GRE Geometry

6/1/2015
SparkNotes:GRE:Geometry
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2.1
2.2
ARITHMETIC
ALGEBRA
2.3
2.4
GEOMETRY
DATAANALYSIS
Geometry
Geometryhasalongandstoriedhistorythatgoesbackthousandsofyears,which
weresureyouredyingtohearabout.ButunlessyouretakingtheGREtogoforyour
mastersinmathhistory,thishasnopossiblerelevancetoyourlife.Sowellskipthe
historylessonandgetrighttothefacts.
LinesandAngles
Anangleiscomposedoftwolinesandisameasureofthespreadbetweenthem.The
pointwherethetwolinesmeetiscalledthevertex.OntheGRE,anglesaremeasured
indegrees.Heresanexample:
Theafterthe45isadegreesymbol.Thisanglemeasures45degrees.
Acute,Obtuse,andRightAngles
Anglesthatmeasurelessthan90arecalledacuteangles.Anglesthatmeasuremore
than90arecalledobtuseangles.AspecialanglethattheGREtestmakersloveis
calledarightangle.Rightanglesalwaysmeasureexactly90andareindicatedbya
littlesquarewheretheanglemeasurewouldnormallybe,likethis:
StraightAngles
Multipleanglesthatmeetatasinglepointonalinearecalledstraightangles.Thesum
oftheanglesmeetingatasinglepointonastraightlineisalwaysequalto180.You
mayseesomethinglikethis,askingyoutosolveforn:
Thetwoangles(onemarkedby40andtheonemarkedbyn)meetatthesamepoint
ontheline.Sincethesumoftheanglesonthelinemustbe180,youcanplug40and
http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/gre/chapter2section3.rhtml
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nintoaformulalikethis:
40+n=180
Subtracting40frombothsidesgivesn=140,orn=140.
VerticalAngles
Whentwolinesintersect,theanglesthatlieoppositeeachother,calledverticalangles,
arealwaysequal.
Angles
and
areverticalanglesandarethereforeequal.Angles
arealsovertical,equalangles.
and
ParallelLines
AmorecomplicatedversionofthisfigurethatyoumayseeontheGREinvolvestwo
parallellinesintersectedbyathirdline,calledatransversal.Parallelmeansthatthe
linesruninexactlythesamedirectionandneverintersect.Heresanexample:
line1isparalleltoline2
Dontassumelinesareparalleljustbecausetheylookliketheyarethequestionwill
alwaystellyouiftwolinesaremeanttobeparallel.Eventhoughthisfigurecontains
manyangles,itturnsoutthatitonlyhastwokindsofangles:bigangles(obtuse)and
littleangles(acute).Allthebiganglesareequaltoeachother,andallthelittleangles
areequaltoeachother.Furthermore,anybigangle+anylittleangle=180.Thisis
trueforanyfigurewithtwoparallellinesintersectedbyathirdline.Inthefollowing
figure,welabeleveryangletoshowyouwhatwemean:
Asdescribedabove,theeightanglescreatedbythesetwointersectionshavespecial
relationshipstoeachother:
Angles1,4,5,and8areequaltooneanother.Angle1isverticaltoangle4,andangle5
isverticaltoangle8.
Angles2,3,6,and7areequaltooneanother.Angle2isverticaltoangle3,andangle
6isverticaltoangle7.
Thesumofanytwoadjacentangles,suchas1and2or7and8,equals180because
theyformastraightanglelyingonaline.
Thesumofanybigangle+anylittleangle=180,sincethebigandlittleanglesinthis
figurecombineintostraightlinesandallthebiganglesareequalandallthelittle
anglesareequal.Soabigandlittleangledontneedtobenexttoeachothertoaddto
180anybigplusanylittlewilladdto180.Forexample,sinceangles1and2sumto
180,andsinceangles2and7areequal,thesumofangles1and7alsoequals180.
Byusingtheserules,youcanfigureoutthedegreesofanglesthatmayseem
unrelated.Forexample:
Ifline1isparalleltoline2,whatisthevalueofyinthefigureabove?
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Again,thisfigurehasonlytwokindsofangles:bigangles(obtuse)andlittleangles
(acute).Weknowthat55isalittleangle,soymustbeabigangle.Sincebigangle+
littleangle=180,youcanwrite:
y+55=180
Solvingfory:
y=18055
y=125
PerpendicularLines
Twolinesthatmeetatarightanglearecalledperpendicularlines.Ifyouretoldtwo
linesareperpendicular,justthink90.Wedlovetotellyoumoreaboutthese
beauties,buttheresreallynotmuchelsetosay.
PolygonBasics
Apolygonisatwodimensionalfigurewiththreeormorestraightsides.Polygonsare
namedaccordingtothenumberofsidestheyhave.
NumberofSides
Name
triangle
quadrilateral
pentagon
hexagon
heptagon
octagon
nonagon
10
decagon
12
dodecagon
ngon
Allpolygons,nomatterhowmanysidestheypossess,sharecertaincharacteristics:
Thesumoftheinterioranglesofapolygonwithnsidesis(n2)180.Forinstance,
thesumoftheinterioranglesofanoctagonis(82)180=6(180)=1080.
