Properties of a circle –

Symmetry (Chapter 19)

IGCSE Mathematics
Recap – What
are the parts
of a circle?
 • A circle has line symmetry about any
diameter, and it has rotational symmetry
about its center
Symmetry • The perpendicular bisector of a chord passes
properties of through the center.
• Equal chords are equidistant from the center
circles
• Two tangents drawn to a circle from the
same point outside the circle are equal in
length.
 • This States that: The perpendicular bisector
of a chord passes through the center.

• The perpendicular bisector of chord AB is

Property 1 equidistant from A and B.
• But since A and B are on the circumference
of the circle, they are also equidistant from
the center, and therefore are radii.
Example
Try it out! Solve for the
side CB
• The way to solve the question is simply
by using the Pythagorean theorem!
• Since MCB forms a right-angled triangle,
by using Pythagoras theorem you can
solve for the side CB by subtracting the
squares of the hypotenuse (MB) and
side (MC), giving 200^2 – 120^2 =
25600
• Finally, by rooting the answer we get
the answer 160cm, therefore BC is
160Cm
Property 2
• If chords AB and CD are the same
length, then OM = ON, and vice
versa.
• This is true because triangle OAM
is congruent to triangle ODN and
because the circle has rotational
symmetry about its center, O.
Sample question
• O is the center of the circle, radius
11 cm. AB and CD are chords, AB =
14 cm. If OX = OY, find the length of
OY correct to 2 decimal places

Answer:
• Since OX = OY, chords are equidistant so, AB
= CD = 14 cm CY = YD = 7 cm
• OY^2 = 11^2 – 7^2 = 72
• Therefore OY = 8.49 cm.
 Property 3
Two tangents drawn to a
circle from the same point
outside the circle are equal
in length.
A and B are the points of
contact of the tangents
drawn from P. The result is
PA = PB.
Sample question

• Find the length of x and y in this diagram correct

to 2 decimal places where appropriate

Answer:

NM = PM = 25 cm
Y^2 = X^2 + NO^2
Y= 27.73
 • There are multiple angle relationships that
can be found in circles, we’ll look at:
• a semi-circle having a right angle (90°)
Angle • tangent and radius forming a right angle
relationships • angle at the center of, and at circumference
in circles • Cyclic quadrilaterals.
• Alternate segment theorem
A semi-circle
having a right angle
(90°)
• This property simply states that
an angle created when a triangle
is made by connecting the
diameter to any point on the
circumference, is always a right
angle.
The angle between
the tangent and
radius
• This property shows that when a
tangent meets the radius of the
circle, they are perpendicular,
hence angles a and b are both 90-
degree, right angles.
The angle at the center
of, and at circumference
• This property states that the angle
created from 2 points to the
center of the circle will always be 2
times the size of an angle created
using the same 2 points GIVEN
that the point used is on the
circumference and in the MAJOR
sector.
• This also proves that, using the
same 2 points, any angle created
by connecting to a point on the
circumference will always create
the same angle GIVEN they are in
the same segment.
The opposite angles of a cyclical
quadrilateral add up to 180
• A cyclical quadrilateral is a 4-sided polygon created with
all its vertices on the circumference of the circle.
• These properties state that the opposite angles of a cyclic
quadrilateral add up to 180, and consecutively, an angle
is equal to the exterior angle of its opposite angle (x = a
and a = c)
Alternate
segment theorem
• The alternate segment theorem
states that the angle between
the tangent and chord is always
equal to the angle in the
alternate segment.