Exterior angles of a triangle

🏆Practice parts of a triangle

Exterior angles of a triangle

The exterior angle of a triangle is the one that is found between the original side and the extension of the side.

Key Properties:

  • The exterior angle is equal to the sum of the two interior angles of the triangle that are not adjacent to it.
  • Each exterior angle is supplementary to its adjacent interior angle, meaning their sum is 180180^\circ.
  • The sum of all exterior angles of a triangle is always 360360^\circ, no matter the shape of the triangle.

It is defined as follows:

α=A+Bα=∢A+∢B

A1 - Exterior angle of a triangle

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Test yourself on parts of a triangle!

einstein

True or false:

DE not a side in any of the triangles.
AAABBBCCCDDDEEE

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Exterior angle of a triangle

Until today we have dealt with internal angles, perhaps also with adjacent angles, but we have not talked about external angles. Don't worry, the topic of the exterior angle of a triangle is very easy to understand and its property can be very useful for solving exercises more quickly.
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What is the exterior angle of a triangle?

The exterior angle of a triangle is the one that is found between the original side and the extension of the side.


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What does the continuation of the side mean?

Imagine someone draws a triangle and falls asleep as they are finishing it.
Without realizing it, they continue drawing one side a little more...
and Bam! An exterior angle is created.
The exterior angle is outside of the triangle and is found between the original side and the side they continued drawing while asleep (the continuation of the side).

Let's look at an example

B2 -  Exterior angle of a triangle

Observe: An exterior angle is the one that is found between an original side of the triangle and the extension of the side and not between two extensions.

Note:
Whenever the angle is outside the triangle and is found between an original side of the triangle and the extension of another side of the triangle, it will be considered an exterior angle of the triangle.

Do you know what the answer is?

Examples of Exterior Angles

A3 - Exterior angle of the triangle

A4 -  Exterior angle of the triangle

A5 -  Exterior angle of the triangle

Great! Now that we have understood what an exterior angle is and that we can recognize it from a distance, we can move on to the property of the exterior angle of a triangle.
Property of the exterior angle of a triangle
The exterior angle is equal to the sum of the two interior angles of the triangle that are not adjacent to it.

A6 - Exterior angle of the triangle

Given that:
A=80∢A=80
B=20∢B=20

How much does the exterior angle measure?
Solution:
Let's denote the exterior angle with αα:

According to the property of the exterior angle of the triangle, the exterior angle αα must be equal to the sum of the two interior angles of the triangle that are not adjacent to it.
That is, A+B∢A+∢B

We already have these angles.
Therefore, all we have to do is add them up and find out the exterior angle:
α=80+20α=80+20
α=100α=100

Look, we could have found the value of the exterior angle in another way!
We know that the sum of the interior angles of a triangle is 180180.
Therefore, ACB=1802080∢ACB=180-20-80

ACB=80∢ACB=80

ABC∢ABC is the angle adjacent to αα, the exterior angle of the triangle that we need to find out.
We also know that the sum of the adjacent angles is 180180.
Therefore we can determine that: 
80+α=80∢80+α=80
α=100α=100

Look, In certain cases you will not be explicitly asked for the value of the exterior angle.
They might ask you, for example, about some interior angle of the triangle that you could figure out through the exterior angle.

Let's look at an example


Given the following triangle:

A7 - Exterior angle of the triangle

Data:
A=90∢A=90
α=110α=110

Find the value of B∢B

Solution:

We can solve the problem in two ways:

The first is based on the Exterior Angle Theorem of a triangle and understand that αα is an exterior angle of the triangle and is equal to the sum of the two interior angles that are not adjacent to it. That is, A+B∢A+∢B

Then,
the equation would be:
110=90+B110=90+∢B
B=20∢B=20

The second way to solve the problem is to remember that the sum of the adjacent angles equals 180180, then ACB∢ACB is equal to 7070.