Apolygonwithequalsidesandequalinterioranglesisaregularpolygon.
Thesumoftheexterioranglesofanypolygonis360.
Theperimeterofapolygonisthesumofthelengthsofitssides.
Theareaofapolygonisthemeasureoftheareaoftheregionenclosedbythe
polygon.EachpolygontestedontheGREhasitsownuniqueareaformula,whichwell
coverbelow.
Forthemostpart,thepolygonstestedinGREmathincludetrianglesand
quadrilaterals.Alltriangleshavethreesides,buttherearespecialtypesoftriangles
thatwellcovernext.Thenwellmoveontofourcommonquadrilaterals(foursided
figures)thatappearonthetest:rectangles,squares,parallelograms,andtrapezoids.
Wellthenleavetheworldofpolygonsandmakeourwaytocirclesandthenconclude
thisgeometrysectionwithadiscussionofthethreedimensionalsolidsyoumaysee
onyourtest:rectangularsolids,cubes,andrightcircularcylinders.
Triangles
Ofallthegeometricshapes,trianglesareamongthemostcommonlytestedonthe
GRE.ButsincetheGREtendstotestthesametrianglesoverandover,youjustneed
tomasterafewrulesandafewdiagrams.Welllookatsomespecialtrianglesshortly,
butfirstwellexplainfourveryspecialrules.
TheFourRulesofTriangles
Committhesefourrulestomemory.
1.TheRuleofInteriorAngles.Thesumoftheinterioranglesofatrianglealways
equals180.Interioranglesarethoseontheinside.Wheneveryouregiventwoangles
ofatriangle,youcanusethisformulatocalculatethethirdangle.Forexample:
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Whatisthevalueofainthefigureabove?
Sincethesumoftheanglesofatriangleequals180,youcansetupanequation:
a+100+60=180
Isolatingthevariableandsolvingforagivesa=20.
2.TheRuleofExteriorAngles.Anexteriorangleofatriangleistheangleformedby
extendingoneofthesidesofthetrianglepastavertex(ortheintersectionoftwosides
ofafigure).Inthefigurebelow,distheexteriorangle.
Since,together,dandcformastraightangle,theyaddupto180:d+c=180.
Accordingtothefirstruleoftriangles,thethreeanglesofatrianglealwaysaddupto
180,soa+b+c=180.Sinced+c=180anda+b+c=180,dmustbeequaltoa+
b(theremoteinteriorangles).Thisgeneralizestoalltrianglesasthefollowingrules:
Theexteriorangleofatriangleplustheinterioranglewithwhichitsharesavertexis
always180.Theexteriorangleisalsoequaltothesumofthemeasuresoftheremote
interiorangles.
3.TheRuleoftheSides.Thelengthofanysideofatrianglemustbegreaterthanthe
differenceandlessthanthesumoftheothertwosides.Inotherwords:
differenceofothertwosides<oneside<sumofothertwosides
Althoughthisrulewontallowyoutodetermineapreciselengthofthemissingside,it
willallowyoutodeterminearangeofvaluesforthemissingside,whichisexactly
whatthetestmakerswouldaskforinsuchaproblem.Heresanexample:
Whatistherangeofvaluesforxinthetriangleabove?
Sincethedifferenceof10and4is6,andthesumof10and4is14,wecandetermine
therangeofvaluesofx:
6<x<14
Keepinmindthatxmustbeinsidethisrange.Thatis,xcouldnotbe6or14.
4.TheRuleofProportion.Ineverytriangle,thelongestsideisoppositethelargest
angleandtheshortestsideisoppositethesmallestangle.Takealookatthefollowing
figureandtrytoguesswhichangleislargest.
Inthisfigure,sideaisclearlythelongestsideand isthelargestangle.Meanwhile,
sidecistheshortestsideand isthesmallestangle.Soc<b<aand
This
proportionalityofsidelengthsandanglesholdstrueforalltriangles.
Usethisruletosolvethequestionbelow:
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Whatisonepossiblevalueof x if
?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
10
15
Accordingtotheruleofproportion,thelongestsideofatriangleisoppositethe
largestangle,andtheshortestsideofatriangleisoppositethesmallestangle.The
questiontellsusthatangleC<angleA<angleB.So,thelargestangleintriangleABC
isangleB,whichisoppositethesideoflength8.Weknowtoothatthesmallestangle
isangleC,sinceangleC<angleA.Thismeansthatthethirdside,withalengthofx,
measuresbetween6and8unitsinlength.Theonlychoicethatfitsthiscriterionis7,
choiceC.
