[Link] Chapter 30.
Angle Chasing
30.1 Basics of Angle Chasing
• Sum of angles in triangle is 180°
• Sum of angles in a line is 180°
• A triangle with 2 equal angles will have their corresponding sides equal and a triangle
with 2 sides equal will have their corresponding angles equal. Such a triangle is called
an isosceles triangle.
Concept 30.1.1 (Complementary Angle)
Complementary angles are a pair of angles with the sum of 90 degrees
Concept 30.1.2 (Supplementary Angle)
Supplementary angles are a pair of angles with the sum of 180 degrees
Concept 30.1.3 (Intersecting lines)
When two lines intersect, the vertical angles are equal. Vertical angles are each of the
pairs of opposite angles made by two intersecting lines. ”Vertical” in this case means
they share the same Vertex (corner point), not the usual meaning of up-down.
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
Concept 30.1.4 (Parallel Lines)
Corresponding angles equal
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
Example 30.1 (AMC 10)
Triangle ABC has AB = 2 · AC. Let D and E be on AB and BC, respectively, such
that ∠BAE = ∠ACD. Let F be the intersection of segments AE and CD, and suppose
that △CF E is equilateral. What is ∠ACB?
B
C E
Video Solution
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
Example 30.2 (AIME)
In △ABC with AB = AC, point D lies strictly between A and C on side AC, and point
E lies strictly between A and B on side AB such that AE = ED = DB = BC. The
degree measure of ∠ABC is m n
, where m and n are relatively prime positive integers.
Find m + n.
C B
Video Solution
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
Theorem 30.1.5
Sum of interior angle of a polygon = (n − 2) · 180
(n − 2)
Interior angle of a regular polygon = · 180
n
360
Exterior angle of a regular polygon =
n
Fact 30.1.6. Important Interior Angles
Number of sides in regular polygon Interior Angle of regular polygon
3 60
4 90
5 108
6 120
8 135
9 140
10 144
Theorem 30.1.7 (Inscribed Arc Theorem)
The angle formed by an arc in the center or the arc angle is double of the angle formed
on the edge.
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
Corollary 30.1.8 (Inscribed Right Triangle)
Inscribed triangle with diameter as one side is always a right triangle.
Definition 30.1.9 (Chord). A Chord is a line segment between any two distinct points on
the circle. The diameter of the circle is the longest chord in the circle.
Theorem 30.1.10
The perpendicular bisector of any chord passes through the center. In the figure below,
the perpendicular bisectors of AB and CD intersect at the center O.
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
Corollary 30.1.11 • Congruent chords are equidistant from the center of a circle.
• If two chords in a circle are congruent, then their intercepted arcs are congruent.
• If two chords in a circle are congruent, then they determine two central angles that
are congruent.
Theorem 30.1.12
The angle marked in the diagram is half of the difference of the 2 red arcs.
⌢ ⌢
BD − AC
∠AP C =
2
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
Theorem 30.1.13
If two chords AB and CD intersect at P, then the ∠BP C and ∠AP D are equal to the
average of the two arcs.
⌢ ⌢
BC + AD
∠BP C = ∠AP D =
2
Theorem 30.1.14
If a tangent R intersects the circle at Q, and a chord QP is drawn, then the ∠RQP is
equal to half the arc angle
Remark 30.1.15
Circles are really useful for angle chasing so keep an eye out for the inscribed arc theorem
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
that can be used in many angle chasing problems.
Remark 30.1.16
A useful trick to solving angle chasing problems with regular polygons is to draw a circle
around the polygon and use the inscribed arc theorem.
Theorem 30.1.17
Equal chords mark out equal arcs
This basically means that if you have 2 chords of the same length, the sector of the circle
they mark out will be equal
Definition 30.1.18 (Tangent). A tangent is any line from a point external to the circle that
just touches the circle.
Theorem 30.1.19 (Right Angle Tangency Point)
If you connect the center of a circle to the point where the circle and a line are tangent,
they will form a right angle.
Remark 30.1.20
This property is very useful in circle problems as it allows us to work with right angles.
In addition, another helpful technique is drawing useful radii to various points in your
diagram as that opens up new information to work with.
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
Theorem 30.1.21 (Properties of a Cyclic quadrilateral)
Sum of opposite angles = 180
Example 30.3 (AMC 10)
Let △ABC be an isosceles triangle with BC = AC and ∠ACB = 40◦ . Construct the
circle with diameter BC, and let D and E be the other intersection points of the circle
with the sides AC and AB, respectively. Let F be the intersection of the diagonals of
the quadrilateral BCDE. What is the degree measure of ∠BF C?
F D
B E A
Video Solution
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
30.2 Practice Problems
Problem 30.2.1 (AMC 10)
Let ABCDEF be an equiangular
√ hexagon. The lines AB, CD, and EF determine
a triangle
√ with area 192 3, and the lines BC, DE, and F A determine a triangle with
√
area 324 3. The perimeter of hexagon ABCDEF can be expressed as m + n p, where
m, n, and p are positive integers and p is not divisible by the square of any prime. What
is m + n + p?
