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Angles, polygons, and geometrical proof Circle properties and circle theorems

Resources tagged with: Circle properties and circle theorems

Content type:
Age range:
Challenge level:

There are 49 NRICH Mathematical resources connected to Circle properties and circle theorems, you may find related items under Angles, polygons, and geometrical proof.

Broad Topics > Angles, polygons, and geometrical proof > Circle properties and circle theorems

Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Cyclic Quadrilaterals

Draw some quadrilaterals on a 9-point circle and work out the angles. Is there a theorem?

Age 11 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Circles in Quadrilaterals

Explore when it is possible to construct a circle which just touches all four sides of a quadrilateral.

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Partly Circles

What is the same and what is different about these circle questions? What connections can you make?

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Right Angles

Can you make a right-angled triangle on this peg-board by joining up three points round the edge?

Age 11 to 14
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Subtended Angles

What is the relationship between the angle at the centre and the angles at the circumference, for angles which stand on the same arc? Can you prove it?

Age 11 to 14
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Triangles in Circles

Can you find triangles on a 9-point circle? Can you work out their angles?

Age 11 to 14
Challenge Level Yellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Salinon

This shape comprises four semi-circles. What is the relationship between the area of the shaded region and the area of the circle on AB as diameter?

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Belt

A belt of thin wire, length L, binds together two cylindrical welding rods, whose radii are R and r, by passing all the way around them both. Find L in terms of R and r.

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level Yellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Lens Angle

Find the missing angle between the two secants to the circle when the two angles at the centre subtended by the arcs created by the intersections of the secants and the circle are 50 and 120 degrees.

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Sitting Pretty

A circle of radius r touches two sides of a right angled triangle, sides x and y, and has its centre on the hypotenuse. Can you prove the formula linking x, y and r?

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Compare Areas

Which has the greatest area, a circle or a square, inscribed in an isosceles right angle triangle?

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Baby Circle

A small circle fits between two touching circles so that all three circles touch each other and have a common tangent? What is the exact radius of the smallest circle?

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level Yellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Sports Equipment

If these balls are put on a line with each ball touching the one in front and the one behind, which arrangement makes the shortest line of balls?

Age 7 to 11
Challenge Level Yellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Perfect Eclipse

Use trigonometry to determine whether solar eclipses on earth can be perfect.

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Bicentric Quadrilaterals

Investigate the properties of quadrilaterals which can be drawn with a circle just touching each side and another circle just touching each vertex.

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
General Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Circle Theorems

This set of resources for teachers offers interactive environments which support work on properties of angles in circles at Key Stage 4.

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow star
Article Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Interacting with the Geometry of the Circle

Jennifer Piggott and Charlie Gilderdale describe a free interactive circular geoboard environment that can lead learners to pose mathematical questions.

Age 5 to 16
Interactive Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Virtual Geoboard

A virtual geoboard that allows you to create shapes by stretching rubber bands between pegs on the board. Allows a variable number of pegs and variable grid geometry and includes a point labeller.

Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Circle Scaling

Describe how to construct three circles which have areas in the ratio 1:2:3.

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Circle Box

It is obvious that we can fit four circles of diameter 1 unit in a square of side 2 without overlapping. What is the smallest square into which we can fit 3 circles of diameter 1 unit?

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Flower

Six circles around a central circle make a flower. Watch the flower as you change the radii in this circle packing. Prove that with the given ratios of the radii the petals touch and fit perfectly.

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Lunar Angles

What is the sum of the angles of a triangle whose sides are circular arcs on a flat surface? What if the triangle is on the surface of a sphere?

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Circles in Circles

This pattern of six circles contains three unit circles. Work out the radii of the other three circles and the relationship between them.

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level Yellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Arrh!

Triangle ABC is equilateral. D, the midpoint of BC, is the centre of the semi-circle whose radius is R which touches AB and AC, as well as a smaller circle with radius r which also touches AB and AC. What is the value of r/R?

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Circumnavigation

The sides of a triangle are 25, 39 and 40 units of length. Find the diameter of the circumscribed circle.