IsoscelesTriangles
Anisoscelestrianglehastwoequalsidesandtwoequalangles,likethis:
Thetickmarksindicatethatsidesaandbareequal,andthecurvedlinesinsidethe
triangleindicatethatangleAequalsangleB.Noticethatthetwoequalanglesarethe
onesoppositethetwoequalsides.Letsseehowwemightputthisknowledgetouse
onthetest.Checkoutthisnexttriangle:
Withtwoequalsides,thisisanisoscelestriangle.Eventhoughyourenotexplicitly
toldthatithastwoequalangles,anytrianglewithtwoequalsidesmustalsohavetwo
equalangles.Thismeansthatxmustbe70,becauseanglesoppositeequalsidesare
equal.Knowingthatthesumoftheanglesofanytriangleis180,wecanalsocalculate
y:y+70+70=180,ory=40.
EquilateralTriangles
Anequilateraltrianglehasthreeequalsidesandthreeequalangles,likethis:
Thetickmarkstipusoffthatthethreesidesareequal.Wecanpreciselycalculatethe
anglesbecausethe180ofanequilateraltrianglebrokenintothreeequalanglesyields
60foreach.Assoonasyouregivenonesideofanequilateraltriangle,youll
immediatelyknowtheothertwosides,becauseallthreehavethesamemeasure.If
youeverseeatrianglewiththreeequalsides,youllimmediatelyknowitsangles
measure60.Conversely,ifyouseethatatrianglesthreeinterioranglesallmeasure
60,thenyoullknowitssidesmustallbeequal.
RightTriangles
Arighttriangleisanytrianglethatcontainsarightangle.Thesideoppositetheright
angleiscalledthehypotenuse.Theothertwosidesarecalledlegs.Theanglesopposite
thelegsofarighttriangleaddupto90.Thatmakessense,becausetherightangle
itselfis90andeverytrianglecontains180total,sotheothertwoanglesmust
combinefortheother90.Righttrianglesaresospecialthattheyevenhavetheirown
rule,knownasthePythagoreantheorem.
T HE PYT HAGORE ANT HE ORE M
TheancientGreeksspentalotoftimephilosophizing,eatinggrapes,andriding
aroundondonkeys.Theyalsoenjoyedtheoccasionalmathematicalepiphany.One
day,Pythagorasdiscoveredthatthesumofthesquaresofthetwolegsofaright
triangleisequaltothesquareofthehypotenuse.Eureka!heshouted,andtheGRE
hadanewtopictotest.AndtheGreekpolicehadanewpersontoarrest,since
Pythagorashadthisepiphanywhilesittinginthebathandimmediatelyjumpedoutto
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rundownthestreetandproclaimittotheworld,entirelyinthebuff.Ormaybethat
wasArchimedes...?Hey,itwasalongtimeago.Sufficeittosaythatsomenaked
Greekguythoughtupsomethingcool.
SincePythagorastookthetroubletoinventhistheorem,theleastwecandoislearnit.
Besides,itsoneofthemostfamoustheoremsinallofmath,anditistestedwith
regularityontheGRE,toboot.Hereitis:
Inarighttriangle,a2+b2=c2,wherecisthelengthofthehypotenuseandaandbarethe
lengthsofthetwolegs.
Andheresasimpleapplication:
Whatisthevalueofbinthetriangleabove?
Thelittlesquareinthelowerleftcornerletsyouknowthatthisisarighttriangle,so
yourecleartousethePythagoreantheorem.Substitutingtheknownlengthsintothe
formulagives:
32+b2=52
9+b2=25
b2=16
b=4
Thisisthereforetheworldfamous345righttriangle.ThankstothePythagorean
theorem,ifyouknowthemeasuresofanytwosidesofarighttriangle,youcanalways
findthethird.Eureka!indeed.
PythagoreanTriples.BecauserighttrianglesobeythePythagoreantheorem,onlya
specificfewhavesidelengthsthatareallintegers.Forexample,arighttrianglewith
legsoflength3and5hasahypotenuseoflength
.Positive
integersthatobeythePythagoreantheoremarecalledPythagoreantriples,andthese
aretheonesyourelikelytoseeonyourtestasthelengthsofthesidesofright
triangles.Herearesomecommonones:
{3,4,5}
{5,12,13}
{7,24,25}
{8,15,17}
InadditiontothesePythagoreantriples,youshouldalsowatchoutfortheir
multiples.Forexample,{6,8,10}isaPythagoreantriple,sinceitisamultipleof{3,4,
5},derivedfromsimplydoublingeachvalue.Thisknowledgecansignificantlyshorten
yourworkinaproblemlikethis:
Whatisthevalueofzinthetriangleabove?
Sure,youcouldcalculateitoutusingthePythagoreantheorem,butwhowantsto
square120and130andthenworktheresultsintotheformula?Pythagorashimself
wouldprobablysay,Ah,screwit...andheadoffforachatwithSocrates.(Actually,
PythagorasdiedabouttwentyyearsbeforeSocrateswasborn,butyougetthepoint.)
ButarmedwithourPythagoreantriples,itsnoproblemforus.Thehypotenuseis
130,andoneofthelegsis120.Theratiobetweenthesesidesis130:120,or13:12.This
exactlymatchesthe{5,12,13}Pythagoreantriple.Soweremissingthe5partofthe
triplefortheotherleg.However,sincethesidesofthetriangleinthequestionare10
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timeslongerthanthoseinthe{5,12,13}triple,themissingsidemustbe510=50.
