Geometry Notes

Perimeter and Area

Page 1 of 57

PERIMETER AND AREA

Objectives:
After completing this section, you should be able to do the following:
Calculate the area of given geometric figures.
Calculate the perimeter of given geometric figures.
Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the lengths of a side of a right
triangle.
Solve word problems involving perimeter, area, and/or right triangles.
Vocabulary:
As you read, you should be looking for the following vocabulary words and
their definitions:
polygon
perimeter
area
trapezoid
parallelogram
triangle
rectangle
circle
circumference
radius
diameter
legs (of a right triangle)
hypotenuse
Formulas:
You should be looking for the following formulas as you read:
area of a rectangle
area of a parallelogram
area of a trapezoid
area of a triangle
Herons Formula (for area of a triangle)
circumference of a circle
area of a circle
Pythagorean Theorem

Geometry Notes
Perimeter and Area

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We are going to start our study of geometry with two-dimensional figures.

We will look at the one-dimensional distance around the figure and the twodimensional space covered by the figure.

perimeter

The perimeter of a shape is defined as the distance around the shape. Since
we usually discuss the perimeter of polygons (closed plane figures whose
sides are straight line segment), we are able to calculate perimeter by just
adding up the lengths of each of the sides. When we talk about the
perimeter of a circle, we call it by the special name of circumference. Since circumference
we dont have straight sides to add up for the circumference (perimeter) of
a circle, we have a formula for calculating this.
Circumference (Perimeter) of a Circle

C = 2 r
r = radius of the circle
= the number that is approximated by 3.141593

Example 1:
Find the perimeter of the figure below

14
4
11

8
Solution:
It is tempting to just start adding of the numbers given together,
but that will not give us the perimeter. The reason that it will not
is that this figure has SIX sides and we are only given four
numbers. We must first determine the lengths of the two sides
that are not labeled before we can find the perimeter. Lets look
at the figure again to find the lengths of the other sides.

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Since our figure has all right angles, we are able to determine the
length of the sides whose length is not currently printed. Lets
start with the vertical sides. Looking at the image below, we can
see that the length indicated by the red bracket is the same as
the length of the vertical side whose length is 4 units. This means
that we can calculate the length of the green segment by
subtracting 4 from 11. This means that the green segment is 7
units.

14
4

11
11 4 = 7
8
In a similar manner, we can calculate the length of the other
missing side using 14 8 = 6 . This gives us the lengths of all the
sides as shown in the figure below.

14
4
11

6
7
8

Now that we have all the lengths of the sides, we can simply
calculate the perimeter by adding the lengths together to get
4 + 14 + 11 + 8 + 7 + 6 = 50. Since perimeters are just the lengths
of lines, the perimeter would be 50 units.

area

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Perimeter and Area

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The area of a shape is defined as the number of square units that cover a
closed figure. For most of the shape that we will be dealing with there is a
formula for calculating the area. In some cases, our shapes will be made up
of more than a single shape. In calculating the area of such shapes, we can
just add the area of each of the single shapes together.
We will start with the formula for the area of a rectangle. Recall that a
rectangle is a quadrilateral with opposite sides parallel and right interior
angles.
Area of a Rectangle

A = bh
b = the base of the rectangle
h = the height of the rectangle

Example 2:
Find the area of the figure below

14
4
11

8
Solution:
This figure is not a single rectangle. It can, however, be broken up
into two rectangles. We then will need to find the area of each of the
rectangles and add them together to calculate the area of the whole
figure.
There is more than one way to break this figure into rectangles. We
will only illustrate one below.

rectangle

Geometry Notes
Perimeter and Area

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14
4
11

8
14

14

4
11

11

We have shown above that we can break the shape up into a red
rectangle (figure on left) and a green rectangle (figure on right). We
have the lengths of both sides of the red rectangle. It does not
matter which one we call the base and which we call the height. The
area of the red rectangle is A = bh = 4 14 = 56
We have to do a little more work to find the area of the green
rectangle. We know that the length of one of the sides is 8 units. We
had to find the length of the other side of the green rectangle when
we calculated the perimeter in Example 1 above. Its length was 7
units.

14
4

4
11

11 4 = 7
8
Thus the area of the green rectangle is A = bh = 8 7 = 56 . Thus the
area of the whole figure is
area of red rectangle + area of green rectangle = 56 + 56 = 112 . In

Geometry Notes
Perimeter and Area

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the process of calculating the area, we multiplied units times units.

This will produce a final reading of square units (or units squared).
Thus the area of the figure is 112 square units. This fits well with the
definition of area which is the number of square units that will cover a
closed figure.
Our next formula will be for the area of a parallelogram. A parallelogram is
parallelogram
a quadrilateral with opposite sides parallel.
Area of a Parallelogram

A = bh
b = the base of the parallelogram
h = the height of the parallelogram

You will notice that this is the same as the formula for the area of a
rectangle. A rectangle is just a special type of parallelogram. The height of
a parallelogram is a segment that connects the top of the parallelogram and
the base of the parallelogram and is perpendicular to both the top and the
base. In the case of a rectangle, this is the same as one of the sides of the
rectangle that is perpendicular to the base.
Example 3:
Find the area of the figure below

15
6

15
Solution:
In this figure, the base of the parallelogram is 15 units and the
height is 6 units. This mean that we only need to multiply to find
the area of A = bh = 15 6 = 90 square units.
You should notice that we cannot find the perimeter of this figure
since we do not have the lengths of all of the sides, and we have no

Geometry Notes
Perimeter and Area

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way to figure out the lengths of the other two sides that are not
given.
Our next formula will be for the area of a trapezoid.
Area of a Trapezoid

A=

1
(b1 + b2 )h
2

b1 = the one base of the trapezoid

b2 = the other base of the trapezoid
h = the height of the trapezoid

A trapezoid is a quadrilateral that has one pair of sides which are parallel.
These two sides are called the bases of the trapezoid. The height of a
trapezoid is a segment that connects the one base of the trapezoid and the
other base of the trapezoid and is perpendicular to both of the bases.
Example 4:
Find the area of the figure

45

20

121
Solution:
For this trapezoid, the bases are shown as the top and the bottom
of the figure. The lengths of these sides are 45 and 121 units. It
does not matter which of these we say is b1 and which is b2. The
height of the trapezoid is 20 units. When we plug all this into the
1
1
formula, we get A = (b1 + b2 )h = (121 + 45 )20 = 1660 square
2
2
units.

trapezoid

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Perimeter and Area

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Our next formulas will be for finding the area of a triangle (a three-sided
polygon). We will have more than one formula for this since there are
different situations that can come up which will require different formulas
Area of a Triangle
For a triangle with a base and height

A=

1
bh
2

b = the base of the triangle

h = the height of the triangle

Herons Formula for a triangle with only sides

A = s (s a )(s b )(s c )
a = one side of the triangle
b = another side of the triangle
c = the third side of the triangle
s = (a +

b + c)

The height of a triangle is the perpendicular distance from any vertex of a

triangle to the side opposite that vertex. In other words the height of
triangle is a segment that goes from the vertex of the triangle opposite the
base to the base (or an extension of the base) that is perpendicular to the
base (or an extension of the base). Notice that in this description of the
height of a triangle, we had to include the words or an extension of the
base. This is required because the height of a triangle does not always fall
within the sides of the triangle. Another thing to note is that any side of
the triangle can be a base. You want to pick the base so that you will have
the length of the base and also the length of the height to that base. The
base does not need to be the bottom of the triangle.
You will notice that we can still find the area of a triangle if we dont have
its height. This can be done in the case where we have the lengths of all the
sides of the triangle. In this case, we would use Herons formula.

triangle

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Perimeter and Area

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Example 5:
Find the area of the figure.

