Exterior angles of a triangle - Examples, Exercises and Solutions

An altitude in a triangle is the segment that connects the vertex and the opposite side, in such a way that the segment forms a 90-degree angle with the side.

If we look at the image it is clear that the above theorem is true for the line AE. AE not only connects the A vertex with the opposite side. It also crosses BC forming a 90-degree angle. Undoubtedly making AE the altitude.

Every triangle has 3 sides. First let's go over the triangle on the left side:

Its sides are: AB, BC, and CA.

This means that in this triangle, side EC does not exist.

Let's then look at the triangle on the right side:

Its sides are: ED, EF, and FD.

This means that in this triangle, side EC also does not exist.

Therefore, EC is not a side in either of the triangles.

In an isosceles triangle, the median to the base is also the height to the base.

That is, side AD forms a 90° angle with side BC.

That is, two right triangles are created.

Therefore, angle ADC is equal to 90 degrees.

In a right-angled triangle, there is one angle that equals 90 degrees, and the other two angles sum up to 180 degrees (sum of angles in a triangle)

Therefore, the sum of the two non-right angles is 90 degrees

$90+90=180$

Let's remember the definition of height of a triangle:

A height is a straight line that descends from the vertex of a triangle and forms a 90-degree angle with the opposite side.

The sides that form a 90-degree angle are sides AB and BC. Therefore, the height is AB.

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.

Remember that the sum of angles in a triangle is equal to 180.

In an equilateral triangle, all sides and all angles are equal to each other.

Therefore, we will calculate as follows:

$x+x+x=180$

$3x=180$

We divide both sides by 3:

$x=60$

The sum of angles in a triangle is 180 degrees. Since two angles of 90 degrees equal 180, a triangle can never have two right angles.

The unmarked angle is adjacent to an angle of 160 degrees.

Remember: the sum of adjacent angles is 180 degrees.

Therefore, the size of the unknown angle is:

$180-160=20$

We add the three angles to see if they are equal to 180 degrees:

$56+89+17=162$

The sum of the given angles is not equal to 180, so they cannot form a triangle.

We add the three angles to see if they are equal to 180 degrees:

$90+115+35=240$
The sum of the given angles is not equal to 180, so they cannot form a triangle.

We must first add the three angles to see if they equal 180 degrees:

$30+60+90=180$

The sum of the angles equals 180, therefore they can form a triangle.

Answer B is correct because the more closed the angle is, the more acute it is (less than 90 degrees), meaning it's smaller.

The more open the angle is, the more obtuse it is (greater than 90 degrees), meaning it's larger.

If we try to draw two obtuse angles and connect them to form a triangle (i.e: only 3 sides), we will see that it is not possible.

Therefore, the answer is no.

In drawing A, we can see that the angle is an obtuse angle, meaning it is larger than 90 degrees:

While in drawing B, the angle is a right angle, meaning it equals 90 degrees:

Therefore, the larger angle appears in drawing A.