CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

Mathematics Assessment Project

CLASSROOM CHALLENGES
A Formative Assessment Lesson

Identifying Similar
Triangles

Mathematics Assessment Resource Service

University of Nottingham & UC Berkeley

For more details, visit: http://map.mathshell.org

© 2015 MARS, Shell Center, University of Nottingham
May be reproduced, unmodified, for non-commercial purposes under the Creative Commons license
detailed at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ - all other rights reserved
 Identifying Similar Triangles
MATHEMATICAL GOALS
This lesson unit is intended to help you assess how students reason about geometry and, in particular,
how well they are able to:
• Use facts about the angle sum and exterior angles of triangles to calculate missing angles.
• Apply angle theorems to parallel lines cut by a transversal.
• Interpret geometrical diagrams using mathematical properties to identify similarity of triangles.

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS

This lesson relates to the following Standards for Mathematical Content in the Common Core State
Standards for Mathematics:
8G: Understand congruence and similarity using physical models, transparencies, or geometry
software.
This lesson also relates to the following Standards for Mathematical Practice in the Common Core
State Standards for Mathematics, with particular emphasis on Practices 3 and 6:
1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
5. Use appropriate tools strategically.
6. Attend to precision.
7. Look for and make use of structure.

INTRODUCTION
• Before the lesson, students work individually on an assessment task designed to reveal their
current understanding and ability to reason using geometrical properties. You then review their
responses and create questions for students to consider when improving their work.
• After a whole-class introduction, students work in small groups on a collaborative discussion
task, categorizing diagrams of pairs of triangles based on their similarity. Throughout their work,
students justify and explain their thinking and reasoning.
• Students review their work by comparing their categorizations with those of their peers.
• In a whole-class discussion, students review their work and discuss what they have learned.
• In a follow-up lesson, students review their initial work on the assessment task and work alone on
a task similar to the introductory task.

MATERIALS REQUIRED
• Each student will need a mini-whiteboard, pen, and wipe, and copies of the assessment tasks
Puzzling Triangles and Puzzling Triangles (revisited).
• Each small group of students will need a copy of Sorting Triangles, a pencil, a marker, a large
sheet of poster paper, a pair of scissors and a glue stick.
There are also some Blank Cards for students to create some new cards for others to work on if they
finish the collaborative lesson activity.

TIME NEEDED
15 minutes before the lesson, a 80-minute lesson (or split into two shorter lessons), and 15 minutes in
a follow-up lesson (or for homework). These timings are not exact.

Teacher guide Identifying Similar Triangles T-1

 BEFORE THE LESSON

Assessment task: Puzzling Triangles (15 minutes)

Ask students to complete this task in class or for homework a Puzzling Triangles
few days before the formative assessment lesson. This will Use the diagrams below to remind you of markings and their meanings:

give you an opportunity to assess the work and to find out the
kinds of difficulties students have with it. You should then be These lines are parallel These lengths are congruent These angles are congruent

able to target your help more effectively in the next lesson. 1. In this diagram two 70° angles have been
labeled. Four other angles are labeled w, x, y
A
70o w
B

z
and z.
NOT TO SCALE
Complete the table below. If it is possible to
Give each student a copy of the assessment task Puzzling work out the measure of the angle, write it
down and show your method. If it is not
possible, explain how you know. y

Triangles and briefly introduce the task: x

D
70o
C

Angle Is it possible to find the Explain carefully how you decided.

In this task you are asked whether it is possible to find the measure of the angle?
If so, what is it?

measure of some missing angles and to decide whether or w

not pairs of triangles are mathematically similar.

x

There is an information box at the start of the task. Use

this to help you to interpret the diagrams. y

Make sure you explain your answers clearly. z

It is important that, as far as possible, students are allowed to Student Materials Identifying Similar Triangles
© 2012 MARS, Shell Center, University of Nottingham
S-1

answer the questions without assistance.

Students should not worry too much if they cannot understand or do everything because in the next
lesson they will work on a similar task that should help them. Explain to students that by the end of
the next lesson they should be able to answer questions such as these confidently. This is their goal.