Video Solution
Problem 30.2.2 (AMC)
Two congruent circles centered at points A and B each pass through the other cir-
cle’s center. The line containing both A and B is extended to intersect the circles at
points C and D. The circles intersect at two points, one of which is E. What is the degree
measure of ∠CED?
Video Solution
Problem 30.2.3 (MATHCOUNTS)
A square is located in the interior of a regular hexagon, and certain vertices are la-
beled as shown. What is the degree measure of ∠ABC?
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
Video Solution
Problem 30.2.4 (AMC 10)
In the given circle, the diameter EB is parallel to DC, and AB is parallel to ED.
The angles AEB and ABE are in the ratio 4 : 5. What is the degree measure of angle
BCD?
E O B
D C
Video Solution
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
Problem 30.2.5 (AMC 10)
The keystone arch is an ancient architectural feature. It is composed of congruent
isosceles trapezoids fitted together along the non-parallel sides, as shown. The bottom
sides of the two end trapezoids are horizontal. In an arch made with 9 trapezoids, let x
be the angle measure in degrees of the larger interior angle of the trapezoid. What is x?
Video Solution
Additional Problems
Problem 30.2.6 (AHSME)
△ABC is isosceles with base AC. Points P and Q are respectively in CB and AB
and such that AC = AP = P Q = QB. The number of degrees in ∠B is:
Problem 30.2.7 (AHSME)
In this diagram AB and AC are the equal sides of an isosceles △ABC, in which is
inscribed equilateral △DEF . Designate ∠BF D by a, ∠ADE by b, and ∠F EC by c.
Then:
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
A
E
D b c
a
B F C
(A) b = a+c
2
(B) b = a−c
2
(C) a = b−c
2
(D) a = b+c
2
(E) none of these
Problem 30.2.8 (AMC 10)
How many non-similar triangles have angles whose degree measures are distinct positive
integers in arithmetic progression?
Problem 30.2.9 (MATHCOUNTS)
Concave quadrilateral ABCD is symmetric about the line AC. The measures of an-
gles DAB and ABC are 84 degrees and 32 degrees, respectively. The dashed line segments
bisect angles ABC and ADC. What is the degree measure of the acute angle at which
the two dashed line segments intersect?
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
Problem 30.2.10 (AMC 10/12)
As shown in the figure below, point E lies on the opposite half-plane determined by line
CD from point A so that ∠CDE = 110◦ . Point F lies on AD so that DE = DF , and
ABCD is a square. What is the degree measure of ∠AF E?
E
A F
D
110◦
B C
Problem 30.2.11 (AHSME)
In the adjoining figure, ABCD is a square, ABE is an equilateral triangle and point E
is outside square ABCD. What is the measure of ∡AED in degrees?
A
D
C
B
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
Video Solution
Problem 30.2.12 (AMC 10)
The angles of quadrilateral ABCD satisfy ∠A = 2∠B = 3∠C = 4∠D. What is the
degree measure of ∠A, rounded to the nearest whole number?
Problem 30.2.13 (AMC 10)
The sum of two angles of a triangle is 65 of a right angle, and one of these two an-
gles is 30◦ larger than the other. What is the degree measure of the largest angle in the
triangle?
Problem 30.2.14 (AMC 10)
Mary divides a circle into 12 sectors. The central angles of these sectors, measured
in degrees, are all integers and they form an arithmetic sequence. What is the degree
measure of the smallest possible sector angle?
Problem 30.2.15 (AHSME)
An acute isosceles triangle, ABC, is inscribed in a circle. Through B and C, tan-
gents to the circle are drawn, meeting at point D. If ∠ABC = ∠ACB = 2∠D and x is
the radian measure of ∠A, then x =
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
Problem 30.2.16 (AIME)
Triangle ABC is isosceles with AC = BC and ∠ACB = 106◦ . Point M is in the
interior of the triangle so that ∠M AC = 7◦ and ∠M CA = 23◦ . Find the number of
degrees in ∠CM B.
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
Problem 30.2.17 (AMC 10)
Quadrilateral ABCD has AB = BC = CD, angle ABC = 70 and angle BCD = 170.
What is the measure of angle BAD?
Problem 30.2.18 (AIME)
A beam of light strikes BC at point C with angle of incidence α = 19.94◦ and re-
flects with an equal angle of reflection as shown. The light beam continues its path,
reflecting off line segments AB and BC according to the rule: angle of incidence equals
angle of reflection. Given that β = α/10 = 1.994◦ and AB = BC, determine the number
of times the light beam will bounce off the two line segments. Include the first reflection
at C in your count.
Answers
30.1 90°
30.2 547
30.3 110
30.2.1 55
30.2.2 120
30.2.3 45
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[Link] Chapter 30. Angle Chasing
30.2.4 130
30.2.5 100°
30.2.6 25 57
30.2.7 a = b+c
2
30.2.8 59
30.2.9 64
30.2.10 170
30.2.11 15
30.2.12 173
30.2.13 72
30.2.14 8
3π
30.2.15 7
30.2.16 83
30.2.17 85
30.2.18 071
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