Faculty of Mathematics Centre for Education in

Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 Mathematics and Computing

Grade 7/8 Math Circles

February 17/18, 2015
Circle Geometry

Circles: They’re Not Pointless

To be mathematically accurate, you could indeed argue that circles are “pointless” because,
well, they have no points! However, circles are arguably one of the most important funda-
mental shapes, besides triangles. Today’s lesson flows naturally from last week’s topic of π.
We’ll be discussing important terminology, properties, and theorems. You’ll also have the
opportunity to try a hands-on activity.

Warm-Up
Try to answer the following 8 questions in 15 minutes without a calculator. Don’t worry if
you can’t answer them all. You’ll be an expert by the end of this lesson!

1. What is the proper term for the line A on the diagram below?

2. What is the proper term for the line B on the diagram below?

3. What is the proper term for the line C on the diagram below?

4. What is the proper term for the section D on the diagram below?

D
B

A
C

1
5. If the angle θ on the diagram below is 37◦ , what is the angle δ? What is the angle φ?
C
Θ

D
δ

B
A
Φ
E

6. If the angle θ on the diagram below is 110◦ , what is the angle δ?

C
δ

O
Θ

A B

7. What is the angle δ in the diagram below?

8. What is the missing line segment length in the diagram below?

2 4
3
?

2
Wrap-Up
Today you learned about one of the most important and interesting two-dimensional shapes.
You learned a lot of new terms and quite a few properties of circles. Many of the theorems
you’ve learned in this lesson can be connected with the Pythagorean Theorem to create
problems involving both triangles and circles.

Problem Set
Complete the following problems without a calculator. State each theorem as you use it.
You may find the Pythagorean Theorem useful for some of the problems.
1. Redo the warm-up. See if you can answer more questions than before!

2. Find the length of the missing triangle side below.

radius = 6.5

12

3. Find the missing angles x and y below.

40° y

x 23°

4. Find the missing angles x and y below.

13°

9
5. Given that M P is a diameter and µ is 90◦ , show that the angle δ below is 90◦ without
using the Angle in a Semicircle Theorem or the Star Trek Theorem. Make sure to
support any assumptions you make.

L P

δ
M N

6. Find the length of chord AC below. Assume A and B lie on the diameter.

C
1
2

A B

2.5

7. Given that the radius of the circle below is 3, find the length of the line segment x.

x
4

10
 8. What is the length of the dashed line segment x below?

10

12
6
12
x

9. Determine the missing angles x, y, and z below.

B
A
30°
x z

134°
y

10. A circle has diameter 40. A chord of length 32 is drawn parallel to the diameter. What
is the distance between the diameter and the chord?

11. Find the missing angle x below.

Hint: Recall that when two lines cross, the opposite angles are equal.

x B
O

16°
37°

C
A

11