Assessing students’ responses

Collect students’ responses to the task. Make some notes on 2. The diagram below shows two triangles, triangle ABC and triangle ACD:

what their work reveals about their current levels of A

70o
B
110o

understanding, and their different ways of reasoning. The

NOT TO SCALE

purpose of doing this is to forewarn you of issues that may 65o

D C

arise during the lesson itself, so that you can prepare carefully. Are the two triangles similar? Explain, step by step, how you know.

We suggest that you do not score students’ work. The research

shows that this will be counterproductive, as it will encourage
students to compare their scores and distract their attention 3. The diagram below shows triangle BCD within triangle ACE.

from what they can do to improve their mathematics. Instead, A

NOT TO SCALE
help students to make further progress by summarizing their B
65o

difficulties as a series of questions. Some suggestions for these 65o

E D C
are given in the Common issues table that follows. These have Are the two triangles similar? Explain, step by step, how you know.

been drawn from common difficulties observed in trials of this

lesson unit.
We suggest you make a list of your own questions, based on
your students’ work. We recommend you either: Student Materials Identifying Similar Triangles
© 2012 MARS, Shell Center, University of Nottingham
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• Write one or two questions on each student’s work, or

• Give each student a printed version of your list of questions, and highlight appropriate questions
for each student.
If you do not have time to do this, you could select a few questions that will be of help to the majority
of students, and write these on the board when you return the work to the students

Teacher guide Identifying Similar Triangles T-2

 Common issues: Suggested questions and prompts:

Student has difficulty getting started • What properties of parallel lines do you know?
• What triangle properties do you know?
• Can you use these properties on the diagrams
given?
Student relies on visual appearance • The diagram has not been drawn to scale. Can
For example: The student measures the missing you use mathematics to calculate the missing
angles. angle/show that the angles are the same?
Or: The student says angles are/are not equal • These lines look like they might be parallel but
because they look/do not look the same. are not marked as parallel. How can we check
Or: The student assumes that lines that are not that they are or are not parallel? Which angles
marked as parallel are parallel because they look a would be the same if they were parallel?
constant distance apart.
Student does not provide reasons for assertions • Suppose someone did not believe your answer.
How could you convince them you are
For example: The student provides numerical
answers with no justification. correct?
• Why do you think that (these angles are
Or: The student makes a claim of equality without equal)? Explain how you know your answer is
justification.
correct.
• What properties are written on the diagram?
Can you explain how you have used these
properties?
Student provides incorrect reasons for • Look at the diagram carefully. What features
assertions would the diagram need to have for this
For example: The student refers to a theorem that theorem to apply?
does not apply to the given situation. • What other properties/theorems do you know
that might apply to this diagram? How could
you check?
• Describe this situation using math properties.
What else do you know about these
properties?
Student produces only short chains of • Write what you have found so far in detail. Do
reasoning you see any connections?
For example: The student can derive one claim, • What do you already know? What do you want
but does not combine derivations to produce a full to find out?
solution.
Student relies on just one form of reasoning • Are there any other properties that can be used
For example: The student attempts to answer all in these diagrams?
questions using angle theorems. • What do you know about the angles in a
triangle/on a straight line?

Teacher guide Identifying Similar Triangles T-3

 SUGGESTED LESSON OUTLINE

Whole-class introduction (15 minutes)

Give each student a mini-whiteboard, pen, and wipe. Display Slide P-1 of the projector resource:

Are these Mathematically Similar?

P Q V W
20° 20°

80° S T
80°
R
X

Are these triangles mathematically similar?

Projector Resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-1

Some students may assume that the triangles look different so none are similar.
None of the diagrams that you will be looking at today are drawn to scale so we cannot rely on
what we can see or measure. In today’s lesson you are going to be using mathematical reasoning
to identify mathematically similar triangles.
Write on your mini whiteboards what you think the words ‘mathematically similar’ mean.
[They have the same shape but do not need to be the same size, or one may be transformed into
the other by a sequence of rotations, reflections, translations, and dilations.]
Ask students to show you what they have written and follow up any misconceptions.
Now try to answer the question on the slide and write your reasoning on your mini whiteboards.
Encourage students to justify their reasoning carefully, using only the information on the diagrams.
They should reason that triangles PQR and STU are similar because if they were drawn correctly,
they would be the same shape (both with angles 80°, 80°, 20°) but not necessarily the same size.
Triangle VWX will have angles 20°, 20°, 140° and so will be a completely different shape. Triangle
VWX has been very badly drawn!

