Congruence of Angles

Introduction

In geometry, an angle is made when two rays are joined at the same location. The common point is referred to as the node or vertex, while the two rays are known as the arms of the angle. We use the symbol “\(\angle \)” to represent an angle. The word “angle” has its roots in the Latin word “Angulus”, before talking about congruent angles, let’s define the term. In geometry, two figures are said to be congruent if their size and shapes are the same. That suggests that they will completely overlap if we stack one figure on top of the other. These figures may be line segments, polygons, angles, or 3D objects.

Congruent Angle Construction

Corresponding angles are always congruent on congruent figures. Two situations are there while learning about the construction of congruent angles in geometry. They are
• Any measurement can be used to create two congruent angles.
• making a new angle that is comparable to the one already there
Let’s look at two angles that are congruent with each other.

Congruent Angles

In the figure above, the angles are equal in size (\({100^\circ }\) each). They might completely encircle one another. As a result, both of the above angles satisfy the concept of congruent angles.

The symbol \(\angle 1 \cong \angle 2\) represents the congruence of two angles.

Angle Congruence Theorems

Many theorems are built on the concept of congruent angles. The congruent angles theorem allows us to easily assess whether two angles are congruent or not. The following are the theorems:

  • The vertical angle theorem
  • The corresponding-angles theorem
  • The alternate-angles theorem
  • Congruent supplement theorem
  • Congruent complements theorem

Let’s talk about how these theorems are stated. Different theorems can be used to demonstrate if two or more angles are congruent. The following are the theorems:

The vertical opposite angle theorem

If two lines intersect each other, then the vertically opposite angles are equal.

Congruent Complements Theorem

The next theorem, the congruent complements theorem, states that if two angles are complements of the same angle, then the two angles are congruent.

Congruent Supplements Theorem

According to the Congruent Supplements Theorem, two angles are congruent if they are supplements of the same angle.

The alternate interior angles theorem

This theorem states that the alternate interior angles are equivalent if a transversal intersects two parallel lines.

The alternate exterior angles theorem

This theorem states that the angles formed on the outer side of the parallel lines and opposite sides of the transversal, when a transversal joins two parallel lines, have to be equivalent.

The theorem of Corresponding Angles

If a transversal meets two parallel lines, the corresponding angles that result are congruent.

Summary

This article showed us that a pair of angles cannot be congruent unless their measurements are equal. The statements of congruence of vertical angles theorem, corresponding angles theorem, alternate angles theorem, congruent supplements theorem, and congruent complements theorem were the next ideas we learned. We next discussed a few examples of congruent angles. We also learned how the angles are congruent based on these theorems. When two unknown angles are regarded as congruent, as well as how to calculate an angle’s measure, were both covered. Finally, we solved several cases that illustrated the concept of congruence of angles.

1. What is an angle? What are the measuring units of angles, and what is the relation between them?

Ans. An angle is the elevation of one line from another. Angles are measured in two main unit systems, i.e., the degree system and the radian system. The degree system has 2 sub-divisions, minutes and seconds. 1 complete circle is 360 degrees, 1 degree has 60 minutes and 1 minute has 60 seconds, the degree system angles are always represented by whole numbers and any fractional part is moved on to the next subdivision. Whereas the radian system has no subdivisions and can be represented in whole numbers, fractions and decimals. In the radian system, 1 complete circle is \(2\pi {\text{ rad}}\).

\[{360^\circ } = 2\pi {\text{ rad}}\]

\[{1^\circ } = \frac{\pi }{{180}}{\text{ rad}}\]

\[1{\text{ rad}} = {\frac{{180}}{\pi }^\circ }\]

2.What do you mean by congruent angles?

Ans. An angle is said to be congruent to another angle if the two angles are equal in measure.

3.Are the following two angles congruent?

A pair of angles

Ans. Two angles are congruent if they are equal in measure, in the following image, the 1st angle, by the vertically opposite angles property, is a right angle. For, the second angle, using the corresponding angles property we can say that the angle adjacent to it is also a right angle. Now using the linear pairs,

\[{90^\circ } + \angle 2 = {180^\circ }\]

\[\angle 2 = {90^\circ }\]

Hence, the 2nd angle is also a right angle. Thus, the two angles are congruent.

Want to dive deeper into the topic of congruence? Check out our article on “Congruence for Triangles

Congruence for Triangles – SSS, SAS, ASA, AAS, RAH Rule

Introduction

Only when two figures have the same size and shape, including their sides, points, angles, etc., can they be said to be congruent. 

  1. Two circles should have the same diameter if they are congruent. 
  2. If the sides and angles of two triangles are the same, they are said to be congruent. 
  3. If the corresponding sides of two rectangles are equal, they are said to be congruent. 
  4. If two squares have sides of the same length, they are said to be congruent.

