Geometry Reference

Points, Lines and Planes

Circles

Definitions

Definitions

Point(): a position without length, width or depth.

Line ( ): a series of points that create length, but have no thickness or
depth. May be curved, but typically straight with infinite length.
Parallel Lines ( P ): two or more lines that never intersect. Both lines will
have the same slope.
Transversal: the line that intersects to parallel lines.
Perpendicular Lines ( ): two lines that intersect at a 90angle. The
product of their slopes will equal 1.
Line Segment (): the line between 2 points.
Ray (): a portion of a line that extends infinitely in one direction.
Angle (): a form created when two rays share an endpoint.
Complimentary Angles: two angles with a sum measurement of 90.
Supplementary Angles: two angles with a sum measurement of 180.
Vertical Angles: congruent, non-adjacent angles formed by intersecting
lines
Plane ( ): an infinite series of points or lines with no depth.

Circle: the set of all points on a plane that are equidistant from the
center.
Radius: a line segment with endpoints on the center and any point on
the circle.
Diameter: a line segment that passes through the center of the circle
and has endpoints on the circle.
Chord: a segment that joins any two points on the circle.
Circumference: the distance around a circle.
Arc: a part of the circle with endpoints on the circle.
Secant: a line with two points on the circle.
Tangent: a line with only one point on the circle. The radius through that
point of the circle is perpendicular to the tangent line
Central Angle: the angle created by two radii.
Inscribed Angle: an angle formed by two chords whose vertex lies on
the circle
Intercepted Arc: an arc between two specific points on a circle
Concentric Circles: circles with the same center

Formulas

Angle and Arc Relationships

Note: All formulas refer to the points (x1,y1) and (x2,y2).

Distance Formula
d=

( x 2 x1 ) + ( y 2 y1 )

Slope
y y1
m= 2
x2 x1

Midpoint Formula

( x m , y m ) = x 2 x 1 , y 2 y 1

Equation of a line
(point-slope form)

Equation of a line
(slope-intercept form)

y y1 = m ( x x 1 )

y = mx + b

Polygons
Definition
Polygon: a closed plane figure with a minimum of three sides. Sides
are composed of line segments that intersect at endpoints that are
non-collinear

Types

A Central Angle is measured by the length of the intercepted arc

An Inscribed Angle is measured by one half the length of the
intercepted arc
Chord and Tangent Angles: angles formed by a chord and a tangent
line are measured by half the length of the arcs they intercept
Interior Chord Angles: the angle formed by two intersecting chords
within a circle; angle is measured by one half the sum of the
intercepted arc lengths
Exterior Chord Angles: the angle formed by two chords that intersect
outside the circle; angle is measured by one half the difference of the
intercepted arc lengths

Formulas

Equation of a circle: a circle with a center at point (h,k) and a radius of r

will have the equation r 2 = (x-h)2 + (y-k) 2
Circumference: the distance around a circle is equal to pi times two
times the radius or C=p*2r
Area: the area of a circle is equal to pi times the radius squared or
A=p*r 2

Regular: a polygon in which sides are congruent (equilateral) and

interior angles are congruent (equiangular).
Convex Polygon: a polygon Concave Polygon: a polygon in which
Transformations
in which any line segment
one or more line segments connecting
connecting two endpoints lies two endpoints does not lie on the
Definitions
on the interior of the polygon. interior of the polygon.
Image: the point, line or figure that results from a transformation
Pre-Image: the original point, line or figure
Interior
Interior
Types
Isometry: a transformation in which the image is congruent to the preimage
Angle Measures for Regular Polygons
Reflection:
points, lines or figures are mirrored or flipped across a point,
Shape
Number Sum of Interior Interior Angle Exterior Angle
line
or
plane
of Sides
Angles
Measure
Measure
Rotation: points, lines or figured are turned around a point at a specified
Triangle
3
180
60
300
angle
Quadrilateral
4
360
90
270
Translation: points, lines or figures are moved a specific distance in a
Pentagon
5
540
108
252
specific direction
Composition: a series of transformations
Hexagon
6
720
120
240
n-gon
n
180(n-2)=m
m/n=mi
360-mi=me Symmetry: an isometry that maps a figure onto itself
Rose-Hulman Homework Hotline

Geometry Study Guide

Triangles

Polyhedron

Types

Definitions and Formulas

Right Triangle: a triangle with a 90 angle.

Acute Triangle: a triangle in which all angles are less than 90.
Obtuse Triangle: a triangle with one angle greater than 90.
Equiangular Triangle: a triangle in which all angles have the same measure.
Equilateral Triangle: a triangle constructed of three equal sides.
Isosceles Triangle: a triangle in which two sides are equal or congruent.
Scalene Triangle: a triangle in which all sides are different lengths.