Teacher guide Identifying Similar Triangles T-4

 Now display Slide P-2 of the projector resource:

Checking for Similarity

Are any of the triangles ABC, CEF and ACD
mathematically similar?
/
*+, 1 )
.+,
-+, *+,
'
&

*+, !"#$#"$%&'()
0
Projector Resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-4

We have been given information about their angles but not about their lengths.
How do we show that two triangles are similar based on their angles alone?
[If two angles of one triangle are congruent to two angles of another triangle, then they are
similar.]
Work with the class to fill in any missing angles. Encourage them to use their mini-whiteboards as
they work. Check that they understand the markings showing congruent angles in the bottom triangle
and that they know this is an isosceles triangle. Students should be able to conclude that triangles
ABC and CEF are similar. Watch for students that assume that DCE is a straight line and reach an
incorrect conclusion or a contradiction.
It may be appropriate to extend the discussion further by asking students to consider what extra
information can be found out about the diagram by filling in the missing angles.
Which lines are parallel? [AC and FE are parallel, so are AB and CE.]
How do you know? [The alternate interior angles are 60° in the first case and 80° in the second.]
Is DCE a straight line? [No.]
How can you tell? [The three internal angles add to 190°: 80°+60°+50°.]
What markings can be added to triangle ACD?
[The two congruent angles imply an isosceles triangle, so two congruent sides may be marked.]
Revise previous knowledge about parallel lines and transversals if necessary.

Collaborative small group work (30 minutes)

Ask students to work in groups of two or three. Give each group a copy of Sorting Triangles, a pencil,
a pair of scissors, a glue stick, a marker and a large sheet of poster paper.
Today you will be looking at pairs of triangles and deciding whether the triangles are ‘similar’,
‘not similar’, or it ‘cannot be determined’.
Divide your large sheet of poster paper into three columns and head separate columns with the
words: ‘Similar’, ‘Not Similar’, ‘Cannot be Determined’.
For two triangles to be ‘similar’, what do you need to show?
[One way is to show that two angles of one triangle are congruent to two angles of the other.]

Teacher guide Identifying Similar Triangles T-5

 For two triangles to be ‘not similar’ what do you need to show?
[That the triangles contain at most one congruent angle.]
To show that it ‘cannot be determined’ you will need to show that we do not have enough
information to show that the triangles have two congruent angles.
Use slide P-3 to explain how students are to work together:

Working Together
Take turns to:

1.  Select a diagram, and decide whether or not the two triangles
are similar, not similar, or ‘it cannot be determined’.
Explain your reasoning.

2.  Fill in as many angles as you can.

3.  Your partner must challenge your explanation if they disagree

or describe it in their own words if they agree.

4.  Once agreed, glue the diagram onto the poster and write your
explanation in pencil next to it.

5.  Continue to take turns until all the diagrams are sorted.
Projector Resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-3

The purpose of this structured work is to encourage each student to engage with their partner’s
explanations and to take responsibility for their partner’s understanding. Students should use their
mini-whiteboards for calculations and to explain their thinking to each other.
Most of the triangles have angles labeled but some do not, so students will need to use angle theorems
to label angles as congruent rather than calculating missing angles for these diagrams. If you think
students will struggle with this, encourage them to begin with diagrams A and B.
It does not matter if students do not manage to place all the diagrams. It is more important that
everyone in each group understands the categorization of each diagram.
While students are working, you have two tasks: to notice their approaches to the task, and to support
student problem solving.
Notice different student approaches to the task
Listen to and watch students carefully. In particular, notice whether students are addressing the
difficulties they experienced in the assessment task. Are students engaging with mathematical
properties or are they relying on perceptual reasoning about surface features? Do students fully
understand the notations they are working with? Are they noting the properties they read from
diagrams? Do they notice any implications or connections of those properties?
Do students reason by deriving new information from known facts? Do they use theorems about the
sum of angles on a straight line, the sum of angles in a triangle, angles formed when a transversal
crosses a pair of parallel lines?
How do students refer to diagrams and properties? Do they use ‘this’ and ‘that’ frequently, or name
the objects and properties? Do partners understand what the student is pointing to? If this is proving a
problem, encourage students to use the labels on the diagrams and then explain with their hands
behind their backs!
Support student problem solving

