High Attainers Guidance – Developing geometric reasoning

Year 7
#MathsEveryoneCan
High Attainers Guidance –Year 7 – Developing geometric reasoning

How these materials work

For each block in the KS3 curriculum, we are providing activities to
challenge higher-attaining students to think more deeply about the
underlying mathematics. These mostly address two or three of the small Small steps
steps at a time, and can be used either alongside the main teaching of the covered in
steps or at the end of the block as appropriate for your students. In many this activity
cases, the activities could be used with many students, not just high
attainers, by providing appropriate scaffolding.
A notes page is provided for each activity, giving ideas and prompts for how
to use them in the classroom.
Student version

In this block…
The main foci in this block are the development of deep understanding of
key angle facts related to lines, points, triangles and quadrilaterals. Students
are challenged to display their understanding in a variety of contexts and
link with earlier learning, including forming and solving equations and the
properties of quadrilaterals.

The main focus in these activities is the development of chains of reasoning

to find unknowns and to justify hypotheses. Students can be challenged to
create their own problems using the structures set out in the initial activity
prompts.

Teacher notes
 • Understand and use the sum of angles at a point
• Understand and use the sum of angles on a straight line
• Understand and use the equality of vertically opposite angles

Developing geometric reasoning – Activity 1 – Odd one out

Here are four angle diagrams.

2𝑥° 𝑥 − 55°
𝑥°
𝑥 − 40°
𝑥 + 31°

𝑥° 47°
2𝑥 − 12° 55°
2𝑥 + 12° 2𝑥 − 12°

• Work out the value of 𝑥 in each diagram. State any assumptions you have made.
• Find the sizes of all angles in each diagram.
• Identify reasons each of the four diagrams could be the odd one out.
 • Understand and use the sum of angles at a point
• Understand and use the sum of angles on a straight line
• Understand and use the equality of vertically opposite angles
Developing geometric reasoning – Activity 1 – Odd one out – Notes
Activity 1 links the understanding of key angles facts to forming linear equations. Prompt
students to discuss how they have set up their equations and the angle facts that relate
to them, stating their assumptions at each stage. Encourage students to use complete
reasoning chains using accurate mathematical language.

To tease out assumptions you may prompt students with questions such as: “How do
you know the lines are straight?” or “Do the angles meet at a point?”

When identifying and justifying reasons each diagram is the odd one out, encourage
students to explore multiple reasons including investigating the values of 𝑥, the sizes
and/or the types of the angles and the reasons used when calculating them.
Possible answers include:
Can use all reasons 𝑥 > 90
as justification.
Must use vertically Has a
opposite angles fact reflex angle.
to justify.
 • Understand and use the sum of angles at a point
• Understand and use the sum of angles on a straight line
• Know and apply the sum of angles in a triangle

Developing geometric reasoning – Activity 2 – Equilateral overlap

The diagram shows two intersecting equilateral triangles.

𝑥°

76°
72°
• Identify and calculate as many angles as possible.
• Investigate the quickest route to finding the value of 𝑥. Justify your answers with
correct reasoning at each stage.
• Create your own challenge using intersecting isosceles triangles. Share with a partner.
 • Understand and use the sum of angles at a point
• Understand and use the sum of angles on a straight line
• Know and apply the sum of angles in a triangle

Developing geometric reasoning – Activity 2 – Equilateral overlap – Notes

In activity 2 students are challenged to solve a multi-step angle problem. There are
many possible approaches and one focus is to find the way that involves the fewest
steps. As with the first activity, detailed reasoning and mathematical language are
required.

To enable students to access the task you could prompt them to recall the fact angles in
an equilateral triangle are equal to 60°. You may choose to challenge students to
calculate all 16 of the unknown angles. Encourage students to discuss the angles that
could be used to help calculate 𝑥 and those that are not needed.

The extension of the activity stretches students to create their own problems by
changing the prompt to isosceles triangles. Students can discuss how changing the type
of triangle in the diagram will affect their answers.
 • Know and apply the sum of angles in a triangle
• Know and apply the sum of angles in a quadrilateral

Developing geometric reasoning – Activity 3 – Two angles in a rhombus

ABCD is a rhombus.
AC and DECIMAL are line segments.
D A
𝜃°

110°
E

C B

• Identify and calculate as many angles as you can.

• Investigate the minimum number of other angles needed to calculate the value of 𝜃.
• Investigate how changing the value of ∠DEC affects the value of 𝜃.
 • Know and apply the sum of angles in a triangle
• Know and apply the sum of angles in a quadrilateral

Developing geometric reasoning – Activity 3 – Two angles in a rhombus – Notes

Activity 3 links angle properties of triangles and properties of a rhombus.

Encourage students to annotate their diagram and calculate as many angles as possible.
Two key properties to enables students to calculate all missing angles are:
D A
• The diagonal AC splits the rhombus into two 70° 40°
isosceles triangles. 𝜃 =30° 40°
• The diagonals of a rhombus bisect the angles. 70°
110°
110°
To investigate the minimum number of known angles 70°
40°
needed to find the value of 𝜃, encourage students to 40° 70°
110°
100°
state their reasoning and discuss their answers with C F B
a partner.

Extensions of the task could include varying the known angle ∠DEC and investigating
how this affects 𝜃. A further extension could be to form conjectures about the relationship
between the two angles and to work towards the generalisation 𝜃 = 360 − 3(∠DEC).
 • Solve angle problems using the properties of triangles and quadrilaterals
• Solve complex angle properties

Developing geometric reasoning – Activity 4 – Classify the quadrilateral

The angles of a quadrilateral are 𝑎°, 𝑏°, 𝑐° and 𝑑°.

You are given:

𝑎+𝑑 =𝑏
𝑐 = 4𝑑
𝑎 = 3𝑑

• Work out the value of 𝑑.

• Investigate the sizes of the angles, sketch a diagram and classify the quadrilateral.
 • Solve angle problems using the properties of triangles and quadrilaterals
• Solve complex angle properties
Developing geometric reasoning – Activity 4 – Classify the quadrilateral – Notes
Activity 4 links angle properties of quadrilaterals in a boundary context with forming and
solving equations and/or the use of pictorial representations. When finding the value of
𝑑 encourage students to model the problem, this could be algebraically using equations
or pictorially using a bar model. For example:

Calculations

𝑎 360 ÷ 12 = 30
𝑏 𝑑 = 30
360 𝑎 = 30 × 3 = 90
𝑐 𝑏 = 30 × 4 = 120
𝑑 𝑐 = 𝑏 = 120

The quadrilateral must be a kite and an example sketch is:

𝑐
𝑑 𝑎
𝑏
To extend you could ask student to vary the conditions e.g. Given that exactly two/three
angles in a quadrilateral are equal, what different shapes that can be formed?