6
4.5
8.2
Solution:
Notice that in this figure has a dashed line that is shown to be
perpendicular to the side that is 8.2 units in length. This is how we
indicate the height of the triangle (the dashed line) and the base
of the triangle (the side that the dashed line is perpendicular to).
That means we have both the height and the base of this triangle,
so we can just plug these numbers into the formula to get
1
1
A = bh = (8.2)( 4.5) = 18.45 square units.
2
2
Notice that the number 6 is given as the length of one of the sides
of the triangle. This side is not a height of the triangle since it is
not perpendicular to another side of the triangle. It is also not a
base of the triangle, since there is no indication of the
perpendicular distance between that side and the opposite vertex.
This means that it is not used in the calculation of the area of the
triangle.

Example 6:
Find the area of the figure.

4.5

1.7

2.6

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Perimeter and Area

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Solution:
In this figure there are two dashed lines. One of them is
extended from the side of the triangle that has a length of 1.7.
That dashed line is show to be perpendicular to the dashed line
that has a length of 2.6. This is how we indicate that the dashed
line that has a length of 2.6 is the height of the triangle and the
base of the triangle is the side of length 1.7. The height here is
outside of the triangle. Also, the dashed line that is extended
from the base is not part of the triangle and its length is not
relevant to finding the area of the triagnle. Since we have both
the height and the base of this triangle, we can just plug these
1
1
numbers into the formula to get A = bh = (1.7 )(2.6) = 2.21
2
2
square units.
Example 7:
Find the area of the figure.

6
Solution:
You should notice that we do not have a height for this triangle.
This means that we cannot use the formula that we have
Herons Formula
been using to find the area of this triangle. We do have
A = s (s a )(s b )(s c )
the length of all three sides of the triangle. This means
a = one side of the triangle
that we can use Herons Formula to find the area of this
b = another side of the triangle
triangle.
c = the third side of the
triangle

s = (a +

b + c)

For this formula, it does not matter which side we label a,

b, or c. For our purposes, we will let a be 6, b be 7, and c be
8. Now that we have a, b, and c, we need to calculate s so
that we can plug a, b, c , and s into the formula. We get

Geometry Notes
Perimeter and Area

s=

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1
6 + 7 + 8)= (21) = 10.5 .
(
2
2
1

Now we can plug everything in to

Herons formula to find the area of this triangle to be

A = s (s a )(s b )(s c ) = 10.5(10.5 6)(10.5 7 )(10.5 8) = 20.33315257

square units.
Another formula that we are interested in is the Pythagorean Theorem.
This applies to only right triangles. The Pythagorean Theorem relates the
lengths of the sides of a right triangle.
Pythagorean Theorem

a 2 + b2 = c 2
a = leg (one side of the triangle that makes up the right angle)
b = leg (another side of the triangle that makes up the right
angle)

c = hypotenuse (side opposite the right angle)

When using the Pythagorean Theorem, it is important to make sure that we

always use the legs of the triangle for a and b and the hypotenuse for c.
Example 8:
Find the length of the third side of the triangle below.

10

26
Solution:
The figure is a right triangle (as indicated by the box in one of the
angles of the triangle). We need to decide what the side we are
looking for is in terms of a leg or the hypotenuse of the triangle.
The hypotenuse is the side of the triangle opposite the right angle.
That would be the side that has length 26 in our picture. Thus c
will be 26 in our formula. This means that the other two sides of

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Perimeter and Area

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the triangle are legs a and b. We will let a be 10, and we will thus
be looking for b. When we plug all this into the formula, we get
a 2 + b2 = c 2
102 + b 2 = 262
100 + b2 = 676
We now need to solve this equation for b.
100 + b2 = 676

b 2 = 576
b = 576 = 24
Since we are asked for a length, we have that the third side is 24
units. (Notice that this is not square units since we are not finding
an area).
We are now going to move on to circles. We already mentioned the
perimeter (circumference) of a circle in the perimeter sections. We also
need a formula for finding the area of a circle.
Area of a Circle

A = r2
r = radius of the circle
= the number that is approximated by 3.141593

For circle problems we need to remember that the circumference

(perimeter) of a circle is only the curved part of the circle. It does not
include either the radius or diameter of the circle. In order to find the
perimeter and area, we will need the radius of the circle. Recall that the
diameter of a circle is a segment from on point on the circle to another point
on the circle that passes through the center of the circle. A radius of a
circle is half of a diameter (i.e. a segment that from one point on the circle
to the center of the circle).

diameter
radius

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Perimeter and Area

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Example 9:
Find the perimeter and area of the circle below.

11
Solution:
The number 11 in the figure above is the length of the diameter of
Circumference
this circle. We need the radius to be able to use the formulas. The
(Perimeter) of a
1
1
radius is half of the diameter. Thus r = (diameter) = (11) = 5.5 .
Circle
2
2
We are now ready to find both the perimeter (circumference) and
C = 2 r
area by plugging 5.5 into each formula for r.
Perimeter:
r = radius of the
circle
C = 2r = 2( )(5.5) = 11 34.557519
= the number that
The answer 11 units is an exact answer for the perimeter. The
is approximated by
answer 34.557519 units is an approximation.
3.141593

Area:

A = r 2 = (5.5) 2 = 30.25 95.0331778 The answer 30.25

square units is an exact answer for the area. The answer
95.0331778 square units is an approximation.
Example 10:
Find the perimeter and area of the semicircle below.

120

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Perimeter and Area

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Solution:
In this problem, we have a semicircle (a half of a circle). The
diameter of this half circle is 120. Thus the radius is
1
r = (120) = 60 .
2
Perimeter:
We now can find the perimeter. We will find the circumference
of the whole circle and then divide it by 2 since we only have
half of a circle. This will give us C = 2 (60) = 120 as the
circumference for the whole circle and 60 units as the
circumference of half of the circle.
Unfortunately this is not the answer for the perimeter of the
figure given. The circumference of a circle is the curved part.
The straight line segment in our figure would not have been
part of the circumference of the whole circle, and thus it is not
included as part of half of the circumference. We only have
the red part shown in the picture below.

120
We still need to include the straight segment that is 120 units
long. Thus the whole perimeter of the figure is
curved part + straight part = 60 + 120 308.495559 units.
Area:
We can also find the area. Here we will plug 60 in for r in the
area formula for a whole circle and then divide by 2 for the half
circle. This will give us A = (60) 2 = 3600 square units for
the area of the whole circle and 1800 square units for the
area of the half circle. Now are we done with finding the area
or is there more that we need to do like we did in finding the
perimeter? If we think back to the definition of the area, (it is
the number of square units needed to cover the figure) we
should see that there is nothing further to do. The inside of

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Perimeter and Area

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the figure was covered already. We just have half as much

inside as we did before.
Example 11:
Walk 10 yards south, then 12 west and then 3 yards south. How far from
the original starting point are you?
Solution:
To solve this problem, it would help to have a picture.
start

10 yards

12 yards
3 yards
end
Above we can see a description of how we walked in the problem.
What we are asked to find is how far it is from where we started
to where we ended. That distance would be represented by a
straight line from the start to the finish. This will be shown in the
picture below by a black dashed line.
start

10 yards

12 yards
3 yards
end

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Perimeter and Area

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We need to figure out how long this line is. We might be tempted
to say that we have two right triangles and that the line we are
looking for is just the sum of each triangles hypotenuse. The only
problem with that is that we do not know the lengths of the legs of
each of the right triangles. Thus we are not able to apply the
Pythagorean Theorem in this way.
We are on the right track though. This is a Pythagorean Theorem
problem. If we add a couple of line segments, we can create a
right triangle whose hypotenuse is the line we are looking for.
start

10 yards

12 yards
3 yards
end

Pythagorean
Theorem

a 2 + b2 = c 2
a = leg
b = leg
c = hypotenuse

As you can see above, the orange segments along with the red
segment that was 10 yards and the dashed segment make up a
right triangle whose hypotenuse is the dashed segment. We can
figure out how long each of the legs of this triangle are fairly
easily. The orange segment that is an extension of the red
segment is another 3 yards. Thus the vertical leg of this triangle
is 10 + 3 = 13 yards long. The orange segment which is horizontal is
the same length as the green segment. This means that the
horizontal leg of this triangle is 12 yards long. We can now use the
Pythagorean Theorem to calculate how far away from the original
starting point we are.

