13 Angles of a polygon

You should know about the sum of angles around a point, on a line and in a triangle. This work will help you use the interior and exterior angles of a regular or irregular polygon. You need a pair of compasses and an angle measurer.

Angles of a regular polygon

T A regular polygon is one that has all its angles and all its sides equal.

Follow these instructions to draw a regular hexagon inside a circle.

Draw a circle of radius 6 cm.

Mark a point on Repeat, using each the circle and two mark as the centre spaced 6 cm each side. for another mark.

Join the marks up to make a hexagon.

Join the vertices of the hexagon to the centre.

How many of these angles are there at the centre? What must the sum of these angles be? So how big is each of the angles? Check by measuring.
?

A1 For a regular pentagon you need five points spaced

equally around a circle. (a) When lines are drawn from the points to the centre of the circle, how many angles are there at the centre? (b) What must these angles add up to? (c) Work out the size of one angle at the centre.
Each of these lines is a radius of the circle (plural radii).

A2 Copy and complete this table.

Regular polygon Number of sides Angle at the centre Pentagon 5 Hexagon 6 Octagon 8 Decagon 10 Dodecagon 12

A3 Use your table from A2 to draw each of the regular polygons in a 6 cm radius circle.

Use an angle measurer to draw the angles at the centre.

13 Angles of a polygon 99

You should have found that in a regular polygon each angle at the centre is 360 ) n, where n is the number of sides of the polygon. You can use this fact to find the interior angles in a regular polygon. This is part of a regular pentagon with centre O.
This angle at the centre is 360 ) 5 = 72. This triangle is isosceles (because OA and OB are both radii of a circle).
O

C A

These angles add up to 180 72 = 108 (angles of a triangle add up to 180). But they are equal, so they are each 54.
B By the same reasoning in triangle OBC, this angle is also 54. C A

So the interior angle ABC is 108. Because the pentagon is regular, all the interior angles are 108.
108 B

A4 Copy this table and use the approach above to complete it.
Regular polygon Size of interior angle Pentagon 108 Hexagon Octagon Decagon Dodecagon

Measure the interior angles of the polygons you drew in A3 and see how well they correspond to these answers.
A5 In this question you will use the table you completed for A4.

So first make sure that it is correct. (a) Three regular hexagons will fit exactly round a point. Explain why. (b) Now decide whether each of these combinations of shapes will fit exactly round a point, giving a reason in each case. (i) Three regular octagons (ii) Six equilateral triangles (iii) Two regular octagons and a square (iv) A regular octagon, a regular hexagon and a regular pentagon (v) Two regular hexagons and two equilateral triangles (vi) Two regular dodecagons and an equilateral triangle (vii) Two regular decagons and a regular pentagon (viii) Two regular pentagons and a regular decagon
100 13 Angles of a polygon

Interior angles of a quadrilateral

A quadrilateral can be divided into two triangles. The sum of the angles in each triangle is 180. The angles of the two triangles make up the interior angles of the quadrilateral. So the interior angles of a quadrilateral add up to 360.

A quadrilateral is a shape with four straight sides.

B1 (a) What do these three angles add up to? (b) What must the fourth angle of the quadrilateral be

130 120

to make all four angles add up to 360?

30

B2 ABCD is a quadrilateral.

Work out the value of a.

A a 120

B Not drawn accurately

80 D

55 C
AQA

B3 Find the angles labelled by letters in these quadrilaterals.

c 95 a 72 84 105 b 124 76 84 122 94 f
13 Angles of a polygon 101

125

B4 This diagram shows a kite. (a) What is angle f ?

Explain how you know. (b) Calculate angle g.

B5 Find the angles marked x, y and z.

244 F y G 85 M N

Explain how you worked out each angle.

(a)
A 90 B 100 C L 106

(b)

(c)

K x E 110 D 115 I J 80 H O 63

B6 In this diagram lines PS and TW are parallel. (a) What kind of quadrilateral is QRVU? (b) What is the size of angle PQU?

What is the size of angle RQU? 80 65 T V U (d) What is the size of angle QRV? (e) Check that the sum of the angles of quadrilateral QRVU is what you expect.
(c) B7 Find the missing angle.
? 104 138

98

C
T

Interior angles of any polygon

Here it has been split into triangles by cutting from one vertex to the other vertices.

This is an irregular hexagon.

How many triangles has the hexagon been split into? What is the sum of all the interior angles of these triangles? What is the sum of the interior angles of the hexagon?
102 13 Angles of a polygon

C1 Find the missing angle in each of these hexagons. (a)

110

(b)
?
95

90

(c)

112

141

? ?

