+
Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Two Wheels and a Belt

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Geometry gets an engineering treatment in an exercise involving a belt wrapped around two wheels of different dimensions. Along with the wheels, this belt problem connects concepts of right triangles, tangent lines, arc length, and...
+
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Similar Triangles in Circle-Secant (or Circle-Secant-Tangent) Diagrams

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
First angle measures, now segment lengths. High schoolers first measure segments formed by secants that intersect interior to a circle, secants that intersect exterior to a circle, and a secant and a tangent that intersect exterior to a...
+
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Tangent Segments

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What's so special about tangents? Learners first explore how if a circle is tangent to both rays of an angle, then its center is on the angle bisector. They then complete a set of exercises designed to explore further properties and...
+
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Recognizing Equations of Circles

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What does completing the square have to do with circles? Math pupils use completing the square and other algebraic techniques to rewrite equations of circles in center-radius form. They then analyze equations of the form x^2 + y^2 + Ax +...
+
Activity
Illustrative Mathematics

Tangent to a Circle From a Point

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Learners see application of construction techniques in a short but sophisticated problem. Combining the properties of inscribed triangles with tangent lines and radii makes a nice bridge between units, a way of using information about...
+
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Equations for Tangent Lines to Circles

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Don't go off on a tangent while writing equations of tangent lines! Scholars determine the equations for tangent lines to circles. They attempt both concrete and abstract examples, such as a tangent line to the unit circle through (p, 0).
+
Instructional Video14:27
2
2
Flipped Math

Tangents to Circles

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Touch a circle once. Individuals watch a video and learn two theorems related to tangents and circles. The pupils then apply the theorems to find missing angle measures and lengths in figures. At the end, they practice their skills on...
+
Assessment
Inside Mathematics

Circles in Triangles

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Challenge the class with inscribed circles in triangles. The assessment task requests class members use their knowledge of circles and right triangles to prove two triangles are congruent. They go on to utilize their knowledge of...
+
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Graphing the Tangent Function

For Students 10th - 12th Standards
Help learners discover the unique characteristics of the tangent function. Working in teams, pupils create tables of values for different intervals of the tangent function. Through teamwork, they discover the periodicity, frequency, and...
+
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Secant Lines; Secant Lines That Meet Inside a Circle

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Young mathematicians identify different cases of intersecting secant lines. They then investigate the case where secant lines meet inside a circle.
+
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Why Call It Tangent?

For Students 10th - 12th Standards
Discover the relationship between tangent lines and the tangent function. Class members develop the idea of the tangent function using the unit circle. They create tables of values and explore the domain, range, and end behavior of the...
+
Worksheet
Mt. San Antonio Collage

Circles

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Don't circle around the topic, but get right to the center with tons of practice regarding circles in geometry. The note-incorporated instructional activity provides guided practice through many topics such as central angles, inscribed...
+
Unit Plan
Mathematics Vision Project

Circles: A Geometric Perspective

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Circles are the foundation of many geometric concepts and extensions - a point that is thoroughly driven home in this extensive unit. Fundamental properties of circles are investigated (including sector area, angle measure, and...
+
Lesson Plan
Texas Instruments

Drawing a Line Tangent to a Circle

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Explore lines tangent to a circle. In this math lesson plan, high schoolers manipulate circles and lines on a TI calculator. They draw a circle  and analyze perpendicular lines intersecting the circle in only one place. This activity...
+
Activity
101 Questions

Circle-Square

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How do the area and perimeters of circles and squares compare? A clever video illustrates the change in the area of a circle and square while their total perimeter stays the same. The task is for learners to predict the point where the...
+
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Special Triangles and the Unit Circle

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Calculate exact trigonometric values using the angles of special right triangles. Beginning with a review of the unit circle and trigonometric functions, class members use their knowledge of special right triangles to find the value of...
+
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Unit Circle: Special Angles—Just Know One

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
It's all about the patterns! Young scholars learn that the unit circle repeats itself in all four quadrants. Using these patterns, they evaluate the sine, cosine, and tangent of special angles.
+
Assessment8:43
Mathed Up!

Area and Circumference of Circles

For Students 8th - 10th Standards
Don't go around and around, help your class determine amounts around and in a circle with a video that connects circumference to the perimeter or the distance around an object. The resource includes 14 questions dealing with circles and...
+
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Circles in the Coordinate Plane

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
Make the connection between the distance formula and the equation of a circle. The teacher presents a lesson on how to use the distance formula to derive the equation of the circle. Pupils transform circles on the coordinate plane and...
+
Worksheet
Curated OER

Segment Formulas Homework

For Students 9th - 12th
In this geometry worksheet, students examine three different diagrams and apply the appropriate formulas to each of the following situations: two chords, a tangent and a secant, and two secants. There are 17 questions to solve for the...
+
Lesson Plan
Texas Instruments

Exploring Tangents

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Explore the concept of tangent lines. In this tangent line lesson plan, learners graph a circle and two lines on their graphing calculator using Cabri Jr. Students construct the lines so that they both intersect at a given point and are...
+
Worksheet
Curated OER

Tangents

For Students 9th - 12th
In this tangents activity, students determine the length of a missing side of a right triangles.  They use tangent lines to solve problems.  This two-page activity contains 11 multi-step problems.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Segments Formed by Intersectiong Chords, Secants, and Tangents

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Learners investigate the properties of segments formed which chords, secants, and tangents, intersect. The dynamic nature of Cabri Jr. allows students to form and verify conjectures regarding segment relationships.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tangent Lines and the Radius of a Circle

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Your Geometry learners will collaboratively prove that the tangent line of a circle is perpendicular to the radius of the circle. A deliberately sparse introduction allows for a variety of approaches to find a solution.