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Perimeter and Area

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132 + 122 = c 2
169 + 144 = c 2
313 = c 2
313 = c 17.6918
Here an exact answer does not really make sense. It is enough to
approximate that we end up 17.6918 yards from where we started.

Geometry Notes
Volume and Surface Area

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VOLUME AND SURFACE AREA

Objectives:
After completing this section, you should be able to do the following:
Calculate the volume of given geometric figures.
Calculate the surface area of given geometric figures.
Solve word problems involving volume and surface area.
Vocabulary:
As you read, you should be looking for the following vocabulary words and
their definitions:
volume
surface area
sphere
great circle of a sphere
pyramid
cone
Formulas:
You should be looking for the following formulas as you read:
volume of a rectangle solid
surface area of a rectangular solid
volume of a cylinder
surface area of a cylinder
volume of a solid with a matching base and top
volume of a sphere
surface area of a sphere
volume of a pyramid
volume of a cone
We will continue our study of geometry by studying three-dimensional
figures. We will look at the two-dimensional aspect of the outside covering
of the figure and also look at the three-dimensional space that the figure
encompasses.
The surface area of a figure is defined as the sum of the areas of the
exposed sides of an object. A good way to think about this would be as the

surface area

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Volume and Surface Area

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area of the paper that it would take to cover the outside of an object
without any overlap. In most of our examples, the exposed sides of our
objects will polygons whose areas we learned how to find in the previous
section. When we talk about the surface area of a sphere, we will need a
completely new formula.
The volume of an object is the amount of three-dimensional space an object
takes up. It can be thought of as the number of cubes that are one unit by
one unit by one unit that it takes to fill up an object. Hopefully this idea of
cubes will help you remember that the units for volume are cubic units.
Surface Area of a Rectangular Solid (Box)

SA = 2(lw + lh + wh )
l = length of the base of the solid
w = width of the base of the solid
h = height of the solid

Volume of a Solid with a Matching Base and Top

V = Ah
A= area of the base of the solid
h = height of the solid

Volume of a Rectangular Solid

(specific type of solid with matching base and top)

V = lwh
l = length of the base of the solid
w = width of the base of the solid
h = height of the solid

volume

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Volume and Surface Area

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Example 1:
Find the volume and the surface area of the figure below

2.7 m

4.2 m

3.8 m

Solution:
This figure is a box (officially called a rectangular prism). We are
given the lengths of each of the length, width, and height of the
box, thus we only need to plug into the formula. Based on the way
our box is sitting, we can say that the length of the base is 4.2 m;
the width of the base is 3.8 m; and the height of the solid is 2.7 m.
Thus we can quickly find the volume of the box to be
V = lwh = ( 4.2)(3.8)(2.7) = 43.092 cubic meters.
Although there is a formula that we can use to find the surface
area of this box, you should notice that each of the six faces
(outside surfaces) of the box is a rectangle. Thus, the surface
area is the sum of the areas of each of these surfaces, and each
of these areas is fairly straight-forward to calculate. We will use
the formula in the problem. It will give us
SA = 2(lw + lh + wh ) = 2( 4.2 * 3.8 + 4.2 * 2.7 + 3.8 * 2.7) = 75.12
square meters.

A cylinder is an object with straight sides and circular ends of the same
size. The volume of a cylinder can be found in the same way you find the
volume of a solid with a matching base and top. The surface area of a
cylinder can be easily found when you realize that you have to find the area
of the circular base and top and add that to the area of the sides. If you
slice the side of the cylinder in a straight line from top to bottom and open
it up, you will see that it makes a rectangle. The base of the rectangle is the
circumference of the circular base, and the height of the rectangle is the
height of the cylinder.

cylinder

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Volume and Surface Area

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Volume of a Cylinder

V = Ah
A = the area of the base of the cylinder
h = the height of the cylinder

Surface Area of a Cylinder

SA = 2(r 2 ) + 2rh
r = the radius of the circular base of the cylinder
h = the height of the cylinder
= the number that is approximated by 3.141593

Example 2:
Find the volume and surface area of the figure below

10 in

12 in
Solution:
This figure is a cylinder. The diameter of its circular base is 12
inches. This means that the radius of the circular base is
1
1
r = d = (12) = 6 inches. The height of the cylinderi s 10 inches.
2
2
To calculate the volume and surface area, we simply need to plug into
the formulas.
Surface Area:
SA = 2(r 2 ) + 2rh = 2( 62 ) + 2 (6)(10) = 72 + 120 = 192 square
units. This is an exact answer. An approximate answer is 603.18579
square units.

Geometry Notes
Volume and Surface Area

Area of a
Circle

A = r2
r = radius of
the circle
= the number
that is
approximated
by 3.141593

Page 22 of 57

Volume:
In order to plug into the formula, we need to recall how to find the
area of a circle (the base of the cylinder is a circle). We will the
replace A in the formula with the formula for the area of a circle.
V = Ah = r 2h = (62 )(10) = 360 cubic inches. An approximation of
this exact answer would be 1130.97336 cubic inches.

Our next set of formulas is going to be for spheres. A sphere is most easily
sphere
thought of as a ball. The official definition of a sphere is a threedimensional surface, all points of which are equidistant from a fixed point
called the center of the sphere. A circle that runs along the surface of a
sphere to that it cuts the sphere into two equal halves is called a great
great circle
circle of that sphere. A great circle of a sphere would have a diameter that of a sphere
is equal to the diameter of the sphere.
Surface Area of a Sphere

SA = 4r 2
r = the radius of the sphere
= the number that is approximated by 3.141593

Volume of a Sphere

V =

4 3
r
3

r = the radius of the sphere

= the number that is approximated by 3.141593

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Volume and Surface Area

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Example 3:
Find the volume and surface area of the figure below
3

5
in
8

Solution:
This is a sphere. We are given that the diameter of the sphere is
5
3 inches. We need to calculate the radius of the sphere to
8
calculate the volume and surface area. The radius of a sphere is
half of its diameter. This means that the radius is
1
1 5 1 29 29
r = d = 3 = =
= 1.8125 inches. We can now just
2
2 8 2 8 16
plug this number in to the formulas to calculate the volume and
surface area.
4
4
Volume: V = r 3 = (1.8125 3 ) 24.941505 cubic inches.
3
3
Surface Area: SA = 4r 2 = 4 (1.8125 2 ) 41.28219 square inches.