Teacher guide Identifying Similar Triangles T-6

 Help students to work constructively together. Remind them to look at the slide for instructions on
how to take turns. Check that one student listens to another by asking the listener to paraphrase the
speaker’s statements. Check that students are recording their discussions as rough notes on their mini-
whiteboards.
Try not to solve students’ problems for them or to add structure to longer problems and do the
reasoning for them. Instead, you might ask strategic questions to suggest ways of moving forward.
What do you know? What else can you find out from the diagram?
Look at all the information you've now got about the triangles. What is the minimum you
need to establish similarity?
What do you need to find out? What math do you know that connects to that?
What’s the same about these two diagrams? What is different?
Support students in developing written explanations. Suggest that they write rough notes on their
mini-whiteboards as they make decisions. Suggest that they refer to these notes as they write a fuller,
clearer version of the explanation on their poster. Suggest that they are careful to name objects so that
the reader understands what they are writing about.
If any students finish early, they should be encouraged to use the Blank Cards provided to create
some new problems for others to work on.

Sharing work (10 minutes)

As students finish their posters, get them to critique each other’s work by asking one student from
each group to visit another group. Students who visit another group should first jot down a list of
which diagrams are in which category (e.g. Similar: A, D, E etc.) on their mini-whiteboards.
Use slide P-4 of the projector resource, to explain how students should work together:

Sharing Work
1.  One person in your group record your results on your mini-
whiteboard and then go to another group’s desk and check
your work against theirs.

2.  If there are differences, ask for an explanation.

If you disagree, explain which column you think is correct.

3.  If you have categorized diagrams in the same columns,

compare your methods and check that you understand each
others’ explanations.

4.  If you are staying at your desk, be ready to explain the

reasons for your group’s decisions.

Projector Resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-5

Poster Review (10 minutes)

Once students have had a chance to share their work, and discuss their categorizations and reasoning
with their peers, give them a few minutes to review their posters.
Now that you have discussed your work with someone else, as a group you need to consider
whether or not to make any changes to your work.

Teacher guide Identifying Similar Triangles T-7

 If you think a diagram is in the wrong column, draw an arrow on your poster to show which
column it should move to. If you are confident with your decisions, go over your work in pen (or
make amends in pen if you have changed your mind.)

Whole-class discussion (15 minutes)

Organize a whole-class discussion about what has been learned and explore the different methods of
justification used when categorizing diagrams.
You may want to first select a diagram that most groups categorized correctly, as this may encourage
good explanations.
Which column did you put this diagram in? Can you explain your decision?
Can anyone improve this explanation?
Does anyone have a different explanation?
Which explanation do you prefer? Why?
Try to include a discussion of at least one diagram from each of the three columns.
Give me a diagram that shows triangles that are similar/not similar/where their similarity cannot
be determined.
Why did you put this diagram in this column?
Did anyone put this diagram in a different column?
Once one group has justified their choice for a particular diagram, ask other students to contribute
ideas of alternative approaches and their views on which reasoning was easier to follow. To help
students explain their work, there are slides in the projector resource showing each of the diagrams A
to H from the lesson task (Slides P-5 to P-12). When these are projected students may need to add
their labels to the vertices to help their explanations.
Ask students what they learned by looking at other students’ work and whether or not this helped
them with diagrams they had found difficult to categorize or were unsure about:
Which diagram did you find the most difficult to categorize? Why do you think this was?
Did seeing where another group had placed this diagram help? If so, in what way did it help?
In what ways did having another group critique your poster help?
Did looking at another group’s poster help you with your own work? Can you give an example?
During the discussion, draw out any issues you noticed as students worked on the activity, making
specific reference to the misconceptions you noticed. You may want to use the questions in the
Common issues table to support your discussion.

