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Common Core Specifications for Geometry

Examples of how to read the red references:

2-03 indicates this spec is implemented in Unit 3, Lesson 2.

IDT_C indicates that this spec is implemented in In-Depth Topic C.

TP-F indicates this spec is implemented in the Theorem Proof document, part F.

Congruence (G-Co)
Experiment with transformations in the plane

1. Know precise definitions of angle, circle, perpendicular line, parallel line, and line
segment, based on the undefined notions of point, line, distance along a line, and
distance around a circular arc. 2-03, 3-02, 4-01, 13-01, 15-1

2. Represent transformations in the plane using, e.g., transparencies and geometry

software; describe transformations as functions that take points in the plane as inputs
and give other points as outputs. Compare transformations that preserve distance and
angle to those that do not (e.g., translation versus horizontal stretch). IDT-C, 17-01, -02,
-03

3. Given a rectangle, parallelogram, trapezoid, or regular polygon, 17-02,-03

Describe the rotations and reflections that carry it onto itself.

4. Develop definitions of rotations, reflections, and translations in terms of angles, circles,

perpendicular lines, parallel lines, and line segments. 17-01, -02, -03

5. Given a geometric figure and a rotation, reflection, or translation, draw the transformed
figure using, e.g., graph paper, tracing paper, or geometry software. Specify a sequence
of transformations that will carry a given figure onto another. 17-01, -02, -03

Understand congruence in terms of rigid motions

6. Use geometric descriptions of rigid motions to transform figures and to predict the
effect of a given rigid motion on a given figure; given two figures, use the definition of
congruence in terms of rigid motions to decide if they are congruent. 17-01, -02, -03

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7. Use the definition of congruence in terms of rigid motions to show that two triangles
are congruent if and only if corresponding pairs of sides and corresponding pairs of
angles are congruent. 18-03,-04,-05

8. Explain how the criteria for triangle congruence (ASA, SAS, and SSS)
follow from the definition of congruence in terms of rigid motions. 18-03,-04,-05

Prove geometric theorems

9. Prove theorems about lines and angles. Theorems include: vertical angles are
congruent; when a transversal crosses parallel lines, alternate interior angles are
congruent and corresponding angles are congruent; points on a perpendicular bisector
of a line segment are exactly those equidistant from the segments endpoints. 4-01,-02,-
03,-04 TP-A,B,C,D,E

10. Prove theorems about triangles. Theorems include: measures of interior angles of a
triangle sum to 180; base angles of isosceles triangles are congruent; the segment joining
midpoints of two sides of a triangle is parallel to the third side and half the length; the
medians of a triangle meet at a point. 5-01,-02,-03,-04 TP-F,G,H

11. Prove theorems about parallelograms. Theorems include: opposite sides are
congruent, opposite angles are congruent, the diagonals of a parallelogram bisect each
other, and conversely, rectangles are parallelograms with congruent diagonals. 5-03,-04 6-
01,-02 TP-G,H,I

Make geometric constructions

12. Make formal geometric constructions with a variety of tools and
methods (compass and straightedge, string, reflective devices, paper folding, dynamic
geometric software, etc.). Copying a segment; copying an angle; bisecting a segment;
bisecting an angle; constructing perpendicular lines, including the perpendicular bisector of
a line segment; and constructing a line parallel to a given line through a point not on the
line .3-04, 4-04, 5-02. 15-04, 17-04, IDT-O, IDT-P

13. Construct an equilateral triangle, a square, and a regular hexagon

inscribed in a circle. 3-04 IDT-E

Similarity, right triangles, and trigonometry (G-Srt)

Understand similarity in terms of similarity transformations

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1. Verify experimentally the properties of dilations given by a center and a scale factor: 8-04
a. A dilation takes a line not passing through the center of the dilation to a parallel line,
and leaves a line passing through the center unchanged. 8-04

b. The dilation of a line segment is longer or shorter in the ratio given by the scale
factor. 8-04

2. Given two figures, use the definition of similarity in terms of similarity transformations to
decide if they are similar; explain using similarity transformations the meaning of similarity
for triangles as the equality of all corresponding pairs of angles and the proportionality of all
corresponding pairs of sides. 8-02

3. Use the properties of similarity transformations to establish the AA

criterion for two triangles to be similar. 8-03

Prove theorems involving similarity

4. Prove theorems about triangles. Theorems include: a line parallel to one side of a triangle
divides the other two proportionally, and conversely; the Pythagorean Theorem proved
using triangle similarity. TP-I, J