Example 4:
Find the volume of the figure
Volume of a
Solid with a
Matching Base
and Top

8
5

15

V = Ah
A= area of the
base of the solid
h = height of the
solid

13

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Volume and Surface Area

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Solution:
This figure is a solid with the same shape base and top. The shape
Area of a
of the base and top is a trapezoid. Thus we will need to remember
Trapezoid
the formula for the area of a trapezoid. For this trapezoid, the
1
lengths of the bases are 13 and 8 units. It does not matter which
A = (b1 + b2 )h
2
of these we say is b1 and which is b2. The height of the trapezoid
is 5 units. The height of the solid is 15 units. We will start by
b1 = the one base
plugging the information about the trapezoidal base into the
of the trapezoid
formula for the area of a trapezoid. Once we have this area, we
b2 = the other
will plug that and the height of the solid into the volume formula.
base of the
trapezoid
Area of the trapezoidal base:
h = the height of
1
1
A = (b1 + b2 )h = (13 + 8)5 = 52.5 square units.
the trapezoid
2
2
Volume of trapezoidal solid:
V = Ah = (52.5)(15) = 787.5 cubic units.
Our next formulas will be for finding the volume of a cone or a pyramid.
These two formulas are grouped together since they are very similar. Each
is basically 1/3 times the area of the base of the solid times the height of
the solid. In the case of the cone, the base is a circle. In the case of the
pyramid, we will have a base that is a rectangle. The height in both cases is
the perpendicular distance from the apex to the plane which contains the
base.
A pyramid is a solid figure with a polygonal base (in our case a rectangle) and
triangular faces that meet at a common point (the apex). A cone is the
surface of a conic solid whose base is a circle. This is more easily thought of
as a pointed ice-cream cone whose top is circular and level.
Volume of a Rectangular Pyramid
1
3

V = lwh
l = the length of the base of the pyramid
w = the width of the base of the pyramid
h = the perpendicular height of the pyramid

pyramid
cone

Geometry Notes
Volume and Surface Area

Page 25 of 57

Volume of a Cone

V =

1 2
r h
3

r = the radius of the circular base of the cone

= the number that is approximated by 3.141593
h = the perpendicular height of the cone

Example 5:
Find the volume of the figure.

12 cm

10 cm
Solution:
Since the figure has a circular base and looks like an ice cream
cone, this must be a cone. In order to find the volume of a cone,
we need the radius of the circular base and the height
(perpendicular height) of the cone. The height is given as 12
centimeters. The other measurement of 10 centimeters is the
diameter of the circular base. We thus must calculate the radius
to get r =

1
2

d=

1
2

(10) = 5 centimeters. We are now ready to plug

into the volume of a cone formula. V =

r 2h =

()

52 (12) = 100

3
3
cubic centimeters is the exact volume. An approximation of this
volume would be 314.159266 cubic centimeters.

Geometry Notes
Volume and Surface Area

Page 26 of 57

Example 6:
Find the volume of the figure.

10 in

5 in
7 in
Solution:
The base of this figure is a rectangle and the sides of the figure
are triangles, thus this figure is a rectangular pyramid. The height
(perpendicular height) is 10 inches. The length of the base is 7
inches, and the width of the base is 5 inches. Since we have all of
the parts for the volume formula, we can just plug into the volume
of a rctangular pyramid formula to get
1
1
350
V = lwh = (7 )(5)(10) =
cubic inches. An approximation of
3
3
3
this volume would be 116.66667 cubic inches.
Just like with areas, we can add and subtract volumes of different solids to
find the volume of a solid that is a combination of more than one solid or
that have one solid removed from another.
Example 7:
Find the volume of the figure.

2
5
16
Solution:

Geometry Notes
Volume and Surface Area

Volume of a
Cylinder

Page 27 of 57

The first thing that we need to do is figure out what type of figure
this is. If we rotate the solid 90 degrees to the right, we get a figure
that looks like this

V = Ah
A = the area of
the base of the
cylinder
h = the height of
the cylinder

This looks like a cylinder with the middle missing. A good way to
think about this figure is a roll of paper towels. We are trying to
find out the volume of the paper towels. The best way to do this is
to figure out what the volume of the larger cylinder is without the
missing part. We can then find the volume of the smaller cylinder
or missing part. Finally, we will subtract the volume of the smaller
cylinder from the volume of the larger cylinder to get the volume
of our current solid.
We will start with the larger cylinder. The radius of the circular
base is given as 5 units. The height of the larger cylinder is 16
units. We can then calculate the volume of the larger cylinder to
be V = Ah = r 2h = (52 )(16) = 400 cubic units.
Next we will calculate the volume of the smaller cylinder. The
radius of the circular base of the smaller cylinder is 2 units. The
height of the smaller cylinder is 16 units. We can calculate the
volume of the smaller cylinder would be
V = Ah = r 2h = (22 )(16) = 64 cubic units.
We now subtract the volume of the smaller cylinder from the
volume of the larger cylinder to get the volume of our solid.
Volume of larger cylinder volume of smaller cylinder =
400 64 = 336 cubic units. This is approximately 1055.57513
cubic units.

Geometry Notes
Volume and Surface Area

Page 28 of 57

Example 8:
From an 8.5-inch by 11-inch piece of cardboard, 2-inch square corners are
cut out and the resulting flaps are folded up to form an open box. Find
the volume and surface area of the box.

Solution:
For this problem, it will be really helpful to make the box
described above. You start with a standard piece of paper. You
the cut out the dashed square indicated below from each corner.
You make sure each side of the square is 2 inches in length.

What you are left with is the shape below.

You now fold up along the dashed lines to create a box. The box
that we have created is a rectangular solid. This box has no top.
Not having a top will not affect the volume of the box.
We only need to determine the length of the base of the box, the
width of the base of the box, and the height of the box. The red
dashed lines represent the length of the base of the box. The
original length of the paper was 11 inches. We removed 2 inches
from the top of the page and we also removed 2 inches from the

Geometry Notes
Volume and Surface Area

Page 29 of 57

bottom of the page. Thus the red dashed line is 11 2 2 = 7

inches.
The green dashed line represents the width of the base of the
box. The original width of the paper was 8.5 inches. We removed
2 inches from the left side of the page and also removed 2 inches
from the right side of the page. Thus the green dashed line is
8.5 2 2 = 4.5 inches.
We now need to think about the height of the box. Since we have
folded up the sides for form the height of the box, we just need
to determine how tall those sides are. Since they were made by
cutting out 2-inch square from each corner, these sides must be 2
inches high.
Now we are ready of calculate the volumes
V = lwh = (7)(4.5)(2) = 63 cubic inches.
Now we need to calculate the surface area of our box. Since there
is no top to this box, we can start formula for the surface area of
a box. We will then need to subtract off the area of the top of
the box. This will give us
SA = 2(lw + wh + lh) = 2(7 4.5 + 4.5 2 + 7 2) = 109 square inches for
the box with the top included. The top would have the same area
as the base of the box. This would be A = lw = (7)(4.5) = 31.5
square inches. Thus the surface area of our figure is total
surface area area of the top = 109 31.5 = 77.5 square inches.
There is another way to calculate the surface area of this box.
The surface area is the amount of paper it would take to cover the
box without overlap. You should notice that this is the same as the
amount of paper we used to make the box. Thus, it is enough to
calculate the area of the paper as shown here.