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Article Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Incircles Explained

This article is about triangles in which the lengths of the sides and the radii of the inscribed circles are all whole numbers.

Age 16 to 18
Article Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

The Cyclic Quadrilateral

This gives a short summary of the properties and theorems of cyclic quadrilaterals and links to some practical examples to be found elsewhere on the site.

Age 11 to 16
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Crescents and Triangles

Can you find a relationship between the area of the crescents and the area of the triangle?

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Similarly So

ABCD is a square. P is the midpoint of AB and is joined to C. A line from D perpendicular to PC meets the line at the point Q. Prove AQ = AD.

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Tricircle

The centre of the larger circle is at the midpoint of one side of an equilateral triangle and the circle touches the other two sides of the triangle. A smaller circle touches the larger circle and two sides of the triangle. If the small circle has radius 1 unit find the radius of the larger circle.

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Three Balls

A circle has centre O and angle POR = angle QOR. Construct tangents at P and Q meeting at T. Draw a circle with diameter OT. Do P and Q lie inside, or on, or outside this circle?

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Cyclic Quad Jigsaw

A picture is made by joining five small quadrilaterals together to make a large quadrilateral. Is it possible to draw a similar picture if all the small quadrilaterals are cyclic?

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Encircling

An equilateral triangle is sitting on top of a square. What is the radius of the circle that circumscribes this shape?

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Three Four Five

Two semi-circles (each of radius 1/2) touch each other, and a semi-circle of radius 1 touches both of them. Find the radius of the circle which touches all three semi-circles.

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Tied Up

How much of the field can the animals graze?

Age 14 to 16
ShortChallenge Level Yellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Not So Little X

Two circles are enclosed by a rectangle 12 units by x units. The distance between the centres of the two circles is x/3 units. How big is x?

Age 11 to 14
Challenge Level Yellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Coins on a Plate

Points A, B and C are the centres of three circles, each one of which touches the other two. Prove that the perimeter of the triangle ABC is equal to the diameter of the largest circle.

Age 11 to 14
Challenge Level Yellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Escriptions

For any right-angled triangle find the radii of the three escribed circles touching the sides of the triangle externally.

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level Yellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Strange Rectangle

ABCD is a rectangle and P, Q, R and S are moveable points on the edges dividing the edges in certain ratios. Strangely PQRS is always a cyclic quadrilateral and you can find the angles.

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Long Short

What can you say about the lengths of the sides of a quadrilateral whose vertices are on a unit circle?

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Circumspection

M is any point on the line AB. Squares of side length AM and MB are constructed and their circumcircles intersect at P (and M). Prove that the lines AD and BE produced pass through P.

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Medallions

Three circular medallions fit in a rectangular box. Can you find the radius of the largest one?

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Triangle Incircle Iteration

Keep constructing triangles in the incircle of the previous triangle. What happens?

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Incircles

The incircles of 3, 4, 5 and of 5, 12, 13 right angled triangles have radii 1 and 2 units respectively. What about triangles with an inradius of 3, 4 or 5 or ...?

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level Yellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Just Touching

Three semi-circles have a common diameter, each touches the other two and two lie inside the biggest one. What is the radius of the circle that touches all three semi-circles?

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Set Square

A triangle PQR, right angled at P, slides on a horizontal floor with Q and R in contact with perpendicular walls. What is the locus of P?

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level Yellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Kissing

Two perpendicular lines are tangential to two identical circles that touch. What is the largest circle that can be placed in between the two lines and the two circles and how would you construct it?

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Fixing It

A and B are two fixed points on a circle and RS is a variable diamater. What is the locus of the intersection P of AR and BS?

Age 16 to 18
Challenge Level Yellow star
Problem Primary curriculum Secondary curriculum

Some(?) of the Parts

A circle touches the lines OA, OB and AB where OA and OB are perpendicular. Show that the diameter of the circle is equal to the perimeter of the triangle

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow starYellow star

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The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice.

NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.

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