120

130 130 100 60 225 100 127 64

135

C2 In question A4 you should have found that each interior angle of

a regular hexagon is 120. Use this to find the sum of the interior angles of a regular hexagon. Check that this answer agrees with sum of the angles of a hexagon that you used in question C1.
C3 (a) Draw a pentagon with a ruler: it does not have to be regular.

Draw lines from a single vertex to all the other vertices. (b) How many triangles are there inside your pentagon? (c) What is the sum of all the interior angles of a pentagon?
C4 Find the missing angle in each of these pentagons. (a)
140

?
110

(b)

100

97

(c)
75 245

60

134 75 105 93

80

C5 On page 100 you saw that each interior angle of a regular pentagon is 108.

Use this to find the sum of the interior angles of a regular pentagon. Check that this answer agrees with sum of the angles of a pentagon that you found in question C3.
*C6 (a) If a polygon is split into triangles by lines drawn from a single vertex to

all the other vertices, what rule connects the number of sides of the polygon with the number of triangles produced? (Draw sketches and experiment.) (b) What rule connects the number of sides of a polygon with the sum of its interior angles?

13 Angles of a polygon 103

D
T

Exterior angles of any polygon

If you extend a side of a polygon, the angle made is called an exterior angle.

If a pencil is moved around the sides of a polygon, at each vertex it turns through the exterior angle.
When the pencil gets back to where it has started from,

Start and finish

it will point in the same direction as before. What angle has it turned through?
What is the sum of the exterior angles of a polygon?

D1 Find the angles labelled by letters.

a 46 72 68 b 64 95

52

40 127 97

86

77

45

D2 This diagram shows a regular octagon. (a) How many exterior angles are shown here? (b) What must be the size of one exterior angle?

D3 In section A you should have found that each interior angle of

a regular octagon is 135. With the help of a diagram, explain how this value relates to the size of an exterior angle that you have just found.

104 13 Angles of a polygon

D4 This is a regular 12-sided polygon (a dodecagon). (a) How many exterior angles are shown here? (b) What must be the size of one exterior angle?

D5 Copy this table. Calculate the missing exterior angles and complete the table.
Regular polygon Size of exterior angle Pentagon Hexagon Octagon 45 Decagon Dodecagon 30

D6 Each exterior angle of a certain regular polygon is 40.

How many sides must this polygon have?

D7 How many sides does a regular polygon have if each exterior angle is (a) 9 (b) 24 (c)

10

(d) 18

Mixed questions
P

E1 PQRST is a regular pentagon. (a) Calculate angle STP, giving your reasons. (b) What kind of triangle is triangle STP?

Calculate angle TSP, giving your reasons. (d) Calculate angle PSR, giving reasons.
(c)

E2 Two sides of this regular octagon have been extended

to make a triangle on one of the sides. Find angles a, b and c.

a c

13 Angles of a polygon 105

E3 Calculate the size of angle GIK,

C A B 70 D 50 80 F G I H K J E

giving full reasons for your answer.

A tangent is a line that touches a circle at one point only. Think of a wheel touching horizontal ground. The centre of the wheel is above the point of contact, so the radius is at right angles to the horizontal tangent.
tangent
PR BO

If the entire diagram is rotated it will make no difference to the fact that the angle between the radius and tangent is a right angle. You will need this fact in the following question.
tan ge nt

radius

E4 The sides of the triangle ABC are tangents that touch

a circle at points P, Q and R as shown. O is the centre of the circle. (a) Give the sizes of angles ARO and APO, explaining R your reasons. 115 (b) By considering the angles of the quadrilateral APOR, 105 O calculate angle RAP. C (c) Find angle RCQ. Q (d) Find angle POQ and hence find angle PBQ. (e) Do the three angles of the triangle have the total you expect?

Test yourself
T1 Find the angles labelled by letters
110 a b 75 60 c

in these quadrilaterals.

100 105

106 13 Angles of a polygon

T2 Find the angles labelled by letters.

85 p 89

62

71

q 90 80 59 g
136 51 90

T3 Calculate the lettered angles.

c f

e d

a
62

90

54

T4 (a) What is the sum of the interior angles of any pentagon? (b) Calculate the missing interior angle in this pentagon.
111 98

121 106 ?

T5 (a) What is the sum of the interior angles of any hexagon? (b) Calculate the missing interior angle in this hexagon.
?

138 100 210 83

78

T6 Katya has started to draw a regular polygon

by marking points round a circle. (a) How many sides will her polygon have? (b) What size will each exterior angle of her polygon be? (c) What size will each interior angle be?

20 20

T7 Each exterior angle of certain regular polygon is 8. (a) How many sides does this regular polygon have? (b) What is the size of an interior angle of this polygon?
13 Angles of a polygon 107