Geometry Notes
Volume and Surface Area

Page 30 of 57

Example 9:
A propane gas tank consists of a cylinder with a hemisphere at each end.
Find the volume of the tank if the overall length is 20 feet and the diameter
of the cylinder is 6 feet.
6 ft

20 ft
Solution:
We are told this tank consists of a cylinder (one its side) with a
hemisphere at each end. A hemisphere is half of a sphere. To find
the volume, we need to find the volume of the cylinder and the
volumes of each hemisphere and then adding them together.
Lets start with the hemisphere sections. The diameter of the
circular base of the cylinder is indicated to be 6 feet. This would
also be the diameter of the hemispheres at each end of the
cylinder. We need the radius of the sphere to find its volume.
Once we calculate the volume of the whole sphere, we multiply it
by to find the volume of the hemisphere (half of a sphere). We
calculate the radius to be r =

Volume of a
Sphere

V =

4 3
r
3

r = the radius of
the sphere
= the number
that is
approximated by
3.141593

d=

(6) = 3 feet. Now we can

2
2
calculate the volume of the two hemispheres at the ends of the
tank.
Left Hemisphere:
4
4
The volume of a whole sphere is V = r 3 = 33 = 36 cubic
3
3
feet. We now multiply this volume by to find the volume of the
1
1
hemisphere to get V = 36 = 18 cubic feet.
2
2

()

( )

Geometry Notes
Volume and Surface Area

Page 31 of 57

Right Hemisphere:
The volume of a whole sphere is V =

r 3 =

()

33 = 36 cubic

3
3
feet. We now multiply this volume by to find the volume of the
1
1
hemisphere to get V = 36 = 18 cubic feet.
2
2

( )

You might notice that we went through exactly the same process
with exactly the same number for each hemisphere. We could have
shortened this process by realizing that putting together the two
hemispheres on each end, which were of the same diameter, would
create a whole sphere. We could just have calculated the volume
of this whole sphere.
Volume of a
Cylinder

V = Ah
A = the area of
the base of the
cylinder
h = the height of
the cylinder

Now we need to calculate the volume of the cylinder. We need the

radius of the cylinder and the height of the cylinder to find its
volume. The radius of the cylinder is the same as the radius of the
hemispheres at each end. Thus the radius of the cylinder is 3
feet. It may look like the height of the cylinder is 20 feet. It
turns out that this is not the case. The 20 feet includes the
hemispheres at each end. We need to subtract the part of the 20
radius of
feet that represents the hemispheres.
radius of
hemisphere = 3 ft

hemisphere = 3 ft

6 ft

20 ft
height of cylinder

Looking at the figure above, we see that the distance from the end
of the left hemisphere to the left end of the cylinder is the radius
of the hemisphere. The radius of the hemisphere is 3 feet.
Similarly, the distance from the right end of the cylinder to the
end of the right cylinder is also the radius of the hemisphere. The
radius of the hemisphere is 3 feet. If we now subtract these two
distances from the overall length of the tanks, we will have the

Geometry Notes
Volume and Surface Area

Page 32 of 57

height of the cylinder to be h = 20 3 3 = 14 feet. We can now

calculate the volume of the cylinder.
Cylinder
V = Ah = r 2h = (32 )(14) = 126 cubic feet.
We can now find the volume of the tank by adding together the
volumes of the cylinder, the right hemisphere, and the left
hemisphere. We get the volume to be V = 126 + 18 + 18 = 162
cubic feet. This is approximated by 508.938 cubic feet.
Example 10:
A regulation baseball (hardball) has a great circle circumference of 9 inches;
a regulation softball has a great circle circumference of 12 inches.
a. Find the volumes of the two types of balls.
b. Find the surface areas of the two types of balls.

Solution:
Part a:
In order to find the volume of a sphere, we need the radius of
the sphere. In this problem, we are not given the radius.
Instead we are given the circumference of a great circle of the
sphere. From this information, we can calculate the radius of
the great circle, which is the radius of the sphere.
Circumference
(Perimeter) of a
Circle

C = 2 r
r = radius of the
circle
= the number

Radius of the baseball:

We calculate the radius of the baseball by plugging in the
circumference of the great circle of the baseball into the
formula for the circumference of the circle and solve for r (the
radius).
C = 2r
9 = 2r
9
=r
2

Geometry Notes
Volume and Surface Area

Volume of a
Sphere

V =

4 3
r
3

r = the radius
of the sphere
= the
number that
is
approximated
by 3.141593

Page 33 of 57

Now that we have the radius of the baseball, we can calculate

the volume, by plugging the radius into the formula for the
volume of a sphere.
4
V = r 3
3
3

4 9

3 2
4 93
=
3 23 3
2916
=
24 3
243
=
cubic inches
2 2
12.3105 cubic inches.

V =
V
V
V
This is approximately

Radius of the softball:

We will go through the same process with the softball to
calculate the radius of the softball.
C = 2r

12 = 2r
12
=r
2
6
=r

Now that we have the radius of the softball, we can calculate

the volume, by plugging the radius into the formula for the
volume of a sphere.
4
V = r 3
3

4 6
V =
3

4 63
V =
33
864
V =
3 3
288
V = 2 cubic inches

This is approximately 29.1805 cubic inches.

Geometry Notes
Volume and Surface Area

Surface Area
of a Sphere

SA = 4r 2

Page 34 of 57

Part b:
In order to find the surface area of a sphere, we need the
radius of the sphere. We calculated the radius for each type
of ball in part a. We only need to plug this information in to the
formula for surface area of a sphere.

r = the radius of

Surface area of a baseball:

the sphere

= the number
that is
approximated by
3.141593

SA =
SA =
SA =
SA =

9
4

2
4 (9) 2
22 2
324
4 2
81
square inches

This is approximately 25.7831 square inches.

Surface area of a softball:

6
SA = 4

4 (6) 2
SA =
2

SA =
SA =

144

2
144

square inches

This is approximately 45.83662 square inches.

Our final example is an application problem. We will need to be able to use
dimensional analysis, volumes, and common sense in order to be able to
answer the question.
Example 11:
Mike Jones bought an older house and wants to put in a new concrete
driveway. The driveway will be 30 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 9 inches
thick. Concrete (a mixture of sand, gravel, and cement) is measured by
the cubic yard. One sack of dry cement mix costs $7.30, and it takes

Geometry Notes
Volume and Surface Area

Page 35 of 57

four sacks to mix up 1 cubic yard of concrete. How much will it cost Mike
to buy the cement?
Solution:
The driveway that is being poured will be a rectangular solid or
box. Thus in order to answer this question, we will first need to
find the volume of this box (the amount of cubic units it will take
to fill this box). The problem tells us that concrete is measured by
the cubic yard. This lets us know that those are the units we will
want to calculate with. None of the dimensions of the driveway are
given in yards. We will need to use our dimensional analysis (unit
conversion) to convert all of the measurements to yards. This
could be done at a later point, but this is the easiest place to take
care of the conversion.
Convert length:
30 feet 1 yard

= 10 yards
1
3 feet
Convert width:
10 feet 1 yard 10

=
yards We are not going to estimate this
3
1
3 feet
value since the approximation with introduce error. As in the
finance section, we dont want to round until the end of the
problem or in a place where it is absolutely necessary.
Convert height:
9 inches
1 yard
1

= yards = .25 yards Since the decimal

1
36 inches 4
representation of this number is a terminating decimal, we can
use this representation in our calculations.
Volume of driveway:
We are now ready to calculate the volume of the driveway.
25
10
cubic yards.
V = lwh = (10) (.25) =
3
3

Geometry Notes
Volume and Surface Area

Page 36 of 57

Now, we are told that it takes 4 bags of cement to make one cubic
yard of concrete. So we will now calculate how many bags of
25
cement to buy. Mikes driveway is
cubic yards and each of
3
those cubic yards requires 4 bags of cement. Thus Mike will need
25
100
4 =
bags or approximately 33.333 bags. Here is where
3
3
common sense needs to come in. There is no store that will sell
.333 bags of cement mix. Stores only sell whole bags of cement
mix. Thus we will need to round up to the next whole bag (we cant
round down or we will not have enough cement mix to complete the
driveway). This means that Mike will need to buy 34 bags of
cement mix. Each of these bags will cost $7.30. This means that
Mike will pay 7.30 34 = $248.20 for the cement mix for this
driveway.