Follow-up lesson: reviewing the assessment task (15 minutes)

Give each student a copy of the review task, Puzzling Triangles (revisited) and their papers from the
original assessment task, Puzzling Triangles. If you have not added questions to individual pieces of
work then write your list of questions on the board. Students should select from this list only those
questions they think are appropriate to their own work. Some teachers give this as homework.
Look at your original responses and the questions [on the board/written on your script.]
Use what you have learned to answer the questions.
Now look at the new task sheet, Puzzling Triangles (revisited). Can you use what you have
learned to answer these questions?

Teacher guide Identifying Similar Triangles T-8

 SOLUTIONS
The solutions below are examples of correct answers to the questions. There are frequently other
approaches. Encourage students who find this work easy to produce the most elegant solutions they
can.

Assessment Task: Puzzling Triangles

1. The transversals AD and BC cannot be assumed to be parallel. Students may assume that they are,
leading to incorrect reasoning. It is important that students identify a mathematical structure from
which to derive their numerical answers.
Angle BDC and w are alternate A B
interior angles formed by a 70o w
transversal crossing a pair of z
parallel lines and so are equal. NOT TO SCALE
Therefore w = 70°.
Similarly, angle BAD and angle x
are alternate interior angles
formed by a transversal crossing a y
pair of parallel lines and so are x 70o
equal, so x = 70° also. D C

Angles x, y and angle BDC are on a straight line so they sum to 180°. So y =180° – x – 70° = 180° –
70° – 70° = 40°. (The sum of the angles in a triangle may also be used to show that y = 40°, once
angle w has been calculated.)
The measure of angle z cannot be deduced from the diagram, as the transversals cannot be assumed to
be parallel.
2. All of the angles in the two triangles can be calculated to show that the two triangles are not
similar. The missing angle in the first triangle is 45° and the three angles in the second triangle are
40°, 70° and 70°. It is, however, not necessary to make all these calculations before concluding that
the triangles are not similar. For example, angle DAB is 110˚ (corresponding on parallel lines) and
hence BAC is 40˚. Angle ABC is 70˚ (angles on a straight line) so angle ACB cannot be 65˚ therefore
the triangles cannot be similar.
3. The two triangles have a shared angle (BCD) and they each have an angle of 65° (Angle CBE and
angle CEA). If two of the angles are the same the third angle must also be the same so the two
triangles are similar.

Teacher guide Identifying Similar Triangles T-9

 Sorting Triangles
The quality of the written reasoning with references to angle theorems and triangle properties is the
focus of this task. However, we provide a list of categorizations for your convenience.
Note that students may make alternative assumptions and this may lead to different results. For
example, some may argue that one cannot assume that the apparently straight lines on the diagrams
are in fact straight!

Similar Not similar Cannot be determined

A B C
<SRP=55° <QRS = 70° We cannot assume lines
(isosceles triangle) (isosceles triangle) RQ and US are parallel, so
all that can be said is that
<SPR = 70° <SQR = 40°
<QPR = <STU (alternate).
(angles in triangle = 180°) (angles in triangle = 180°)
<QPR = 55° <PQS = 70°
(alternate angles) (alternate angles) F
So two angles in each <QPS = <QSP = 55° We, cannot assume that PR
triangle are equal. (base angles of isosceles is parallel to TS and, even
triangle) if QRS is a straight line, all
D
that can be said is that
So as triangle QSR does
< STR=70° < PQR = < TRS.
not contain an angle of 55°
(corresponding angles)
the triangles are not
<QPS = <TSR similar.
(corresponding angles)
G
So two angles in each
<QRS = 70° (alternate)
triangle are equal.
So triangle QRS is
E
isosceles.
<PQR = <SRT (Base angles both 70°)
(alternate angles)
< SQR = 40°
(Angles in a triangle =
So two angles in each
180°)
triangle are equal.
If triangle PRS was similar
H
to triangle QRS, then at
<QPR = <RST least one of the two angles
(alternate angles) PRS or PSR would be 70°
in which case P would be
<PRQ = < SRT
(vertically opposite angles) coincident with Q.
As P and Q are distinct, the
So two angles in each
two triangles cannot be
triangle are equal.
similar.

