Circle Theorems
A Circle features…….
from
… the distance across
around
centre passing
the circle,
Circle…of the circle
Diameter to any point on the of
through the centre
circumference
…
theits
circle
PERIMETER
Radius
A Circle features…….
Minor Major
Segment Segment
C
AR
… part
a lineofwhich
joining
the touches
two
d
circumference
points on the of a at
or
the circumference
Ch
circle
circumference.
one point only
… chord
From divides
Italian circleto
tangere,
into two segments
touch
Tan
g en t
Properties of circles
When angles, triangles and quadrilaterals
are constructed in a circle, the angles
have certain properties
We are going to look at 4 such properties
before trying out some questions together
An ANGLE on a chord We say “Angles
subtended by a chord
in the same segment
are equal”
An angle that ‘sits’ on a
chord does not change as
the APEX moves around
the circumference
… as long as it stays
in the same segment
From now on, we will only consider the CHORD, not the ARC
Very often, the exam
Typical examples tries to confuse you by
drawing in the chords
Find angles a and b
Imagine the Chord
Angle a = 44º
Angle b = 28º
YOU have to see the
Angles on the same
chord for yourself
Angle at the centre
A Consider the two angles
which stand on this
same chord
What do you notice
about the angle at the
circumference?
Chord It is half the angle at the
centre
We say “If two angles stand on the same chord,
then the angle at the centre is twice the angle at
the circumference”
Angle at the centre
It’s still true when we move
The apex, A, around the
circumference
272°
A
As long as it stays in the
same segment
Of course, the reflex angle
136° at the centre is twice the
angle at circumference too!!
We say “If two angles stand on the same chord,
then the angle at the centre is twice the angle at
the circumference”
Angle at Centre
A Special Case
a When the angle stands
on the diameter, what is
the size of angle a?
The diameter is a straight
line so the angle at the
centre is 180°
Angle a = 90°
We say “The angle in a semi-circle is a Right Angle”
A Cyclic Quadrilateral
…is a Quadrilateral
whose vertices lie on the
circumference of a circle
Opposite angles in a
Cyclic Quadrilateral
Add up to 180°
They are supplementary
We say
“Opposite angles in a cyclic quadrilateral add up to 180°”
Questions
Could you define a rule for this situation?
Tangents
When a tangent to a circle is drawn, the
angles inside & outside the circle have
several properties.
1. Tangent & Radius
A tangent is perpendicular
to the radius of a circle
2. Two tangents from a point outside circle
Tangents are equal
PA = PB
90°
PO bisects angle APB
<APO = <BPO
g
g
90° <PAO = <PBO = 90°
AO = BO (Radii)
The two Triangles APO and BPO are Congruent
3 Alternate Segment Theorem
Alternate Segment
The angle between a tangent
and a chord is equal to any
Angle in the alternate segment
Angle in Alternate Segment
Angle between tangent & chord
We say
“The angle between a tangent and a chord is equal to any
Angle in the alternate (opposite) segment”