Geometry Notes
Similar Triangles

Page 37 of 57

SIMILAR TRIANGLES
Objectives:
After completing this section, you should be able to do the following:
Calculate the lengths of sides of similar triangles.
Solve word problems involving similar triangles.
Vocabulary:
As you read, you should be looking for the following vocabulary words and
their definitions:
similar triangles
Formulas:
You should be looking for the following formulas as you read:
proportions for similar triangles

We will continue our study of geometry by looking at similar triangles. Two

triangles are similar if their corresponding angles are congruent (or have the
same measurement).
d

c
b

In the picture above, the corresponding angles are indicated in the two
triangles by the same number of hash marks. In other words, the angle with
one hash mark in the smaller triangle corresponds to the angle with one hash
mark in the larger triangle. These angles have the same measure or are
congruent.
There are also corresponding sides in similar triangles. In the triangles
above side a corresponds to side d (for example). These sides do not
necessarily have the same measure. They do, however, form a ratio that is
the same no matter which pair of corresponding sides the ratio is made
from. Thus we can write the following equation

similar

Geometry Notes
Similar Triangles

Page 38 of 57

a b c
= =
d e f
Notice that the sides of one particular triangle are always written on top of
the fractions and the sides of the other triangle are always written on the
bottom of the fractions. It does not matter which triangle is put in which
part of the fraction as longs as we are consistent within a problem.
Similar Triangle Ratios

a b c
= =
d e f
d

It should be noted that although our triangles are in the same relative
position, this is not needed for triangles to be similar. One of the triangles
can be rotated or reflected.
Please note that pictures below are not drawn to scale.
Example 1:
Given that the triangles are similar, find the lengths of the missing sides.

100

90

10

Solution:
There is one side missing in the triangle on the left. This side is
labeled x. There is also one side missing from the triangle on the
right. This side is labeled y. The side x in the triangle on the left
corresponds to the side labeled 10 in the triangle on the right. We

Geometry Notes
Similar Triangles

Page 39 of 57

know this because these sides connect the angle with one hash
mark to the angle with three hash marks in each of the triangles.
The side 100 in the triangle on the left corresponds to the side
labeled 8 in the triangle on the right. Finally the side 90 in the
triangle on the left corresponds to the side labeled y in the
triangle on the right. We will need this information to find values
for x and y.
Find x:
We will start by finding the value for x. We will need to form a
ratio with the side labeled x and is corresponding side in the
triangle on the right. We will also need a pair of corresponding
side both of whose measurements we have and make a ratio out of
those. Once we make an equation using these ratios, we will just
need to solve the equation for x. I am going to choose to place the
sides of the triangle on the left on the top of each of the ratios.
x
100
=
8
10
8(x ) = 10(100)
8x = 1000

x = 125 units
Find y:
We will continue by finding the value for y. We will need to form a
ratio with the side labeled y and is corresponding side in the
triangle on the right. We will also need a pair of corresponding
side both of whose measurements we have and make a ratio out of
those. Although we know the measurements of all the other sides
of the triangle, it is best to avoid using a side we just calculate to
make further calculations if possible. The reason for this is that
if we have made a mistake in our previous calculation, we would end
up with an incorrect answer here as well. Once we make an
equation using these ratios, we will just need to solve the equation
for y. I am going to choose to place the sides of the triangle on
the left on the top of each of the ratios.

Geometry Notes
Similar Triangles

Page 40 of 57

90

100
8

8(90) = y (100)
720 = 100y
7.2 units = y

Example 2:
Given that the triangles are similar, find the lengths of the missing sides.

45.
4

y
3.2

2.8

37.25

Solution:
Our first job here is to determine which sides in the triangle on
the left correspond to which sides in the triangle on the right.
The side in the triangle on the left labeled y joins the angle with
one hash mark and the angle with two has marks. The side in the
triangle on the right that does this is the side labeled 37.25. Thus
these are corresponding sides.
In a similar manner, we can see that the side labeled 3.2 in the
triangle on the left corresponds to the side labeled x on the
triangle on the right. Finally the side labeled 2.8 in the triangle on
the left corresponds to the side labeled 45 in the triangle on the
right.
Find x:
We will start by finding the value for x. We will need to form a
ratio with the side labeled x and is corresponding side in the
triangle on the right. We will also need a pair of corresponding
side both of whose measurements we have and make a ratio out of
those. Once we make an equation using these ratios, we will just

Geometry Notes
Similar Triangles

Page 41 of 57

need to solve the equation for x. I am going to choose to place the

sides of the triangle on the left on the top of each of the ratios.
3.2 2.8
=
45
x
3.2( 45) = x (2.8)
144 = 2.8x
144
units = x
2.8
This is approximately 51.42857 units.
Find y:
We will continue by finding the value for y. We will need to form a
ratio with the side labeled y and is corresponding side in the
triangle on the right. We will also need a pair of corresponding
side both of whose measurements we have and make a ratio out of
those. Once we make an equation using these ratios, we will just
need to solve the equation for y. I am going to choose to place the
sides of the triangle on the left on the top of each of the ratios.
y
2.8
=
37.25 45
y ( 45) = 37.25(2.8)
45y = 104.3
104.3
units
45
This is approximately 3.21778 units.

y =

Our final example is an application of similar triangles

Example 3:
A 3.6-foot tall child casts a shadow of 4.7 feet at the same instant that
a telephone pole casts a shadow of 15 feet. How tall is the telephone
pole?
Solution:
For this problem, it helps to have a picture.

Geometry Notes
Similar Triangles

Page 42 of 57

child
3.6 feet

pole

shadow = 4.7 feet

shadow = 15 feet

When we look at the picture above, we see that we have two

triangles that are similar. We are looking for the height of the
pole. The pole side of the triangle on the right corresponds to the
side of the child side of the triangle on the left. The two shadow
sides of the triangles also correspond to each other. Thus we can
write an equation of ratios to find the height of the pole.
3.6
4. 7
=
15
pole

(3.6)(15) = pole( 4.7 )

54 = 4.7 pole
54
= pole
4.7
Thus the pole is approximately 11.48936 feet high.

Geometry Notes
Right Triangle Trigonometry

Page 43 of 57

RIGHT TRIANGLE TRIGONOMETRY

Objectives:
After completing this section, you should be able to do the following:
Calculate the lengths of sides and angles of a right triangle using
trigonometric ratios.
Solve word problems involving right triangles and trigonometric ratios.
Vocabulary:
As you read, you should be looking for the following vocabulary words and
their definitions:
hypotenuse
adjacent side
opposite side
Formulas:
You should be looking for the following formulas as you read:
ratio for sin(A) where A is a non-right angle in right triangle
ratio for cos(A) where A is a non-right angle in right triangle
ratio for tan(A) where A is a non-right angle in right triangle

We will complete our study with a further study of right triangles. We will
look at trigonometric value as defined by ratios of the sides of a right
triangle.