306090RIGHT T RIANGLE S
Asyoucansee,righttrianglesareprettydarnspecial.Buttherearetwoextraspecial
onesthatappearwithastoundingfrequencyontheGRE.Theyare306090right
trianglesand454590righttriangles.Whenyouseeoneofthese,insteadofworking
outthePythagoreantheorem,youllbeabletoapplystandardratiosthatexist
betweenthelengthofthesidesofthesetriangles.
Theguywhonamed306090trianglesdidnthavemuchofanimaginationor
maybehejustdidnthaveacoolnamelikePythagoras.Thenamederivesfromthe
factthatthesetriangleshaveanglesof30,60,and90.So,whatssospecialabout
that?This:Thesidelengthsof306090trianglesalwaysfollowaspecificpattern.If
theshortlegoppositethe30anglehaslengthx,thenthehypotenusehaslength2x,
andthelongleg,oppositethe60angle,haslength .Therefore:
Thesidesofevery306090trianglewillfollowtheratio1:
:2
Thankstothisconstantratio,ifyouknowthelengthofjustonesideofthetriangle,
youllimmediatelybeabletocalculatethelengthsoftheothertwo.If,forexample,
youknowthatthesideoppositethe30angleis2meters,thenbyusingtheratioyou
candeterminethatthehypotenuseis4meters,andthelegoppositethe60angleis
meters.
454590RIGHT T RIANGLE S
A454590righttriangleisatrianglewithtwoanglesof45andonerightangle.Its
sometimescalledanisoscelesrighttriangle,sinceitsbothisoscelesandright.Likethe
306090triangle,thelengthsofthesidesofa454590trianglealsofollowaspecific
pattern.Ifthelegsareoflengthx(thelegswillalwaysbeequal),thenthehypotenuse
haslength
.
Thesidesofevery454590trianglewillfollowtherationof
Thisratiowillhelpyouwhenfacedwithtriangleslikethis:
Thisrighttrianglehastwoequalsides,whichmeansthetwoanglesotherthanthe
rightanglemustbe45each.Sowehavea454590righttriangle,whichmeanswe
canemploythe
ratio.Butinsteadofbeing1and1,thelengthsofthelegsare5
and5.Sincethelengthsofthesidesinthetriangleabovearefivetimesthelengthsin
the
righttriangle,thehypotenusemustbe
,or
AreaofaTriangle
Theformulafortheareaofatriangleis:
area=
or
Keepinmindthatthebaseandheightofatrianglearenotjustanytwosidesofa
triangle.Thebaseandheightmustbeperpendicular,whichmeanstheymustmeetata
rightangle.
Letstryanexample.Whatstheareaofthistriangle?
Notethattheareaisnot
,becausethosetwosidesdonotmeetatarightangle.
Tocalculatethearea,youmustfirstdetermineb.Youllprobablynoticethatthisis
the345righttriangleyousawearlier,sob=4.Nowyouhavetwoperpendicular
sides,soyoucancorrectlycalculatetheareaasfollows:
Trianglesaresurelyimportant,buttheyarenttheonlygeometricfiguresyoullcome
acrossontheGRE.Wemovenowtoquadrilaterals,whicharefoursidedfigures.The
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firsttwowecoveryourenodoubtfamiliarwith,nomatterhowlongyouvebeenout
ofhighschool.Theothertwoyoumayhaveforgottenaboutlongago.
Rectangles
Arectangleisaquadrilateralinwhichtheoppositesidesareparallelandtheinterior
anglesareallrightangles.Theoppositesidesofarectangleareequal,asindicatedin
thefigurebelow:
AreaofaRectangle
Theformulafortheareaofarectangleis:
area=baseheightorsimplya=bh
Sincethebaseisthelengthoftherectangleandtheheightisthewidth,justmultiply
thelengthbythewidthtogettheareaofarectangle.
DiagonalsofaRectangle
Thetwodiagonalsofarectanglearealwaysequaltoeachother,andeitherdiagonal
throughtherectanglecutstherectangleintotwoequalrighttriangles.Inthefigure
below,thediagonalBDcutsrectangleABCDintocongruentrighttrianglesBADand
BCD.Congruentmeansthatthosetrianglesareexactlyidentical.
Sincethediagonaloftherectangleformsrighttrianglesthatincludethediagonaland
twosidesoftherectangle,ifyouknowtwoofthesevalues,youcanalwayscalculate
thethirdwiththePythagoreantheorem.Forexample,ifyouknowthesidelengthsof
therectangle,youcancalculatethelengthofthediagonal.Ifyouknowthediagonal
andonesidelength,youcancalculatetheothersidelength.Also,keepinmindthat
thediagonalmightcuttherectangleintoa306090triangle,inwhichcaseyoucould
usethe1: :2ratiotomakeyourcalculatingjobeveneasier.
Squares
Hey,buddy,dontyoubenosquare...