5. Use congruence and similarity criteria for triangles to solve problems and to prove
relationships in geometric figures. 8-01, -02,-03

Define trigonometric ratios and solve problems involving right triangles

6. Understand that by similarity, side ratios in right triangles are properties of the angles in
the triangle, leading to definitions of trigonometric ratios for acute angles. 7-03,-04, -05

7. Explain and use the relationship between the sine and cosine of complementary angles.
7-05

8. Use trigonometric ratios and the Pythagorean Theorem to solve right triangles in applied
problems. 7-02, -03,-04, -05

Apply trigonometry to general triangles

9. (+) Derive the formula A = 1/2 ab sin(C) for the area of a triangle by drawing an auxiliary
line from a vertex perpendicular to the opposite side. 7-06, IDT-J

10. (+) Prove the Laws of Sines and Cosines and use them to solve problems. IDT-H, IDT-I

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10. (+) Understand and apply the Law of Sines and the Law of Cosines to find unknown
measurements in right and non-right triangles (e.g., surveying problems, resultant
forces). 7-06

Circles (G-C)
Understand and apply theorems about circles

1. Prove that all circles are similar. TP-K

2. Identify and describe relationships among inscribed angles, radii, and chords. Include
the relationship between central, inscribed, and circumscribed angles; inscribed angles on a
diameter are right angles; the radius of a circle is perpendicular to the tangent where the
radius intersects the circle. 15_01-06

3. Construct the inscribed and circumscribed circles of a triangle, and prove properties of
angles for a quadrilateral inscribed in a circle. 16-06

4. (+) Construct a tangent line from a point outside a given circle to the circle.16-04

Find arc lengths and areas of sectors of circles

5. Derive using similarity the fact that the length of the arc intercepted by an angle is
proportional to the radius, and define the radian measure of the angle as the constant of
proportionality; derive the formula for the area of a sector. 15-04,-05,-06

Expressing Geometric Properties with equations (G-GPe)

Translate between the geometric description and the equation for a conic section

1. Derive the equation of a circle of given center and radius using the Pythagorean
Theorem; complete the square to find the center and radius of a circle given by an equation.
IDT-C

2. Derive the equation of a parabola given a focus and directrix. IDT-C

3. (+) Derive the equations of ellipses and hyperbolas given the foci, using the fact that the
sum or difference of distances from the foci is constant. IDT-C

Use coordinates to prove simple geometric theorems algebraically

4. Use coordinates to prove simple geometric theorems algebraically. For example, prove
or disprove that a figure defined by four given points in the coordinate plane is a rectangle;

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prove or disprove that the point (1, 3) lies on the circle centered at the origin and
containing the point (0, 2). IDT-K, 13-03

5. Prove the slope criteria for parallel and perpendicular lines and use them to solve
geometric problems (e.g., find the equation of a line parallel or perpendicular to a given line
that passes through a given point). 17-05, IDT-K, CumlRvw12

6. Find the point on a directed line segment between two given points that partitions the
segment in a given ratio. IDT-K

7. Use coordinates to compute perimeters of polygons and areas of triangles and

rectangles, e.g., using the distance formula. IDT-K, 8-04, 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 12-01

Geometric measurement and dimension (G-Gmd)

Explain volume formulas and use them to solve problems

1. Give an informal argument for the formulas for the circumference of a circle, area of a
circle, volume of a cylinder, pyramid, and cone. Use dissection arguments, Cavalieris
principle, and informal limit arguments. 13-01,-02; 14-01,-02,-03

2. (+) Give an informal argument using Cavalieris principle for the formulas for the volume
of a sphere and other solid figures. 11-02, 14-01

3. Use volume formulas for cylinders, pyramids, cones, and spheres to solve problem
14-01,-02,-03

Visualize relationships between two-dimensional and three- dimensional objects

4. Identify the shapes of two-dimensional cross-sections of three- dimensional objects, and

identify three-dimensional objects generated by rotations of two-dimensional objects. 14-
03, CumlRvw11, CumlRvw12

Modeling with Geometry (G-mG)

Apply geometric concepts in modeling situations

1. Use geometric shapes, their measures, and their properties to describe objects (e.g.,
modeling a tree trunk or a human torso as a cylinder). 14-01,02

2. Apply concepts of density based on area and volume in modeling situations (e.g., persons
per square mile, BTUs per cubic foot). 10-05, 11-05, IDT-L

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3. Apply geometric methods to solve design problems (e.g., designing an object or structure
to satisfy physical constraints or minimize cost; working with typographic grid systems
based on ratios). 14-01

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