opposite

hypotenuse
A
adjacent

In the figure above, you can see the sides of a right triangle labeled. The
side labeled hypotenuse is always opposite the right angle of the right
triangle. The names of the other two sides of the right triangle are
determined by the angle that is being discusses. In our case, we will be
discusing the sides in terms of the angle labeled A. The angle A is form by
the hypotenuse of the right triangle and the side of the right triangle that

hypotenuse

Geometry Notes
Right Triangle Trigonometry

Page 44 of 57

is called adjacent. The adjacent side will always make up part of the angle
that is being discussed and not be the hypotenuse. The side of the right
triangle that does not form part of angle A is called the opposite side. The
opposite side will never form part of the angle being discussed.
The trigonometric function values of a particular value can be as the ratio of
a particular pair of sides of a right triangle containing an angle of that
measure. We will look at three particular trigonometric ratios.
Trigonometric Ratios

sin(A ) =

opposite
hypotenuse

cos(A ) =

adjacent
hypotenuse

tan(A ) =

opposite
adjacent

sin = shortened form of sine function

cos = shortened form of cosine function
tan = shortened form of tangent function
A = the angle value

We will use these ratios to answer questions about triangles below and then
we will go through a couple of application problems.
Example 1:
Use Trigonometric ratios to find the unknown sides and angles in the
right triangles below:

10
60

adjacent
opposite

Geometry Notes
Right Triangle Trigonometry

Page 45 of 57

Solution:
We are being asked to find values for x, y, and B. We will do the
angle B first.
Angle B:
We can find the measure of angle B without using any
trigonometric ratios. What we need to remember to find this
value is that the sum of the three angles of a triangle will always
add up to 180 degrees. It does not matter the size or shape of
the triangle. The sum of the three angles will always be 180
degrees. We know that one angle is a right angle. Its measure is
90 degrees. The measure of the other angle is given to be 60
degrees. Thus we just need to calculate
90 + 60 + B = 180
150 + B = 180

B = 30
Thus the measure of angle B is 30 degrees.
Side x:
We will now work to find the length of side x. We need to start by
determining which angle we are going to use for our problem. As in
the past, it is best to use an angle that is given. Thus we will be
using the angle labeled 60 degrees. Our next step is to determine
which side x is relative to the angle labeled 60 degrees. Since the
side labeled x is opposite the right angle, it is the hypotenuse.
There are two trigonometric ratios that include the hypotenuse.
Thus, we need to determine which one to use. This will be
determined by the other side of the triangle whose measure we
know. This is the side labeled 10. Since this side is not one of the
sides of the triangle that makes up the angle labeled 60 degrees, it
is the opposite side. This means that we need to use the
trigonometric ratio that has both the hypotenuse and the opposite
side. That ratio is the sine ratio. We will plug into that equation
and solve for x.

Geometry Notes
Right Triangle Trigonometry

Page 46 of 57

sin(A ) =

opposite
hypotenuse

sin(60) =

10

sin(60) 10
=
x
1
x sin(60) = 1(10)

x =

10
sin(60)

Through out this solution, we have left sin(60) in this form. This
saves us from needing to round until the end of the problem.
sin(60) is just a number that at the end of the problem can be
calculated by our calculator. Our answer is approximately x =
11.54701.
Side y:
We will finish by finding the length of side y. As in the previous
par of the problem, it is best to use the angle labeled 60 degrees.
Our next step is to determine which side y is relative to the angle
labeled 60 degrees. Since the side labeled y is forms part of the
angle labeled 60 degrees, it is the adjacent side. There are two
trigonometric ratios that include the adjacent side. Since the
other side that is given is the side labeled 10 and this side is the
opposite side (see explanation above), we will need to use the
trigonometric ratio that has both the opposite side and the
adjacent side. That ratio is the tangent ratio. We will plug into
that equation and solve for y.
opposite
tan(A ) =
adjacent
tan(60) =

10

tan(60) 10
=
1
y

y tan(60) = 1(10)
y =

10
tan(60)

Geometry Notes
Right Triangle Trigonometry

Page 47 of 57

Through out this solution, we have left tan(60) in this form. This
saves us from needing to round until the end of the problem.
tan(60) is just a number that at the end of the problem can be
calculated by our calculator. Our answer is approximately y =
5.773503.

Example 2:
Use Trigonometric ratios to find the unknown sides and angles in the
right triangles below:

45

x
A
3

Solution:
As we solve this problem, we will leave out the explanations of how
we determine the names of the sides of the triangle.
Angle A:
As with the previous problem, the sum of the angles of a triangle is
180 degrees. Thus we calculate
90 + 45 + A = 180
135 + A = 180

A = 45
Thus the measure of angle A is 45 degrees.
Side x:
Side x forms part of the angle that is labeled to be 45 degrees,
thus this is the adjacent side. We are also given the measure of
the side opposite the angle to be 3. Thus we will want to use the
tangent ratio.

Geometry Notes
Right Triangle Trigonometry

Page 48 of 57

tan( 45) =

tan( 45) 3
=
1
x
x tan( 45) = 1(3)

x =

3
tan( 45)

Our answer is x = 3.
We did not need to use trigonometric ratios to find x. We could
have used the fact that our triangle has two angles that are equal.
Such a triangle is an isosceles triangle. We should recall that the
sides of an isosceles triangle opposite the equal angles are equal in
length. Thus since one of the side was length 3, the side labeled x
is also of length 3.
Side y:
Side y is opposite the right angle of the triangle and thus is the
hypotenuse. We also have given opposite side to be 3. Thus to
find y, we will need to use the sine ratio.
3
sin( 45) =

sin( 45) 3
=
1
y

y sin( 45) = 1(3)

y =

3
sin( 45)

Our answer is approximately y = 4.24264.

Example 3:
Use Trigonometric ratios to find the unknown sides and angles in the
right triangles below:

53.4
5.6

Geometry Notes
Right Triangle Trigonometry

Page 49 of 57

Solution:
Angle B:
As with the previous problem, the sum of the angles of a triangle is
180 degrees. Thus we calculate
90 + 53.4 + B = 180
143.4 + B = 180

B = 36.6
Thus the measure of angle B is 36.6 degrees.
Side c:
We will use the given angle labeled 53.4 degrees as our angle for
solving this problem. Side c forms part of the triangle that is
opposite the right angle. Thus it is the hypotenuse. We are also
given the measure of the side adjacent to the angle we are using to
be 5.6. Thus we will want to use the cosine ratio.
5.6
cos(53.4) =

cos(53.4) 5.6
=
c
1
c cos(53.4) = 1(5.6)

c =

5.6
cos(53.4)

Our answer is approximately c = 9.39243.

Side a:
We will use the given angle labeled 53.4 degrees as our angle for
solving this problem. Side a does not form the angle we are using.
Thus it is the opposite side. We are also given the measure of the
side adjacent to the angle we are using to be 5.6. Thus we will
want to use the tangent ratio.

tan(53.4) =

5. 6

a
tan(53.4)
=
1
5. 6
5.6 tan(53.4) = 1(a )
5.6 tan(53.4) = a
Our answer is approximately a = 7.54041.

Geometry Notes
Right Triangle Trigonometry

Page 50 of 57

Example 4:
Use Trigonometric ratios to find the unknown sides and angles in the
right triangles below:

7.0

A
8.0
Solution:
In this problem, we are not given any angle to use. Instead we will
need to change the labels of our sides as we solve each of the
angles in turn. We will start by finding side c. Since this is a right
triangle, we can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of
c.
Side c:
The legs (a and b) are given to be 7.0 and 8.0. It does not matter
which we label a and which we label b.
a2 + b2 = c2

7. 0 2 + 8. 0 2 = c 2
49 + 64 = c 2
113 = c 2
113 = c
The approximate length of side c is 10.63015.
Angle A:
As we solve for angle A, we need to label the sides whose measures
are given relative to angle A. The side labeled 8.0 forms part of
the angle A. Thus it is the adjacent side. The side labeled 7.0
does not form any part of the angle A. Thus it is the opposite side.
The trigonometric ratio that includes both the adjacent and
opposite sides is the tangent ratio. We will fill in the information
to that equation and solve for A.