ElvisPresley,JailhouseRock
Wedontknowwhy,butsometimearoundthe1950sthewordsquarebecame
synonymouswithuncool.Ofcourse,thatsthesamedecadethatbroughtuswords
likedaddyOanddancescalledTheHandJive.
Wethinkthatsquaresareinfactniftylittlegeometriccreatures.They,alongwith
circles,areperhapsthemostsymmetricalshapesintheuniversenothingtosneeze
at.Asquareissosymmetricalbecauseitsanglesareall90andallfourofitssidesare
equalinlength.Rectanglesarefairlycommon,butaperfectsquareissomethingto
behold.Likearectangle,asquaresoppositesidesareparallelanditcontainsfour
rightangles.Butsquaresoneuprectanglesbyvirtueoftheirequalsides.
Asifyouveneverseenoneoftheseinyourlife,hereswhatasquarelookslike:
AreaofaSquare
Theformulafortheareaofasquareis:
area=s2
Inthisformula,sisthelengthofaside.Sincethesidesofasquareareallequal,all
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youneedisonesidetofigureoutasquaresarea.
DiagonalsofaSquare
Thesquarehastwomorespecialqualities:
Diagonalsbisecteachotheratrightanglesandareequalinlength.
Diagonalsbisectthevertexanglestocreate45angles.(Thismeansthatonediagonal
willcutthesquareintotwo454590triangles,whiletwodiagonalsbreakthesquare
intofour454590triangles.)
Becauseadiagonaldrawnintothesquareformstwocongruent454590triangles,if
youknowthelengthofonesideofthesquare,youcanalwayscalculatethelengthof
thediagonal:
Sincedisthehypotenuseofthe454590trianglethathaslegsoflength5,according
totheratio
,youknowthat
.Similarly,ifyouknowonlythelengthofthe
diagonal,youcanusethesameratiotoworkbackwardtocalculatethelengthofthe
sides.
Parallelograms
Aparallelogramisaquadrilateralwhoseoppositesidesareparallel.Thatmeansthat
rectanglesandsquaresqualifyasparallelograms,butsodofoursidedfiguresthat
dontcontainrightangles.
Inaparallelogram,oppositesidesareequalinlength.Thatmeansthatinthefigure
above,BC=ADandAB=DC.Oppositeanglesareequal:ABC=ADCandBAD=
BCD.Adjacentanglesaresupplementary,whichmeanstheyaddupto180.Here,an
exampleisABC+BCD=180.
AreaofaParallelogram
Theareaofaparallelogramisgivenbytheformula:
area=bh
Inthisformula,bisthelengthofthebase,andhistheheight.Asshowninthefigure
below,theheightofaparallelogramisrepresentedbyaperpendicularlinedropped
fromonesideofthefiguretothesidedesignatedasthebase.
DiagonalsofaParallelogram
Thediagonalsofaparallelogrambisect(split)eachother:BE=EDandAE=EC
Onediagonalsplitsaparallelogramintotwocongruenttriangles:ABD=BCD
Twodiagonalssplitaparallelogramintotwopairsofcongruenttriangles:AEB=
DECandBEC=AED
Trapezoids
AtrapezoidmaysoundlikeanewStarWarscharacter,butitsactuallythenameofa
quadrilateralwithonepairofparallelsidesandonepairofnonparallelsides.Heres
anexample:
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Inthistrapezoid,ABisparalleltoCD(shownbythearrowmarks),whereasACandBD
arenotparallel.
AreaofaTrapezoid
Theformulafortheareaofatrapezoidisabitmorecomplexthantheareaformulas
youveseenfortheotherquadrilateralsinthissection.Wellsetitoffsoyoucantakea
goodlookatit:
Inthisformula,s1ands2arethelengthsoftheparallelsides(alsocalledthebasesof
thetrapezoid),andhistheheight.Inatrapezoid,theheightistheperpendicular
distancefromonebasetotheother.
IfyoucomeacrossatrapezoidquestionontheGRE,youmayneedtouseyour
knowledgeoftrianglestosolveit.Heresanexampleofwhatwemean:
Findtheareaofthefigureabove.
Firstofall,werenottoldthatthefigureisatrapezoid,butwecaninferasmuchfrom
theinformationgiven.Sinceboththelinelabeled6andthelinelabeled10formright
angleswiththelineconnectingthem,the6and10linesmustbeparallel.Meanwhile,
theothertwolines(theleftandrightsidesofthefigure)cannotbeparallelbecause
oneconnectstothebottomlineatarightangle,whiletheotherconnectswiththatline
ata45angle.Sowecandeducethatthefigureisatrapezoid,whichmeansthe
trapezoidareaformulaisinplay.
Thebasesofthetrapezoidaretheparallelsides,andweretoldtheirlengthsare6and
10.Sofarsogood,buttofindthearea,wealsoneedtofindthetrapezoidsheight,
whichisntgiven.
Todothat,splitthetrapezoidintoarectangleanda454590trianglebydrawingin
theheight.
