Plane Geometry
Plane Geometry
Angles
Complimentary Angles: Two angles that add to 90˚
Acute Angle: Any angle greater than 0˚ and less than 90˚
Obtuse Angle: Any angle greater than 90˚ and less than 180˚
Parallel Line Properties: When two parallel lines are cut by a transversal, two types of angles
are formed: big angles and little angles. All the big angles are equal and all the little angles are
equal, and the big angles are supplementary to the little angles. In school, you likely learned
this in terms of each of the individual properties (alternating interior angles, corresponding
angles, etc.), but it is much easier to think of parallel line properties as one property, as
described above.
Vertical Angles: When two lines intersect, four angles are formed. Each pair of opposite, or
“vertical,” angles are equal.
Polygons
Number of Diagonals in an n-sided figure
n • (n-3)/2
Triangles
Triangle Inequality: The sum of the lengths of any two sides of a triangle is greater than the
length of the third side. In other words, if a triangle has sides of length a, b, and c, a + b c, a +
c b, and b + c a. Therefore, if a triangle has one side of 5 inches and another side of 9
inches, the third side would have to be less than 13 inches (the sum of 9 and 5) and greater
than 4 inches (the difference of 9 and 5). Note that 4 and 13 themselves are not possible values
for the third side, as the inequality is non-inclusive.
Area: A = (1/2)hb where h is the triangle’s height and b is the triangle’s base. Note that the
height, or altitude, of a triangle is by definition perpendicular to its base. Sometimes, the
altitude is outside the triangle itself.
Equilateral Triangle: A triangle in which all three sides are of equal length. Equilateral triangles
are also, by definition, equiangular: each angle of an equilateral triangle is equal to 60˚.
Isosceles Triangle: A triangle with two sides of equal length. The base angles (the angles
opposite the equal sides) of an isosceles triangle are also equal.
Quadrilaterals
Sum of Angles: The sum of the angles in any convex quadrilateral is 360˚.
Square: A quadrilateral with four sides of equal length and four angles of 90˚ each.
A = s2 P = 4s, where s = side length.
Triangle Congruence
Triangle congruence can be proven in the following ways:
SSS (Side-Side-Side): Two triangles are congruent if they have three pairs of congruent sides.
SAS (Side-Angle-Side): Two triangles are congruent if they have two pairs of congruent sides
and the angle in between the two congruent sides is also congruent.
AAS (Angle-Angle-Side), ASA (Angle-Side-Angle): Two triangles are congruent if they have two
pairs of congruent angles and one congruent side.
HL (Hypotenuse Leg): Two right triangles are congruent if they have congruent hypotenuses and
one pair of congruent legs.