Geometry Notes
Right Triangle Trigonometry

Page 51 of 57

tan(A ) =

opposite
adjacent

7.0
8.0
tan(A ) = 0.875
We need to know how to solve for A in this equation. As in our
section on exponential functions and their inverses, there is an
inverse function (a functions that undoes) for the tangent
function. On the calculator it is labeled tan-1. Thus we can finally
solve for A by calculating
tan(A ) = 0.875
tan(A ) =

A = tan 1 (0.875)
Thus the measure of angle A is approximately A = 41.18593
degrees.
Angle B:
As we solve for angle B, we need to relabel the sides whose
measures are given relative to angle B. The side labeled 7.0 forms
part of the angle B. Thus it is the adjacent side. The side labeled
8.0 does not form any part of the angle B. Thus it is the opposite
side. The trigonometric ratio that includes both the adjacent and
opposite sides is the tangent ratio. We will fill in the information
to that equation and solve for A.
opposite
tan(A ) =
adjacent
8.0
7.0
We will once again use the inverse function of the tangent
function. On the calculator it is labeled tan-1. Thus we can finally
solve for B by calculating
8.0
tan(B ) =
7.0
8.0
B = tan 1

7.0
Thus the measure of angle B is approximately B = 48.81407
degrees.
tan(A ) =

Geometry Notes
Right Triangle Trigonometry

Page 52 of 57

Example 5:
Use Trigonometric ratios to find the unknown sides and angles in the
right triangles below:

.86

a 43.9

Solution:
Angle A:
As with the previous problem, the sum of the angles of a triangle is
180 degrees. Thus we calculate
90 + 43.9 + A = 180
133.9 + A = 180

A = 46.1
Thus the measure of angle A is 46.1 degrees.
Side a:
We will use the given angle labeled 43.9 degrees as our angle for
solving this problem. Side a forms part of the angle labeled 43.9
degrees. Thus it is the adjacent side. We are also given the
measure of the hypotenuse to be .86. Thus we will want to use the
cosine ratio.

cos( 43.9) =

.86

a
cos( 43.9)
=
1
.86
.86 cos( 43.9) = 1(a )
.86 cos( 43.9) = a
Our answer is approximately a = 0.619674.
Side b:
We will use the given angle labeled 43.9 degrees as our angle for
solving this problem. Side b does not form the angle we are using.
Thus it is the opposite side. We are also given the measure of the
hypotenuse to be .86. Thus we will want to use the sine ratio.

Geometry Notes
Right Triangle Trigonometry

Page 53 of 57

sin( 43.9) =

b
.86

b
sin( 43.9)
=
1
.86
.86 sin( 43.9) = 1(b )
.86 sin( 43.9) = b
Our answer is approximately b = 0.596326.
We will finish by looking at some application problems for our right triangle
trigonometric ratios.
Example 6:
A support cable runs from the top of the telephone pole to a point on the
ground 47.2 feet from its base. If the cable makes an angle of 28.7
with the ground, find (rounding to the nearest tenth of a foot)

pole
28.7
47.2 ft

a. the height of the pole

b. the length of the cable
Solution:
The picture above shows that we have a right triangle situation.
Part a:
The pole is opposite the angle of 28.7 degrees that is given. The
other side of the triangle that we know to be 47.2 feet forms part
of the angle of 28.7 degrees. Thus it is the adjacent side. We will
be able to use the tangent ratio to solve this problem since it
includes both the opposite and adjacent sides.

Geometry Notes
Right Triangle Trigonometry

Page 54 of 57

tan(A ) =

opposite
adjacent

pole
47.2
tan(28.7 ) pole
=
1
47.2
47.2 tan(28.7 ) = 1(pole)

tan(28.7 ) =

47.2 tan(28.7 ) = pole

Thus the pole is approximately 25.8 feet tall.
Part b:
The cable is opposite the right angle of triangle and thus is the
hypotenuse. We still know that the adjacent side is 47.2 feet. We
will be able to use the cosine ratio to solve this problem since it
includes both the hypotenuse and adjacent sides.
adjacent
cos(A ) =
hypotenuse

47.2
cable
cos(28.7 )
47.2
=
1
cable
cable cos(28.7 ) = 1( 47.2)

cos(28.7 ) =

cable =

47 . 2
cos(28.7 )

Thus the cable is approximately 53.8 feet tall.

Example 7:
You are hiking along a river and see a tall tree on the opposite bank. You
measure the angle of elevation of the top of the tree and find it to be
62.0. You then walk 45 feet directly away from the tree and measure
the angle of elevation. If the second measurement is 48.5, how tall is
the tree? Round your answer to the nearest foot.

Geometry Notes
Right Triangle Trigonometry

Page 55 of 57

tree
48.5 62.0
45 ft
Solution:
This problem will require a little more algebra than the previous
problems. We will start by looking at the two different triangles
that we have and writing trigonometric ratios that include the tree
for each of our triangles. We will start by looking at the bigger
triangles (shown in red below).

tree
48.5
45 ft

62.0

x ft

In this red triangle, the tree is opposite the angle that is given to
be 48.5 degrees. We are also given the length of 45 feet as part
of the side that is adjacent to the angle given to be 48.5 degrees.
Since we have part of this adjacent side, we are going to label the
other part of the side to be x feet. Thus the whole adjacent side
is 45 + x feet long. Since we have the opposite and the adjacent
sides, we can use the tangent ratio. For the red triangle, we have
opposite
tan(x ) =
adjacent
tan( 48.5) =

tree
45 + x

We will continue by looking at the smaller triangle (shown in blue

below)

Geometry Notes
Right Triangle Trigonometry

Page 56 of 57

48.5

45 ft

tree
62.0

x ft

In this blue triangle, the tree is opposite the angle that is given to
be 62 degrees. Based on what we did for the red triangle, we know
that the length of the side adjacent to the angle given to be 62
degrees is x feet long. Since we have the opposite and the
adjacent sides, we can use the tangent ratio. For the blue triangle,
we have
opposite
tan(x ) =
adjacent
tan(62) =

tree

Now we are ready for the algebra. We have two equations

tree
tree
tan( 48.5) =
and tan(62) =
with two unknowns
45 + x
x
(variable). We can use the substitution method (solve one of the
equations for one of the variable and then plug that in to the other
equation) to determine the height of the tree. One way to go here
tree
for x. This will give us
is to solve the equation tan(62) =

tan(62) =

tree

tan(62) tree
=
1
x
x tan(62) = 1(tree)
tree
x =
tan(62)
We can now plug this expression for x into the equation
tree
tan( 48.5) =
and solve for the height of the tree.
45 + x

Geometry Notes
Right Triangle Trigonometry

Page 57 of 57

tree
45 + x
tan( 48.5)
tree
=
1
45 + x
( 45 + x ) tan( 48.5) = tree

Write both sides as fractions.

45 tan( 48.5) + x tan( 48.5) = tree

Apply distributive property.

tan( 48.5) =

tree
tan( 48.5) = tree
45 tan( 48.5) +
tan( 62)
tree
tan( 48.5)
45 tan( 48.5) = tree -
tan(62)

1
45 tan( 48.5) = tree 1 -
tan( 48.5)

tan(62)
45 tan( 48.5)
= tree

1
1 -
tan( 48.5)

tan( 62)

Cross multiply.

Substitute in expression for x.

Collect variable on the same side

Factor out the variable tree

Divide both sides by value in

parentheses.

We now just need to plug this expression into our calculator to find
out the height of the tree. The tree is approximately 127 feet
tall.