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Geometry of Triangles Note

The document explains the classification of triangles based on the number of equal sides and the sizes of their angles, detailing scalene, isosceles, and equilateral triangles, as well as acute-angled, right-angled, and obtuse-angled triangles. It also outlines important properties of triangles, such as the angle sum being 180° and the relationship between interior and exterior angles. Worked examples and exercises are provided to reinforce understanding of these concepts.

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22 views6 pages

Geometry of Triangles Note

The document explains the classification of triangles based on the number of equal sides and the sizes of their angles, detailing scalene, isosceles, and equilateral triangles, as well as acute-angled, right-angled, and obtuse-angled triangles. It also outlines important properties of triangles, such as the angle sum being 180° and the relationship between interior and exterior angles. Worked examples and exercises are provided to reinforce understanding of these concepts.

Uploaded by

kaleb12345
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Geometry of Triangles

Identifying and classifying triangles:


A triangle has 3 sides. We need to learn how it is that we classify different types of triangles.

Here we categorise triangles by the number of equal sides they have:

In a scalene triangle, all of


the lengths of the sides are
Scalene triangle
different and all the angles
are different.

In an isosceles triangle, 2
equal sides and 2 equal
angles.
Isosceles triangle
The 2 angles must always sit
below/in between the 2
equal sides.

In an equilateral triangle, all


the lengths of the sides are
Equilateral triangle
the same and each angle is
equal to 𝟔𝟎°.

This is not the only way we can classify triangles. Triangles can also be categorized according
to the sizes of their angles:
Here we classify triangles by the size of its largest angle:

In an acute-angled triangle, all


three angles are acute.
Acute-angled
triangle
Acute angles are angles which
are smaller than 90°.

In a right-angled triangle, there


is one right angle and two
Right-angled acute angles.
triangle
Right angles are angles which
are equal to 90°.

In an obtuse-angled triangle,
there is one obtuse angle and
two acute angles.
Obtuse-angled
triangle
Obtuse angles are angles which
are bigger than 90° and smaller
than 180°.

You can get acute angles, right angles and obtuse angles in both Scalene triangles and
Isosceles triangles. Because Equilateral triangles has to have 3 angles at 60°, Equilateral
triangles can only have acute angles.

It is always best to take both the sides and the angles into account when identifying triangles.
Therefore because we can identifying triangles in the following ways:

Sides Angles
3 equal sides = equilateral triangle 3 equal angles = equilateral triangle

2 equal sides = isosceles triangle 2 equal angles = isosceles triangle


0 equal sides = scalene triangle 0 equal angles = scalene triangle

1 obtuse angle = obtuse-angled triangle


1 right angle = right-angled triangle
3 acute angle = acute-angled triangle
We can join the above categories into the below types of categories.

Example:
2 equal sides and a right angle = right-angled isosceles triangle
2 equal sides and an obtuse angle = obtuse-angled isosceles triangle

Worked Example: A
X

1. 2.

60° 60° 90° 45°


Y Z
C
R B

3.
34°

113° 33° T
S
1. Triangle XYZ is an equilateral triangle
Angle Y and angle Z are equal to 60°, therefore angle X would be equal to 60°
3 equal angles means the triangle is an equilateral triangle.

2. Triangle ABC is a right-angled isosceles triangle


Angle B is a right angle
Angle C is 45° which means that angle A is also 45°
It is an isosceles triangle because we have 2 equal angles
3. Triangle RST is a obtuse-angled scalene triangle
Angle S is bigger than 90
There are no equal angles

Exercise: Platinum Exercise 11.1 pg113


Angle properties of triangles:
There are 3 important properties we need to know about triangles which are always true:
1. The sum of the interior angles add up to 180°. This is called the angle sum.
y
x + y + z = 180°

z This is ALWAYS true for any


x values of A, B or C
When we use rules in Geometry to solve for a variable we ALWAYS have to use a reason:
REASON: sum of ∠𝑠 in Don’t get confused by the
new symbols being used.
2. The exterior angle of a triangle is equal to the sum of the
We use ∠ to mean ‘angle’.
two interior opposite angles.
We use to mean ‘triangle’.

d=a+b This is ALWAYS true for any values of


a, b or d
REASON: ext ∠ of

(Please see textbook pg114 for a practical exercise to prove the above 2 rules)

3. In the tables above we have seen what an isosceles triangle looks like. We need to
be able to use these properties so that we can find the angles and side of an
isosceles triangle.

From the graph on the left, we can see that an isosceles triangle’s 2
equal angles always sit below the 2 equal sides.

If we have 2 equal sides, we can then conclude the triangle will have 2
equal angles below it.
REASON: ∠𝑠 opp equal sides
If there are 2 equal angles in a triangle, we can then conclude that the triangle will
have 2 equal sides above the angles.
REASON: sides opp equal ∠s

Worked Examples:
Solve for the follow variables x, y and z.
1.

48° + 65° = 𝑥 (ext ∠ of )


113° = 𝑥

2. 𝑧 + 57° + 43° = 180° (sum of ∠s in )

𝑧 = 80°

3.
𝑦 + 59° = 147° (ext ∠ of )

𝑦 = 88°
59° 147°

4.
x = 50° (∠𝑠 opp equal sides)
Exercise: Platinum 11.2 pg116 (only number 2, 3, 5, 7, 8)

Exercise: 𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑥, 𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑧. 𝐺𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑠


1.
56°

97° 83° 𝑦 𝑥

2.
113°
𝑦

𝑥
𝑧
40°

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