250 / Chapter 7

Classroom Exercises
Are the quadrilaterals similar? If they aren't, tell why not.
1. ABCD and EFGH 2. ABCD and JKLM
3. ABCD and NOPQ 4. JKLM and NOPQ

~
3

J L
3 3
K N 6 o
5. If the corresponding angles of two polygons are congruent, must the polygons
be similar?
6. If the corresponding sides of two polygons are in proportion, must the
polygons be similar?
7. Two polygons are similar. Do they have to be congruent?
8. Two polygons are congruent. Do they have to be similar?
9. Are all regular pentagons similar?
10. Quad. JVDY ~ quad. J'V'D'Y'. Complete. J
a. mLY' = _ ? _ and mLD = _ ? _ .
J'
b. The scale factor of quad. JVDY
to quad. J'V'D'Y' is _?_.
c. Find DV, Y'J', and J'V'.
V / \ u'
d. The ratio of the perimeters is _?_.
e. Explain why it is not true that
quad. DVJY ~ quad. Y'J'V'D'.
Y '--'-"-----' D
20
yU;, 15

Written Exercises
Tell whether the two polygons are always, sometimes, or never similar.
A 1. Two equilateral triangles 2. Two right triangles
3. Two isosceles triangles 4. Two scalene triangles
5. Two squares 6. Two rectangles
7. Two rhombuses 8. Two isosceles trapezoids
9. Two regular hexagons 10. Two regular polygons
11. A right triangle and an acute triangle
12. An isosceles triangle and a scalene triangle
13. A right triangle and a scalene triangle
14. An equilateral triangle and an equiangular triangle
 Similar Polygons / 251

In Exercises 15-23 quad. TUNE ~ quad. T' U' N' E' •

U

/ 135
15. What is the scale factor of quad. TUNE to T 16

~
quad. T'U'N'E'? 0

16. What special kind of quadrilateral must

quad. T'U'N'E' be? Explain. E 28 N
17. Find m L T' . 18. Find mLE'.
19. Find UN. 20. Find T' U'. T' U'
21. Find TE. 22. Find the ratio of the perimeters.
B 23. What property of proportions on page 245 would
you use to show that the ratio of the perimeters is
equal to the ratio of the lengths of any two corre-
E'
;Y 35
i
N'
'5

sponding sides?

Two similar polygons are shown. Find the values of x, y, and z.

24. 25.

U {~~~ 27
18

z
~
U o x

26. 12~ 27.

12V, 40 20
16

12

10 14
z

28. Draw two equilateral hexagons that are clearly not similar.
29. Draw two equiangular hexagons that are clearly not similar.
30. If 6.ABC ~ 6.DEF, express AB in terms of other lengths. (There
are two possible answers.)
31. Explain how you can tell at once that quadrilateral RSWX is
not similar to quadrilateral RSYZ.

Plot the given points on graph paper. Draw quadrilateral ABeD and A' B' .
Locate points C' and D' so that A'B'e'D' is similar to ABeD.
32. A(O, 0), B(4, 0), C(2, 4), D(O, 2), A'( - 10, - 2), B'( - 2, - 2)
33. A(O, 0), B(4, 0), C(2, 4), D(O, 2), A'(7, 2), B'(7, 0)

,
 252 / Chapter 7

34. The card shown was cut into four congruent pieces with each
piece similar to the original. Find the value of x.
35. Quad. WHAT is a figure such that WHAT ~ HATW. Find the
measure of each angle . What special kind of figure must the
x ill 10 10 10 10
quadrilateral be?
3d Z
C 36. What can you deduce from the diagram J 55 °
shown at the right? Explain.
3c

N
37. The large rectangle shown is a golden rectangle. This
means that when a square is cut off, the rectangle that
remains is similar to the original rectangle .
a. How wide is the original rectangle? x
b. The ratio of length to width in a golden rectangle is
called the golden ratio. Write the golden ratio in sim-
plified radical form . Then use a calculator to find an x
approximation to the nearest hundredth. r - -- 6,- - --i

Self-Test 1
Express the ratio in simplest form.
4ab
1. 9: 15 2. 60 em to 2 m 3. 6b 2

Solve for x.
x 9 x - 2 x +6 x 12
4. 8 12
5. 2 4 6. 5 - x 8

Tell whether the equation is equivalent to the proportion ~ = ~.

a b
8. 7a = 5b
a +b 12
7. 7 9• b
5 7

10. If 6.ABC~6.RST, mLA = 45, and mLC 60, then m L R ?

mLT = _?_ , and mLS = _ ?_ .

~
The quadrilaterals shown are similar.
11. The scale factor of the smaller quadrilateral to
the larger quadrilateral is _ ?_. 9~Y
12. x = _ ?_ 13. y = _ ?_ 14. z = _ ?_ x
15. The measures of the angles of a hexagon are in the ratio 5: 5: 5 : 6: 7: 8.
Find the measures.