Onceyouvedrawnintheheight,youcansplitthebasethatsequalto10intotwo
parts:Thebaseoftherectangleis6,andthelegofthetriangleis4.Sincethetriangle
is454590,thetwolegsmustbeequal.Thisleg,though,isalsotheheightofthe
trapezoid.Sotheheightofthetrapezoidis4.Nowyoucanplugthenumbersintothe
formula:
Anotherwaytofindtheareaofthetrapezoidistofindtheareasofthetriangleand
therectangle,thenaddthemtogether:
area= (44)+(64)
(16)+24
8+24=32
Circles
Acircleisthecollectionofpointsequidistantfromagivenpoint,calledthecenter.
Circlesarenamedaftertheircenterpointsthatsjusteasierthangivingthemnames
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likeRalphandBetty.Allcirclescontain360.Thedistancefromthecentertoany
pointonthecircleiscalledtheradius(r).Radiusisthemostimportantmeasurement
inacircle,becauseifyouknowacirclesradius,youcanfigureoutallitsother
characteristics,suchasitsarea,diameter,andcircumference.Wellcoverallthatin
thenextfewpages.Thediameter(d)ofacirclestretchesbetweenendpointsonthe
circle,passingthroughthecenter.Achordalsoextendsfromendpointtoendpointon
thecircle,butitdoesnotnecessarilypassthroughthecenter.Inthefollowingfigure,
pointCisthecenterofthecircle,ristheradius,andABisachord.
TangentLines
Tangentsarelinesthatintersectacircleatonlyonepoint.Justlikeeverythingelsein
geometry,tangentlinesaredefinedbycertainfixedrules.
Heresthefirst:Aradiuswhoseendpointistheintersectionpointofthetangentline
andthecircleisalwaysperpendiculartothetangentline,asshowninthefollowing
figure:
Andthesecondrule:Everypointinspaceoutsidethecirclecanextendexactlytwo
tangentlinestothecircle.Thedistancesfromtheoriginofthetwotangentstothe
pointsoftangencyarealwaysequal.Inthefigurebelow,XY=XZ.
CentralAnglesandInscribedAngles
Ananglewhosevertexisthecenterofthecircleiscalledacentralangle.
Thedegreeofthecircle(thesliceofpie)cutbyacentralangleisequaltothemeasure
oftheangle.Ifacentralangleis25,thenitcutsa25arcinthecircle.
Aninscribedangleisanangleformedbytwochordsoriginatingfromasinglepoint.
Aninscribedanglewillalwayscutoutanarcinthecirclethatistwicethesizeofthe
degreeoftheinscribedangle.Forexample,ifaninscribedangleis40,itwillcutan
arcof80inthecircle.
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Ifaninscribedangleandacentralanglecutoutthesamearcinacircle,thecentral
anglewillbetwiceaslargeastheinscribedangle.
CircumferenceofaCircle
Thecircumferenceistheperimeterofthecirclethatis,thetotaldistancearoundthe
circle.Theformulaforcircumferenceofacircleis:
circumference=2r
Inthisformula,ristheradius.Sinceacirclesdiameterisalwaystwiceitsradius,the
formulacanalsobewrittenc=d,wheredisthediameter.Letsfindthe
circumferenceofthecirclebelow:
Pluggingtheradiusintotheformula,c=2r=2(3)=6.
ArcLength
Anarcisapartofacirclescircumference.Anarccontainstwoendpointsandallthe
pointsonthecirclebetweentheendpoints.Bypickinganytwopointsonacircle,two
arcsarecreated:amajorarc,whichisbydefinitionthelongerarc,andaminorarc,the
shorterone.
Sincethedegreeofanarcisdefinedbythecentralorinscribedanglethatintercepts
thearcsendpoints,youcancalculatethearclengthaslongasyouknowthecircles
radiusandthemeasureofeitherthecentralorinscribedangle.
Thearclengthformulais:
arclength=
Inthisformula,nisthemeasureofthedegreeofthearc,andristheradius.This
makessense,ifyouthinkaboutit:Thereare360inacircle,sothedegreeofanarc
dividedby360givesusthefractionofthetotalcircumferencethatarcrepresents.
Multiplyingthatbythetotalcircumference(2pr)givesusthelengthofthearc.
Heresthesortofarclengthquestionyoumightseeonthetest:
CircleDhasradius9.WhatisthelengthofarcAB?
TofigureoutthelengthofarcAB,weneedtoknowtheradiusofthecircleandthe
measureofC,theinscribedanglethatinterceptstheendpointsofarcAB.The
questionprovidestheradiusofthecircle,9,butitthrowsusalittlecurveballbynot
providingthemeasureofC.Instead,thequestionputsCinatriangleandtellsus
themeasuresoftheothertwoanglesinthetriangle.Likewesaid,onlyalittle
curveball:YoucaneasilyfigureoutthemeasureofCbecause,asyouknowbynow,
thethreeanglesofatriangleaddupto180:
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c=180(50+70)
c=180120
c=60
Sincecisaninscribedangle,arcABmustbetwiceitsmeasure,or120.Nowwecan
plugthesevaluesintotheformulaforarclength:
AreaofaCircle
Ifyouknowtheradiusofacircle,youcanfigureoutitsarea.Theformulaforareais:
area=r2
Inthisformula,ristheradius.Sowhenyouneedtofindtheareaofacircle,yourreal
goalistofigureouttheradius.Ineasierquestionstheradiuswillbegiven.Inharder
questions,theyllgiveyouthediameterorcircumferenceandyoullhavetousethe
formulasforthosetocalculatetheradius,whichyoullthenplugintothearea
formula.