Teacher guide Identifying Similar Triangles T-10

 Assessment Task: Puzzling Triangles (revisited)
1. The angle BAC and w are alternate interior angles formed by a transversal crossing a pair of
parallel lines and so are equal. Therefore w = 40°.
Angles z, w and angle BCA are on a
A B
straight line so they sum to 180°. 40o
x
So z =180° – w – 80°
= 180° – 40° – 80°
= 60°. NOT TO SCALE
The measures of angle x and y cannot
be deduced from the diagram. 80o
y w
2. Using alternate angles gives angle
ABC as 70° in total. As angle CBD is D z C
35˚, this means that angle ABD must E
also be 35˚ and so both triangles ABD
and CBD contain a 35° angle. Triangle ABC is isosceles so angle BAD is equal to angle BCD (it can
be calculated but this is not necessary). If two of the angles are the same the third angle must also be
the same so the two triangles are similar. (In fact they are congruent).
3. All of the angles in the two triangles can be calculated to show that the two triangles are not
similar. The missing angles in triangle CDE are 40° and 70°. The three angles in triangle ABC are
30°, 70° and 80°. Alternatively, angle DEC is 70˚ (vertically opposite), so angle DCE is 40˚ (angles
in triangle CDE sum to 180˚). However, angle ABC is 80˚ (angles on a straight line). The two
triangles cannot be similar because one has an angle of 80˚ and the other does not.

Teacher guide Identifying Similar Triangles T-11

 Puzzling Triangles
Use the diagrams below to remind you of markings and their meanings:

These lines are parallel These lengths are congruent These angles are congruent

1. In this diagram two 70° angles have been

labeled. Four other angles are labeled w, x, y
and z.
Complete the table below. If it is possible to
work out the measure of the angle, write it
down and show your method. If it is not
possible, explain how you know.

Angle Is it possible to find the Explain carefully how you decided.

measure of the angle?
If so, what is it?

Student Materials Identifying Similar Triangles S-1

© 2015 MARS, Shell Center, University of Nottingham
 2. The diagram below shows two triangles, triangle ABC and triangle ACD:

Are the two triangles similar? Explain, step by step, how you know.

3. The diagram below shows triangle BCD within triangle ACE.

Are the two triangles similar? Explain, step by step, how you know.

Student Materials Identifying Similar Triangles S-2

© 2015 MARS, Shell Center, University of Nottingham
 Sorting Triangles
A
Are triangles PQR and SPR similar?

B
Are triangles PQS and QRS similar?

Student Materials Identifying Similar Triangles S-3

© 2015 MARS, Shell Center, University of Nottingham
 Sorting Triangles (continued)
C
Are triangles PQR and STU similar?

D
Are triangles PQR and STR similar?

Student Materials Identifying Similar Triangles S-4

© 2015 MARS, Shell Center, University of Nottingham
 Sorting Triangles (continued)
E
Are triangles PQR and STR similar?

D
Are triangles PQR and TRS similar?

Student Materials Identifying Similar Triangles S-5

© 2015 MARS, Shell Center, University of Nottingham
 Sorting Triangles (continued)
G
Are triangles PRS and QRS similar?

H
Are triangles PQR and RST similar?

Student Materials Identifying Similar Triangles S-6

© 2015 MARS, Shell Center, University of Nottingham
 Blank Cards
My example

My example

Student Materials Identifying Similar Triangles S-7

© 2015 MARS, Shell Center, University of Nottingham
 Puzzling Triangles (revisited)
Use the diagrams below to remind you of markings and their meanings:

These lines are parallel These lengths are congruent These angles are congruent

1. In this diagram an 80° angle and a 40° angle

have been labeled.
Four other angles are labeled w, x, y and z.
BCE is a straight line.
Complete the table below. If it is possible to
work out the measure of the angle, write it
down and show your method. If it is not
possible, explain how you know.

Angle Is it possible to find the Explain carefully how you decided.

measure of the angle?
If so, what is it?

