formulas may be used more than once.
The last two choices are for Perimeter. Each question 1–9 should also receive either
choice g or choice h, for a total of two letters for each number.

_____1. circle a. 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏 ∙ ℎ
1
_____2. kite b. 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑏𝑏 ∙ ℎ
2
_____3. parallelogram, c. 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑏𝑏 ∙ ℎ
_____4. quadrilateral 1
d. 𝐴𝐴 = 𝑑𝑑1 ∙ 𝑑𝑑2
_____5. rectangle 2

_____6. rhombus e. 𝐴𝐴 = 𝜋𝜋 𝑟𝑟 2
_____7. square f. No formula
_____8. trapezoid g. 𝑃𝑃 = 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑑𝑑 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
_____9. triangle h. 𝐶𝐶 = 2𝜋𝜋𝜋𝜋

Find the following if the radius is 5 inches. Leave your answer as a product of π.

_________11. Circumference around the middle circle.

_________12. Area of the circle through the center.

_________13. Volume of the sphere.

_________14. Surface area of the sphere.

Tell whether these triangles are similar by finding the ratios of their sides.

_____15. Triangle 1: 14 cm, 19 cm, 23 cm. Triangle 2: 7 in, 9.5 in, 11.5 in.

_____16. Triangle 1: 8 ft, 8 ft, 12 ft. Triangle 2: 6 ft, 6 ft, 9 ft.

209
Pictured are the four types of transformations we learned. On the blank, write the
technical name for the transformation, as well as the nickname we used to describe
it. Use the word bank.

Word Bank:
Dilation Flip
Reflection Scale
Translation Turn
17._____________________________ Rotation Slide

18._____________________________

19._____________________________

20._____________________________

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Find the missing angles.

x=________21. x+12 y=_____22. 52°

x+14=_____ z=_____
x x y
z

Why are these angles congruent? (You will only use three of the choices.)
_____23.
a. Alternate interior angles
b. Alternate exterior angles
c. Corresponding angles
d. Vertical angles
e. Consecutive interior angles

_____24.

_____25.

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Day 5: Semester Final, Part 2

Match the formulas to the correct measurement. You may use some letters more
than once.
a. = 4𝜋𝜋𝑟𝑟 2
________1. 𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟ℎ𝑡𝑡 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝)
1
________2. 𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟ℎ𝑡𝑡 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) b. = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ
3
________3. 𝑆𝑆. 𝐴𝐴.(𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒)
________4. 𝑉𝑉(𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒) c. = 2𝐵𝐵 + 𝑃𝑃 ∙ ℎ
________5. 𝑉𝑉(𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝)
𝟒𝟒
________6. 𝑉𝑉(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐) d. = 𝜋𝜋 𝑟𝑟 3
𝟑𝟑
________7. 𝑉𝑉(𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝)
1
________8. 𝑉𝑉(𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝) e. = 𝐵𝐵 + 𝑃𝑃 ∙ 𝑠𝑠
2
________9. 𝑉𝑉(𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐)
f. = 𝐵𝐵 ∙ ℎ

Find the missing dimensions for the following. Leave all radicals in surd form, and
leave pi as a variable.

_______10. A square has an area of 200 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛2 . Find the side of the square.

_______11. Using the side of the square above, find the length of its diagonal.

_______12. A circle has an area of 24 𝜋𝜋 𝑓𝑓𝑡𝑡 2 . Find its radius.

_______13. A cereal box has a volume of 324 𝑖𝑖𝑛𝑛3 . If the bottom is a 3 by 9

rectangle, what is its height?

_______14. A cone has a volume of 375 𝜋𝜋 𝑐𝑐𝑚𝑚3 . If it is 25 cm high, find its radius.

212
Match the following Pythagorean triples or multiples. You may use some choices
more than once.

Example: a triangle with sides 14 − 48 − 50 is a multiple of a 7 − 24 − 25 triple.

________15. 3 − 4 − 5 a. 10 − 24 − 26
________16. 4 − 4 − 4√2 b. 12 − 16 − 20
________17. 5 − 5√3 − 10 c. 1 − 1 − √2
________18. 5 − 12 − 13 d. 6 − 8 − 10
________19. 7 − 7 − 7√2 e. 20 − 48 − 52
________20. 13 − 13√3 − 26 f. 1 − √3 − 2

________21. Which of the letters above represents a 45° − 45° − 90° right triangle?

________22. Which of the letters above represents a 30° − 60° − 90° right triangle?

Find the missing side of the right triangle:

________23. Leg a equals 4 cm, and leg b equals 2√10 cm. Find the hypotenuse.

________24. A 15 foot ladder is leaning against a building. The bottom is 5 feet away
from the perpendicular wall. How high does the ladder reach?

Word Problems:

25. An equilateral triangle has one side that measures 8 cm. Find its area. Extra
credit for finding the area using all three formulas.

213
26. Draw a kite with its diagonals. These form several triangles. Mark all of the
parts you know are either congruent or perpendicular. Using the Triangle
Congruencies we learned (SAS ≅ and so on), describe which triangles within the
kite are congruent, and give reasons for how you know.

27. Using your drawing of the kite, prove that the base angles of the triangles
formed by the short diagonal are congruent.
C

Prove ∠𝑎𝑎 = ∠𝑏𝑏: a b

D X F

1. Kite CDEF 1. G____________

2. ����
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 ⊥ ______; ����
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 ≅ ________ 2. Definition of __________
���� ≅ ________
𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 E

���� ≅ ________
3. 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 3. ___________ side

4. ∆𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 ≅ ∆_________ 4. ____________ ≅

5. ����
𝐷𝐷𝐷𝐷 ≅ ________ 5. C________________

6. ∆𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 ≅ ∆_____________ 6. ____________ ≅

7. ∠𝑎𝑎 = ∠𝑏𝑏 7. C________________

Congratulations on completing an entire semester of your Geometry course!

End of Second Quarter

214