180110=70180-110=70

Now, let's remember that the sum of the interior angles of a triangle is 180180

and we can find B∢B

B=1809070∢B=180-90-70
B=20∢B=20

Notice that we have arrived at the same result, but solving through the property of the exterior angle of a triangle has been faster to reach it.

Useful Information:
The sum of the three exterior angles of a triangle equals 360360 degrees.


In conclusion, it is important and really worth knowing the property of the exterior angle of a triangle to solve problems easily and quickly, although in several cases you will be able to manage without this magnificent theorem.



Examples and exercises with solutions of an exterior angle of a triangle

Exercise #1

True or false:

DE not a side in any of the triangles.
AAABBBCCCDDDEEE

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve the problem of determining whether DE is not a side in any of the triangles, we will methodically identify the triangles present in the diagram and examine their sides:

  • Identify triangles in the diagram. The diagram presented forms a right-angled triangle ABC with additional lines forming smaller triangles within.
  • Triangles formed: Triangle ABC (major triangle), Triangle ABD, Triangle BEC, and Triangle DBE.
  • Let's examine the sides of these triangles:
    • Triangle ABC has sides AB, BC, and CA.
    • Triangle ABD has sides AB, BD, and DA.
    • Triangle BEC has sides BE, EC, and CB.
    • Triangle DBE has sides DB, BE, and ED.
  • Notice that while point D is used, the segment DE is only part of line BE and isn't listed as a direct side of any triangle.

Therefore, the claim that DE is not a side in any of the triangles is indeed correct.

Hence, the answer is True.

Answer

True

Exercise #2

Is DE side in one of the triangles?
AAABBBCCCDDDEEE

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

Since line segment DE does not correspond to a full side of any of the triangles present within the given geometry, we conclude that the statement “DE is a side in one of the triangles” is Not true.

Answer

Not true

Exercise #3

What type of angle is α \alpha ?

αα

Step-by-Step Solution

Remember that an acute angle is smaller than 90 degrees, an obtuse angle is larger than 90 degrees, and a straight angle equals 180 degrees.

Since the lines are perpendicular to each other, the marked angles are right angles each equal to 90 degrees.

Answer

Straight

Exercise #4

True or false:

AB is a side of the triangle ABC.

AAABBBCCC

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve this problem, let's clarify the role of AB in the context of triangle ABC by analyzing its diagram:

  • Step 1: Identify the vertices of the triangle. According to the diagram, the vertices of the triangle are points labeled A, B, and C.
  • Step 2: Determine the sides of the triangle. In any triangle, the sides are the segments connecting pairs of distinct vertices.
  • Step 3: Identify AB as a line segment connecting vertex A and vertex B, labeled directly in the diagram.

Considering these steps, line segment AB connects vertex A with vertex B, and hence, forms one of the sides of the triangle ABC. Therefore, AB is indeed a side of triangle ABC as shown in the diagram.

The conclusion here is solidly supported by our observation of the given triangle. Thus, the statement that AB is a side of the triangle ABC is True.

Answer

True

Exercise #5

True or false:

AD is a side of triangle ABC.

AAABBBCCC

Video Solution

Step-by-Step Solution

To determine if line segment AD is a side of triangle ABC, we need to agree on the definition of a triangle's side. A triangle consists of three sides, each connecting pairs of its vertices. In triangle ABC, these sides are AB, BC, and CA. Each side is composed of a direct line segment connecting the listed vertices.

In the diagram provided, there is no indication of a point D connected to point A or any other vertex of triangle ABC. To claim AD as a side, D would need to be one of the vertices B or C, or a commonly recognized point forming part of the triangle’s defined structure. The provided figure and description do not support that AD exists within the given triangle framework, as no point D is defined within or connecting any existing vertices.

Therefore, according to the problem's context and based on the definition of the sides of a triangle, AD cannot be considered a side of triangle ABC. It follows that the statement "AD is a side of triangle ABC" should be deemed not true.

Answer

Not true

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