Student Materials Identifying Similar Triangles S-8

© 2015 MARS, Shell Center, University of Nottingham
 2. The diagram below shows triangle ABD and triangle CBD:

Are the two triangles similar? Explain, step by step, how you know.

3. The diagram below shows triangle ABC and triangle CDE. E is the midpoint of AC.

Are the two triangles similar? Explain, step by step, how you know.

Student Materials Identifying Similar Triangles S-9

© 2015 MARS, Shell Center, University of Nottingham
 Are these Mathematically Similar?

P Q V W
20° 20°

80° S T
80°
R
X

Projector resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-1

 Checking for Similarity
Are any of the triangles ABC, CEF and ACD
mathematically similar?
B
80o F E
60o
40o 80o
A
C

80o NOT TO SCALE

D
Projector resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-2
 Working Together
Take turns to:

1.  Select a diagram, and decide whether or not the two triangles
are similar, not similar, or ‘it cannot be determined’.
Explain your reasoning.

2.  Fill in as many angles as you can.

3.  Your partner must challenge your explanation if they disagree

or describe it in their own words if they agree.

4.  Once agreed, glue the diagram onto the poster and write your
explanation in pencil next to it.

5.  Continue to take turns until all the diagrams are sorted.
Projector resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-3
 Sharing Work
1.  One person in your group record your results on your mini-
whiteboard and then go to another group’s desk and check
your work against theirs.

2.  If there are differences, ask for an explanation.

If you disagree, explain which column you think is correct.

3.  If you have categorized diagrams in the same columns,

compare your methods and check that you understand each
others’ explanations.

4.  If you are staying at your desk, be ready to explain the

reasons for your group’s decisions.

Projector resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-4

 Are triangles PQR and SPR similar?

P Q
70o

NOT TO SCALE

55o
S R

Projector resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-5

 Are triangles PQS and QRS similar?

P Q

NOT TO SCALE

o
70
S R

Projector resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-6

 Are triangles PQR and STU similar?

P Q

R NOT TO SCALE
S

70o
U T

Projector resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-7

 Are triangles PQR and STR similar?
P Q
70o

NOT TO SCALE

S T

R
Projector resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-8
 Are triangles PQR and STR similar?
P Q

NOT TO SCALE
S

R T

Projector resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-9

 Are triangles PQR and TRS similar?

P Q

NOT TO SCALE

110o
T R

Projector resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-10

 Are triangles PRS and QRS similar?

P Q
70o

T NOT TO SCALE

70o
S R

Projector resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-11

 Are triangles PQR and RST similar?

P Q

R
NOT TO SCALE

T S

Projector resources Identifying Similar Triangles P-12

 Mathematics Assessment Project

Classroom Challenges
These materials were designed and developed by the
Shell Center Team at the Center for Research in Mathematical Education
University of Nottingham, England:
Malcolm Swan,
Nichola Clarke, Clare Dawson, Sheila Evans, Colin Foster, and Marie Joubert
with
Hugh Burkhardt, Rita Crust, Andy Noyes, and Daniel Pead

We are grateful to the many teachers and students, in the UK and the US,
who took part in the classroom trials that played a critical role in developing these materials
The classroom observation teams in the US were led by
David Foster, Mary Bouck, and Diane Schaefer

This project was conceived and directed for

The Mathematics Assessment Resource Service (MARS) by
Alan Schoenfeld at the University of California, Berkeley, and
Hugh Burkhardt, Daniel Pead, and Malcolm Swan at the University of Nottingham

Thanks also to Mat Crosier, Anne Floyde, Michael Galan, Judith Mills, Nick Orchard, and Alvaro
Villanueva who contributed to the design and production of these materials

This development would not have been possible without the support of
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
We are particularly grateful to
Carina Wong, Melissa Chabran, and Jamie McKee

The full collection of Mathematics Assessment Project materials is available from

http://map.mathshell.org

© 2015 MARS, Shell Center, University of Nottingham

This material may be reproduced and distributed, without modification, for non-commercial purposes,
under the Creative Commons License detailed at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
All other rights reserved.
Please contact [email protected] if this license does not meet your needs.