AreaofaSector
Asectorofacircleistheareaenclosedbyacentralangleandthecircleitself.Its
shapedlikeasliceofpizza.Theshadedregioninthefigureontheleftbelowisa
sector.Thefigureontherightisasliceofpepperonipizza.Seetheresemblance?
Theareaofasectorisrelatedtotheareaofacirclejustasthelengthofanarcis
relatedtothecircumference.Tofindtheareaofasector,findwhatfractionof360
thesectormakesupandmultiplythisfractionbythetotalareaofthecircle.In
formulaform:
areaofasector=
Inthisformula,nisthemeasureofthecentralanglethatformstheboundaryofthe
sector,andristheradius.Anexamplewillhelp.Findtheareaofthesectorinthe
figurebelow:
Thesectorisboundedbya70centralangleinacirclewhoseradiusis6.Usingthe
formula,theareaofthesectoris:
MishMashes:FigureswithMultipleShapes
TheGREtestmakersevidentlyfeelitwouldbenofunifallofthesegeometricshapes
yourelearningappearedinisolation,sosometimestheymashthemtogether.The
trickintheseproblemsistounderstandandbeabletomanipulatetherulesofeach
figureindividually,whilealsorecognizingwhichelementsofthemishmashesoverlap.
Forexample,thediameterofacirclemayalsobethesideofasquare,soifyouusethe
rulesofcirclestocalculatethatlength,youcanthenusethatanswertodetermine
somethingaboutthesquare,suchasitsareaorperimeter.
Mishmashproblemsoftencombinecircleswithotherfigures.Heresanexample:
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WhatisthelengthofminorarcBEincircleAiftheareaofrectangleABCDis18?
TofindthelengthofminorarcBE,youhavetoknowtwothings:theradiusofthe
circleandthemeasureofthecentralanglethatintersectsthecircleatpointsBandE.
BecauseABCDisarectangle,andrectanglesonlyhaverightangles,BADis90.In
thisquestion,theytellyouasmuchbyincludingtherightanglesign.Butinaharder
question,theydleavetherightanglesignoutandexpectyoutodeducethatBADis
90onyourown.AndsincethatanglealsohappenstobethecentralangleofcircleA
interceptingthearcinquestion,wecandeterminethatarcBEmeasures90.
Findingtheradiusrequiresabitofcreativevisualizationaswell,butitsnotsohard.
Thekeyistorealizethattheradiusofthecircleisequaltothewidthoftherectangle.
Soletsworkbackwardfromtherectangletogiveuswhatweneedtoknowaboutthe
circle.Theareaoftherectangleis18,anditslengthis6.Sincetheareaofarectangleis
simplyitslengthmultipliedbyitswidth,wecandivide18by6togetawidthof3.As
weveseen,thisrectanglewidthdoublesasthecirclesradius,sowereinbusiness:
radius=3.Allwehavetodoispluginthevalueswefoundintothearclengthformula,
andweredone.
Thatcoversthetwodimensionalfiguresyoushouldknow,buttherearealsosome
threedimensionalfiguresyoumaybeaskedaboutaswell.Wellfinishupthis
geometrysectionwithalookatthose.
RectangularSolids
Arectangularsolidisaprismwitharectangularbaseandedgesthatareperpendicular
toitsbase.InEnglish,itlooksalotlikeacardboardbox.
Arectangularsolidhasthreeimportantdimensions:length(l),width(w),andheight
(h).Ifyouknowthesethreemeasurements,youcanfindthesolidsvolume,surface
area,anddiagonallength.
VolumeofaRectangularSolid
Theformulaforthevolumeofarectangularsolidbuildsontheformulaforthearea
ofarectangle.Asdiscussedearlier,theareaofarectangleisequaltoitslengthtimes
itswidth.Theformulaforthevolumeofarectangularsolidaddsthethirddimension,
height,toget:
volume=lwh
Heresagoodoldfashionedexample:
Whatisthevolumeofthefigurepresentedbelow?
Thelengthis3x,thewidthisx,andtheheightis2x.Justplugthevaluesintothe
volumeformulaandyouregoodtogo:v=(3x)(x)(2x)=6x3.
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SurfaceAreaofaRectangularSolid
Thesurfaceareaofasolidistheareaofitsoutermostskin.Inthecaseofrectangular
solids,imagineacardboardboxallclosedup.Thesurfaceofthatclosedboxismade
ofsixrectangles:Thesumoftheareasofthesixrectanglesisthesurfaceareaofthe
box.Tomakethingseveneasier,thesixrectanglescomeinthreecongruentpairs.
