Important Formulas and Theorems for Geometry

Volume:

1 2
Cylinder: π r 2 h Cone: πr h
3

4 3 1
Sphere: πr Pyramid: ( Area of base)h
3 3

Area:

1 1
Rhombus: d d Triangle: bh
2 1 2 2

1
Parallelogram:bh Right Triangle: l l
2 12

1 1 2
Trapezoid: (b1 +b2 )h Equilateral Triangle: s √3
2 4

Total Surface Area:

Cylinder: π r 2+ 2 πrh Sphere: 4 π r 2

______________________________________________________________________________

y 2− y 1
Slope of a Line with Endpoints ( x 1, y 1) and ( x 2, y 2): slope = m =
x 2−x 1

Distance between two points or length of segment with endpoints ( x 1, y 1) and ( x 2, y 2):

√(x ¿ ¿ 2−x ) +( y ¿ ¿ 2− y ) ¿ ¿
1
2
1
2

Midpoint Formula: midpoint of a line segment given two endpoints ( x 1, y 1) and ( x 2, y 2):

¿)

|ax+ by+ c|
Distance from a point to a line: where the point is (x, y) and the line is ax+ by+ c = 0
√ a2 +b2
Circles:

x
Length of an arc: ( )(2 πr) , where x is the measure of the central angle of the arc
360
 x 2
Area of a sector: ( )( π r ) , where x is the measure of the central angle of the sector
360
2
n +n+2
Maximum number of parts when a circle is divided with n slices:
2

Length of a Diagonal of a Square: s √ 2

Length of a Diagonal of a Cube: s √ 3

Length of a Diagonal of a Rectangular Solid: √ x 2+ y2 + z 2 with dimensions x, y, and z

Heron’s Formula to find the area of any triangle: √ s (s−a)(s−b)(s−c ) where the side lengths
(a +b+c )
are a, b, c and s is the semiperimeter or
2

Pythagorean Theorem: (Can be used with all right triangles) a 2+ b2=c 2, where a and b are the
lengths of the legs and c is the length of the hypotenuse.

Pythagorean Triples: Integer-length sides for right triangles form Pythagorean Triples – the
largest number must be on the hypotenuse. Memorizing the bold triples will also lead to other
triples that are multiples of the original.

3 4 5 | 5 12 13 |

7 24 25 | 8 15 17 | 9 40 41

Special Right Triangles:

45° - 45° - 90° 30° - 60° - 90°

a √2 a √3
2a
a

a
a
Regular Polygons:

n(n−3)
Number of Diagonals for a Convex Polygon with N Sides:
2

Sum of the Measures of the Interior Angles of a Regular Polygon with N Sides: 180(n− 2)
 180(n−2)
Measure of each interior angle of a regular polygon with n sides:
n

Triangles

Similar Triangles

 Equal angles
 Corresponding sides have the same ratio

How to prove Similar Triangles

 Two Angles are equal (AA)

 Side-Angle-Side (SAS) (The triangle is similar if two pairs of sides have the same ratio)
 Side-Side-Side (SSS) (The triangle is similar if three pairs of sides have the same ratio)

Some triangles will have a triangle within them that has a parallel line splitting it like the figure
above; if BC is parallel to DE, triangle ABC is similar; if BF is parallel to AE, BDF is similar.

The Angle Bisector Theorem states that if an angle is bisecting like the figure below, the
AB AC
triangles are similar and we can use properties of similar triangles such as = .
BD DC

If two similar triangles have sides in the ratio x: y, their areas are in the ratios x 2 : y 2

Congruent Triangles

 All sides are of equal length

 All angles have an equal measure

How to prove Congruent Triangles

 Side-Side-Side (SSS)
 Side-Angle-Side (SAS)
 Angle-Side-Angle (ASA)
  Angle-Angle-Side (AAS)
 HL theorem (If the hypotenuse and leg of two right triangles are equal)

Points of Concurrency

Angle Bisector

 Passes through one vertex

 Divides the vertex into two angles of equal degree
 Intersection of angle bisectors - incenter
Always inside the triangle
Center of the largest circle inside the triangle

Perpendicular Bisector (M1, M2, M3)

 Cuts a side into two equal segments

 Forms a right angle with the segment that the line cut
 Intersection of perpendicular bisectors – Circumcenter
Equidistant to the vertices; center of the circumcircle;
Circumcenter of right triangle is midpoint of hypotenuse
May be outside of the triangle

Median

 Passes through one vertex

 Cuts the opposite vertex in half
 Forms the centroid
Always inside the triangle
Centroid is two-thirds along the way of each median
Each median divides the triangle into two smaller triangles of equal area

Altitude

 Passes through one vertex

 Forms a right angle with the opposite side
 Forms the orthocenter
Obtuse triangle- will be located on the outside of triangle
The orthocenter, centroid, and circumcenter are always on a line known as the Euler Line

For any triangle with sides a, b, and c:

Obtuse triangle: a 2+ b2 <c 2 Acute triangle: a 2+ b2 >c 2 Right triangle: a 2+ b2=c 2

Triangle Inequality Theorem – for any triangle with side lengths a, b, and c;

a+ b>c ; b+ c> a; a+ c> b;

The sum of the sides of the triangle must be greater than the third side

The measure of the exterior angle in a triangle is the sum of the two non-adjacent interior angles.

Definition of Shapes

Square

 All four sides are equal

 All sides have a right angle

This means that diagonals are congruent and are 90°

Rectangle

 Every angle is a right angle

 Pairs of sides are equal

This means all diagonals are congruent.

Kite

 2 pairs of equal adjacent sides

This means pairs of angles are equal.

This also means diagonals make a perpendicular bisector.

Rhombus

 All four sides are equal

Opposite sides are therefore parallel and

opposite angles are equal.
(all rhombi are therefore parallelograms)

Parallelogram

 Opposite sides are parallel

 Opposite sides equal in length

This means opposite angles are equal.

Angles a and b are supplementary.

Trapezoid

 A trapezoid has one pair of

parallel opposite sides

Isosceles trapezoid when one pair of sides are equal (meaning angles are equal)

Logic - If the original statement is P  Q (P implies Q)

Converse: Q P (Q implies P)

Inverse: ~P  ~Q (The negation of P implies the negation of Q)

Contrapositive: ~Q  ~P (The negation of Q implies the negation of P)

Right Triangle Trigonometry:

Opposite
Sine (sin):
Hypotenuse

Adjacent
Cosine (cos):
Hypotenuse

Opposite
Tangent (tan):
Adjacent

Miscellaneous

Geometric Mean: where n is the number of elements in the set and a, b, and c are values in the
set √n abc … ; In a right triangle where the altitude touches the 90° vertex and is perpendicular to
the hypotenuse, the geometric mean of the divided hypotenuse is the length of the altitude
Vertical Angles (angles opposite to each other when two lines cross) are equal.

In the same polygon, sides opposite to larger angles are longer than sides opposite to smaller
angles.

An exterior angle is 180 °− A where A is the angle measure of an interior angle.

Euclid is known as the “father of geometry” and wrote 13 books known as the Elements.

Circles

Annulus of a circle – A circle that is within another circle (concentric)

2
n +n+2
Maximum parts that a circle can be divided given n lines:
2
Given a right triangle with altitude f:
2 2 2
f =d ×e b =c × e a =c × d

a ×b 1 1 1
f= 2
= 2+ 2
c f a b