If two shapes are equivalent to one another in all conceivable ways, they are said to be congruent. Congruent figures in mathematics are those that share the same size and shape. The 2-D and 3-D figures are both consistent with each other. However, this article will only discuss the congruence of plane figures. 

Figures that are consistent in size and shape are said to be congruent. Congruence is the name given to the relationship between two congruent figures. It is indicated by the symbol ““.

Plane Figures

A plane shape is a closed, 2-D, or flat figure. Different plane shapes have various characteristics, such as various vertices. A vertex is the point where two sides meet, and a side is a straight line that is part of the shape.

Shapes

The following figures show some of the basic plane shapes: triangles, squares, rectangles, and circles.

Congruence of Plane figures

A geometric figure with no thickness is called a plane figure. Some of the plane figures include line segments, curves, or a combination of both line segments and curves. The sides of the plane figures are the straight lines or curves  that make them up.

If two plane figures, such as line segments, angles, and other figures, are similar in size and shape, they are said to be congruent. Congruence of plane figures is the name of the relationship in use.

Congruent Figures

Congruent figures are geometric objects that share the same size and shape in mathematics. The two figures are equal to one another and are referred to as congruent figures when you transform one figure into another by a series of rotations and/or reflections.

Congruence of Lines

If two line segments are of the same length, they are said to be congruent. They don’t have to be parallel, though. They are flexible and can be in any position or orientation. The separation between two points determines the length of a line segment.

Congruent Line Segments

A pair of equal-length line segments makes up the congruent segment. An exact starting point and ending point define a straight line segment. Its beginning and end points are known, so its length can be calculated. Congruent line segments can, but are not required to, be parallel, perpendicular, or at any other particular angle. 

In geometry, a line segment is a fundamental figure that is created by joining any two points on a plane figure. Line segments also make up the sides of the plane figures. Two line segments are said to be congruent if their lengths are the same. In other words, two line segments have equal lengths if they are congruent.

Rules of Congruence for Triangles

There are 5 basic rules of congruence:-

Side Side Side

Side Side Side or also known as SSS congruence criteria states that if  the three sides of one triangle are equal to the corresponding three sides of another triangle, then the triangles are congruent.

SSS Congruence

Side Angle Side

Side Angle Side or also known as SAS congruence criteria states that if two sides and the included angle of one triangle  are equal to the corresponding two sides and the included angle of another triangle , then the triangles are congruent.

SAS Congrunece

Angle Side Angle

Angle Side Angle or also known as ASA congruence criteria states that if  two angles and the included side of one triangle are equal to the corresponding two angles and the included side of the another triangle,  then the two triangles are congruent.

ASA Congruence

Angle Angle Side

Angle Angle Side or also known as AAS congruence criteria states that if two angles and a side not common to the two angles of one triangle are equal to the corresponding angles and side of another triangle, then the triangles are congruent.

AAS Congruence

Right angle Hypotenuse Side

Right angle, Hypotenuse & Side or RHS congruence criteria only applies to right triangles, it says that in two right triangles if  the hypotenuse and one  side of a triangle are equal to the hypotenuse and the corresponding side of the other triangle, , then the triangles are congruent.

RHS Congruence

Summary

In this article the topic of congruence is discussed in detail. If two figures share the same shape and size, they are said to be congruent; alternatively,  a figure  is said to be congruent to its mirror image as they share the same shape and size. Figures drawn on a plane or other flat surface are referred to as “plane figures.” In geometry, a plane is a flat surface that can go on forever in all directions. It has infinite width and length, no thickness, and curvature as it is stretched to infinity.

This article also shines a light on the topic of Rules of Congruence for triangles. There are 5 basic congruence criteria.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What do you mean by congruence?
    Ans. Congruent figures are geometric objects that share the same size and shape in mathematics. The two figures are equal to one another and are referred to as congruent figures.
  2. Are all squares congruent?
    Ans. No, all squares are not congruent, since for congruence two figures must have all of their quantifying dimensions  equal, that includes all the sides and all the angles. All squares have the same angles, but their side lengths may be  different, hence they aren’t congruent.
  3. Is AAA a criteria for congruence of triangles?
    Ans. No, AAA is not a criteria for congruence because even if all the angles of two triangles are correspondingly equal, that necessarily does not mean that they have the same side length, for example two equilateral triangles of sides 3cm and 5cm, they both have the same 60-60-60 angle but they are not congruent because their sides are of different lengths.
  4. Is a Rhombus of side length 4cm congruent to a square with side 4cm?
    Ans. We know that both rhombus and square have the property that all their sides are of the same length. But a rhombus does not necessarily have the same angles, whereas by definition a square has all its angles 90 degrees. Hence, no, a rhombus of side length 4cm is not necessarily congruent to a square of side length 4cm.

    Also Read: Congruence of Angles