Wevemarkedthecongruentpairsbyshadesofgrayintheimagebelow:Onepairis
clear,onepairislightgray,andonepairisdarkgray.
Twofaceshaveareasoflw,twofaceshaveareasoflh,andtwofaceshaveareasof
wh.Thesurfaceareaoftheentiresolidisthesumoftheareasofthecongruent
pairs:surfacearea=2lw+2lh+2wh.
Letstrytheformulaoutonthesamesolidwesawabove.Findthesurfaceareaofthis:
Again,thelengthis3x,thewidthisx,andtheheightis2x.Pluggingintotheformula,
weget:
surfacearea=2(3x)(x)+2(3x)(2x)+2(x)(2x)
=6x2+12x2+4x2
=22x2
DIVIDINGRE CT ANGULARSOLIDS
IfyouredoingreallywellontheMathsection,theCATprogramwillbeginscrounging
forthetoughest,mostesotericproblemsitcanfindtothrowyourway.Onesuch
problemmaydescribeasolid,giveyouallofitsmeasurements,andthentellyouthat
theboxhasbeencutinhalf,likeso:
Anumberofpossiblequestionscouldbecreatedfromthisscenario.Forexample,you
maybeaskedtofindthecombinedsurfaceareaofthetwonewboxes.Ormaybea
QuantitativeComparisonquestionwouldaskyoutocomparethevolumeofthe
originalsolidwiththatofthetwonewones.Actually,thevolumeremainsunchanged,
butthesurfaceareaincreasesbecausetwonewsides(shadedinthediagram)emerge
whentheboxiscutinhalf.Youmayneedtoemployabitofreasoningalongwiththe
formulasyourelearningtoansweradifficultquestionlikethis,butithelpstoknow
thisgeneralrule:Wheneverasolidiscutintosmallerpieces,itssurfacearea
increases,butitsvolumeisunchanged.
DiagonalLengthofaRectangularSolid
Thediagonalofarectangularsolid,d,isthelinesegmentwhoseendpointsare
oppositecornersofthesolid.Everyrectangularsolidhasfourdiagonals,eachwiththe
samelength,thatconnecteachpairofoppositevertices.Heresonediagonaldrawnin:
Itspossiblethataquestionwilltesttoseeifyoucanfindthelengthofadiagonal.
Herestheformula:
Again,listhelength,wisthewidth,andhistheheight.Theformulaislikeapumped
upversionofthePythagoreantheorem.Checkitoutinaction:
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WhatisthelengthofdiagonalAHintherectangularsolidbelowifAC=5,GH=6,andCG=3?
Thequestiongivesthelength,width,andheightoftherectangularsolid,soyoucan
justplugthosenumbersintotheformula:
Theproblemcouldbemademoredifficultifitforcedyoutofirstcalculatesomeofthe
dimensionsbeforepluggingthemintotheformula.
Cubes
Acubeisathreedimensionalsquare.Thelength,width,andheightofacubeare
equal,andeachofitssixfacesisasquare.Hereswhatitlookslikeprettybasic:
VolumeofaCube
Theformulaforfindingthevolumeofacubeisessentiallythesameastheformulafor
thevolumeofarectangularsolid:Wejustneedtomultiplythelength,width,and
height.However,sinceacubeslength,width,andheightareallequal,theformulafor
thevolumeofacubeiseveneasier:
volume=s3
Inthisformula,sisthelengthofoneedgeofthecube.
SurfaceAreaofaCube
Sinceacubeisjustarectangularsolidwhosesidesareallequal,theformulafor
findingthesurfaceareaofacubeisthesameastheformulaforfindingthesurface
areaofarectangularsolid,exceptwithssubstitutedinforl,w,andh.Thisboilsdown
to:
volume=6s2
DiagonalLengthofaCube
Theformulaforthediagonalofacubeisalsoadaptedfromtheformulaforthe
diagonallengthofarectangularsolid,withssubstitutedforl,w,andh.Thisyields
,whichsimplifiesto:
volume=
RightCircularCylinders
Arightcircularcylinderlookslikeoneofthosecardboardthingsthattoiletpaper
comeson,exceptitisnthollow.Ithastwocongruentcircularbasesandlookslikethis:
Theheight,h,isthelengthofthelinesegmentwhoseendpointsarethecentersofthe
circularbases.Theradius,r,istheradiusofitsbase.FortheGRE,allyouneedto
knowaboutarightcircularcylinderishowtocalculateitsvolume.
VolumeofaRightCircularCylinder
Thevolumeofthiskindofsolidistheproductoftheareaofitsbaseanditsheight.
Becausearightcircularcylinderhasacircularbase,itsvolumeisequaltotheareaof
thecircularbasetimestheheightor:
volume=r2h
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Findthevolumeofthecylinderbelow:
Thiscylinderhasaradiusof4andaheightof6.Usingthevolumeformula,itsvolume
=(4)2(6)=96.
WevecoveredalotofgroundsofarinthisMath101chapter,workingourway
througharithmetic,algebra,andnowgeometry.Wellbringitonhomewithourfinal
subject,dataanalysis.
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