Polyhedron: a three dimensional figure constructed of polygons.

Faces: the polygons that form the sides of the polyhedron
Edges: the line segment formed where two polygons intersect
Vertices: the point at which the edges intersect to form corners
Eulers Formula: the sum of the number of faces and vertices of a
polyhedron is equal to two more than the number of edges or
F + V = E +2
Platonic Solids: the five polyhedron that are constructed of only
Terms
regular polygons. See Table Below
Altitude: a perpendicular line from the vertex of one angle to the side
Polygon
Faces Edges Vertices
opposite the angle.
Median: a line segment connecting the vertext of one angle to the midpoint of Tetrahedron
Triangle
4
6
4
the side opposite the angle.
Cube
Square
6
12
8
Incenter: the point at which the angle bisectors of a triangle intersect.
Octahedron
Triangle
8
12
6
Circumcenter: the point at which the perpendicular bisectors of each side of
Dodecahedron
Pentagon
12
30
20
the triangle intersect.
Icosahedron
Triangle
20
30
12
Centroid: the point at which all three medians of a triangle intersect.
Orthocenter: the point at which all three altitudes of a triangle intersect.
Quadrilaterals

Fomulas

Area: the area of a triangle is equal to one half the base times the height or
A= 1/2 (b*h)
Perimeter: the distance around a triangle is equal to the sum of the three
sides or P= s1 + s2 +s3

Congruence

Corresponding Parts of Congruent Triangles are Congruent (CPCTC).

Angle-Side-Angle (ASA): Triangles are congruent if two angles and the
included side of one triangle are congruent to the corresponding angles
and side of another triangle.
Angle-Angle-Side (AAS): Triangles are congruent if two angles and a nonincluded side of one triangle are congruent to the corresponding angles
and side of another triangle.
Side-Angle-Side (SAS): Triangles are congruent if two sides and the
included angle of one triangle are congruent to the corresponding sides
and angle of another triangle.
Side-Side-Side (SSS): Triangles are congruent if all three sides of one
triangle and the corresponding sides of another triangle are congruent.

Similarity

Angle-Angle-Angle (AAA): Triangles are congruent if all angles of one

triangle are congruent to the corresponding angles of another triangle.
Corresponding parts of similar triangles are proportionate to each other.

Types
Parallelogram: a four sided figure made of two sets of parallel
lines.
Rhombus: a parallelogram with four equal sides.
Rectangle: a parallelogram with four right angles.
Square: a parallelogram with four right angles and four equal sides.
Trapezoid: a quadrilateral with one set of parallel lines.
Kite: a quadrilateral with two pairs of congruent sides that are
adjacent.

Right Triangles
Definition: the sum of each leg squared is equal to the
hypotenuse squared.
Formula: c2 = a2 + b2
Converse of the Pythagorean Theorem
B
If c2 =a2 + b2 , then triangle ABC is a right triangle
If c2 < a2 + b2 , then triangle ABC is an acute triangle
If c2 > a2 + b2 , then triangle ABC is an obtuse triangle

Rose-Hulman Homework Hotline

b
a

90

Special Right Triangles

30-60-90

Inequality of Triangles

Triangle Inequality Theorem: the sum of the measures of any two sides of a
triangle is greater than the measure of the third side.
Sides and Angles: if the measure of one side on a triangle is greater than
the measure of a second side, then the angle opposite the first side is
greater than the angle opposite the second side.
Angles and Sides: if the measure of one angle in a triangle is greater than
the measure of a second angle, then the side opposite the first angle is
greater than the side opposite the second angle.
Exterior Angle Inequality Theorem: the measure of an exterior angle on a
triangle is greater than the measure of either of the non-adjacent interior
angles.
Hinge Theorem: If two sides of a triangle A are congruent to two sides of
triangle B and the angle between the two sides on triangle A is greater than
the angle between the two sides on triangle B, then the third side of triangle
A is greater than the third side of triangle B.

Pythagorean Theorem

3x

45-45-90
x

45
30

45

60

2x

2x

Trigonometric Ratios
See figure
to the left

r
y

sin (T) =
cos (T) =

Trig Identities
sin2 + cos 2 = 1
sec 2 = tan2 + 1
2
2
csc = cot + 1

tan (T) = sin (T)

cos (T)
1
csc (T) =
sin (T)
1
sec (T) =
cos (T)
1
cot (T ) =
tan (T)

=
=
=
=

opposite
hypotenuse
adjacent
hypotenuse
opposite
adjacent
hypotenuse
opposite
hypotenuse
adjacent
adjacent
opposite

=
=
=
=
=
=

y
r
x
r
y
x
r
y
r
x
x
y

Geometry Study Guide