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2.02 Justifying relationships of parallel lines

Lesson

Concept summary

To determine if two lines are parallel, we can use the converses of the theorems which relate angle pairs formed by two lines and a transversal.

Converse of corresponding angles postulate

If two lines and a transversal form corresponding angles that are congruent, then the lines are parallel.

A pair of parallel lines intersected by a transversal. Two marked angles lie on the same side of the transversal, and on the same sides of the parallel lines. The two angles are congruent.
Converse of consecutive interior angles theorem

If two lines and a transversal form consecutive interior angles that are supplementary, then the lines are parallel.

A pair of parallel lines intersected by a transversal. Two marked angles lie on the same side of the transversal, between the parallel lines. The two angles are supplementary.
Converse of consecutive exterior angles theorem

If two lines and a transversal form consecutive exterior angles that are supplementary, then the lines are parallel.

A pair of parallel lines intersected by a transversal. Two marked angles lie on the same side of the transversal, outside the parallel lines. The two angles are supplementary.
Converse of alternate interior angles theorem

If two lines and a transversal form alternate interior angles that are congruent, then the lines are parallel.

A pair of parallel lines intersected by a transversal. Two marked angles lie on the opposite sides of the transversal, between the parallel lines. The two angles are congruent.
Converse of alternate exterior angles theorem

If two lines and a transversal form alternate exterior angles that are congruent, then the lines are parallel.

A pair of parallel lines intersected by a transversal. Two marked angles lie on the opposite sides of the transversal, outside the parallel lines. The two angles are congruent.

Worked examples

Example 1

Determine whether or not there is a pair of parallel lines in the figure.

Approach

We can see that the two marked angles form a pair of consecutive interior angles. This means that we can use the converse of consecutive interior angles theorem to check whether or not we have parallel lines.

Solution

If we add the measures of the consecutive interior angles together we get:

124\degree+46\degree=170\degree

Since the sum of the measures is not 180\degree, the two angles are not supplementary.

The converse of consecutive interior angles states that the lines are parallel if the consecutive interior angles are supplementary. Since they are not supplementary, the lines are not parallel.

Therefore, there is not a pair of parallel lines in the figure.

Example 2

Find the value of x required for the figure to contain a pair of parallel lines.

Two horizontal lines, one above the other with a diagonal line passing through them both. The top left angle is labeled 5x minus 8 degrees and the bottom right angle is labeled 3x minus 40 degrees.

Approach

We can see that the two marked angles form a pair of alternate exterior angles. For there to be a pair of parallel lines, the converse of alternate exterior angles theorem tells us that the two marked angles must be congruent.

Solution

We know that the two marked angles must be congruent, so we can set their measures to be equal and solve for x.

\displaystyle 5x-8\displaystyle =\displaystyle 3x+40Congruent angles have equal measures
\displaystyle 5x-3x\displaystyle =\displaystyle 40+8Add 8 and subtract 3x from both sides
\displaystyle 2x\displaystyle =\displaystyle 48Simplify
\displaystyle x\displaystyle =\displaystyle 24Divide both sides by 2

Therefore, the figure contains a pair of parallel lines when x=24.

Reflection

For any other value of x, the equality would not be true and the lines would not be parallel.

Example 3

Determine if the information given is enough to justify the conclusion.

Given: \angle 1 \cong \angle 3

Conclusion: a \parallel c

Solution

No, we do not have enough information to conclude a \parallel c.

Given that \angle 1 \cong \angle 3, we could conclude that a \parallel b, using the converse of corresponding angles postulate. However, we do not have enough information to the conclude that a \parallel c. We would need some information involving \angle 4 to draw a conclusion.

Example 4

Adrian wants to construct some lines in his drawing that are parallel to a line he has already drawn, but he only has a compass, ruler, and pencil to work with.

Describe a method that Adrian could use to construct a line through any point on the page that is parallel to the line he has already drawn.

Approach

There are multiple different ways to construct parallel lines using a compass and ruler, but all involve duplicating some object from the original line onto the new line.

Solution

One possible method that Adrian can use is the following:

Step 0: Choose a point A through which to construct a line parallel to \overleftrightarrow{BC}.

Step 1: Set the compass width to the distance AC.

Step 2: Construct an arc centered at B with the radius AC.

Step 3: Set the compass width to the distance AB.

Step 4: Construct an arc centered at C with the radius AB.

Step 5: Construct a line through A and the intersection of the two arcs. This line is parallel to \overleftrightarrow{BC}.

Reflection

For this example, the duplicated object is the sides of the triangle \triangle ABC, such that the new constructed point will have the same distance from \overleftrightarrow{BC} as point A.

The result of these constructions is that we have two triangles \triangle ABC and \triangle A\rq CB which have all the same dimensions.

Since the base side \overline{BC} is the same for both triangles, their vertices A and A\rq will be at the same height, so then \overline{AA\rq} will be parallel to \overline{BC}, as required.

Outcomes

G.CO.C.8

Use definitions and theorems about lines and angles to solve problems and to justify relationships in geometric figures.

G.CO.D.11

Perform formal geometric constructions with a variety of tools and methods (compass and straightedge, string, reflective devices, paper folding, dynamic geometric software, etc.).

G.CO.D.12

Use geometric constructions to solve geometric problems in context, by hand and using technology.*

G.MP1

Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

G.MP3

Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

G.MP4

Model with mathematics.

G.MP6

Attend to precision.

G.MP7

Look for and make use of structure.

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