Intermediate Geometry : How to find an angle in a parallelogram

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Intermediate Geometry

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Example Questions

Example Question #11 : How To Find An Angle In A Parallelogram

Parallelogram_7

In the parallelogram shown above, angle  is  degrees. Find the measure of angle 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

A parallelogram must have equivalent opposite interior angles. Additionally, the sum of all four interior angles must equal  degrees. And, the adjacent interior angles must be supplementary angles (sum of  degrees). 

Since, angles  and  are opposite interior angles, thus they must be equivalent. 

, therefore 

Example Question #11 : How To Find An Angle In A Parallelogram

Parallelogram_7

In the parallelogram shown above, angle  is  degrees. Find the sum of angles  and 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

A parallelogram must have equivalent opposite interior angles. Additionally, the sum of all four interior angles must equal  degrees. And, the adjacent interior angles must be supplementary angles (sum of  degrees).


Thus, the solution is:



Since both angles  and  equal  There sum must equal 

Example Question #13 : How To Find An Angle In A Parallelogram

Parallelogram_7

Using the parallelogram above, find the sum of angles  and  

Possible Answers:

Not enough information is provided to find an answer. 

Correct answer:

Explanation:

A parallelogram must have equivalent opposite interior angles. Additionally, the sum of all four interior angles must equal  degrees.

Also, the adjacent interior angles must be supplementary angles (sum of  degrees).

Since, angles  and  are adjacent to each other they must be supplementary angles.

Thus, the sum of these two angles must equal  degrees. 

Example Question #11 : How To Find An Angle In A Parallelogram

A paralellogram as two angles that are 65 degrees and 115 degrees respectively.  What are the other two angles in the paralellogram?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

This question is very simple to answer if you remember that ALL paralellograms have two pairs of equal and opposite angles, and that the four angles in any quadrilateral MUST add up to 360 degrees. 

Because the angles given are different, we know that they are supplementary and the other two missing angles MUST be the same.

Example Question #32 : Parallelograms

Given: Regular Pentagon  with center . Construct segments  and  to form Quadrilateral .

True or false: Quadrilateral  is a parallelogram.

Possible Answers:

True

False

Correct answer:

False

Explanation:

Below is regular Pentagon  with center , a segment drawn from  to each vertex - that is, each of its radii drawn.

Pentagon a

The measure of each angle of a regular pentagon can be calculated by setting  equal to 5 in the formula

and evaluating:

Specifically, 

By symmetry, each radius bisects one of these angles. Specifically, 

By the Same-Side Interior Angles Theorem, consecutive angles of a parallelogram are supplementary - that is, their measures total . However,

,

violating these conditions. Therefore, Quadrilateral  is not a parallelogram.

Example Question #371 : Plane Geometry

Given: Quadrilateral  such that  and .

True or false: It follows that Quadrilateral  is a parallelogram.

Possible Answers:

False

True

Correct answer:

False

Explanation:

, making  and  supplementary. By the Converse of the Same Side Interior Angles Theorem, , it does follow that . However, without knowing the measures of the other two angles, nothing further can be concluded about Quadrilateral . Below are a parallelogram and a trapezoid, both of which have these two angles of these measures.

Parallelograms

Example Question #12 : How To Find An Angle In A Parallelogram

Given: Parallelogram such that and .

True or false: It follows that Parallelogram is a rectangle.

Possible Answers:

False

True

Correct answer:

True

Explanation:

By the Same-Side Interior Angles Theorem, consecutive angles of a parallelogram can be proved to be supplementary - that is, their angle measures total . Specifically,  and are a pair of supplementary angles. Since they are also congruent, it follows that both are right angles. For the same reason,  and  are also right angles. The parallelogram, having four right angles, is a rectangle by definition.

 

Example Question #31 : Parallelograms

Given: Rectangle  with diagonals  and  intersecting at point .

True or false:  must be a right angle.

Possible Answers:

True

False

Correct answer:

False

Explanation:

The diagonals of a parallelogram are perpendicular - and, consequently,  is a right angle. - if and only if the parallelogram is a rhombus, a figure with four sides of equal length. Not all rectangles have four congruent sides.  Therefore,  need not be a right angle.

Example Question #371 : Plane Geometry

Given: Parallelogram  such that .

True or false: Parallelogram  must be a rectangle.

Possible Answers:

True 

False

Correct answer:

True 

Explanation:

A rectangle is a parallelogram with four right angles.

Consecutive angles of a parallelogram are supplementary. If one angle of a parallelogram is given to be right, then its neighboring angles, being supplementary to a right angle, are right as well; also, opposite angles of a parallelogram are congruent, so the opposite angle is also right. All four angles must be right, making the parallelogram a rectangle by definition.

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