Cliffs Notes

Geometry

Approx. 10% of the quantitative portion of the GMAT

Lines and Angles
2 straight lines that intersect form 4 angles
Sum of angles on one side = 180
Angles on opposite sides of intersection are identical
Parallel lines never intersect
Perpendicular lines are at 90
Triangles
Sum of the angles in a triangle is 180, regardless of shape.
Perimeter of a triangle is sum of the length of the sides (= a + b + c).
Area of a triangle is base times height divided by 2: A = (b x h)/2
Isosceles triangle: 2 sides are the same length; also 2 angles the same
Equilateral triangle: all 3 sides the same length; all 3 angles 60
Right triangle: one angle is 90
Longest side is the hypotenuse
Pythagorean Theorem: a2 + b2 = c2
Can calculate length of 1 side based on other 2 - only if a right triangle
Commonly used right triangles on GMAT have proportions 3, 4, 5 and 5, 12, 13; also 7, 24, 25
30, 60, 90 triangle has side proportions 1, 31/2, & 2; isoc. 45, 45, 90 has sides 1, 1, 21/2
31/2 = 1.73
21/2 = 1.41
Triangles that are not right triangles may often be split into multiple right triangles
in order to calculate lengths that would otherwise be impossible to calculate.
Quadrilaterals
(angles) of n-sided polygon =
Four sides; interior angles always add up to 360.
(n-2)180
Square - every side is the same length, every angle is 90.
Area = a2
Perimeter = 4a
Rectangle - opposite sides are parallel and of same length; every angle is 90.
Perimeter = 2a
Area = a x b
+ 2b
Parallelogram - opposite sides are parallel and of same length
Perimeter = 2a
Area = b x h (height)
+ 2b
Trapezoid - 2 sides are parallel
Area = h (b + c)/2
Perimeter = a + b + c + d
Circles
Radius is distance from midpoint to circle
d = 2r
Diameter is distance across the circle, going through the midpoint.

is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter

Area = r2

Circumference = 2r or d

= 3.14 or about
22/7

Chord - a line that connects any two points on a circle.

Tangent - a light that touches a circle at only one point
A tangent is perpendicular to the radius at the point of tangency.
Arc - a section of the circle's perimeter; described by the angle.
Length = d (Angle of arc / 360 )

Inscribed angle (radius) is half of minor arc angle (diameter as end-point)

Triangle formed by end points of diameter and 3rd point is a right triangle.
3D Figures and Volumes
Vertices are corners
Edges are lines where faces intersect (units of length)
Base means the area of a particular face (area has units of length 2)
Volume = base x height (volume = area x length, has units of length 3)
Rectangular solid - each side (face) a rectangle; each face at 90
Cube - a rectangular side with all edges the same length
Cylinder - base of cylinder is its circular face
Coordinate geometry
x-axis is horizontal
y-axis is vertical
Intersection of x and y axes is the origin
Points on the coordinate plane described by (x,y)
Can calculate distance between points using the Pythagorean Theorem
Straight line on the coordinate plane can be described by equation y = ax + b
a describes the slope of the line
b describes the y-intercept
Quadratic equations (y = ax2 + bx + c) produce curved lines