Geometry and measures worksheet — GCSE Higher

1.A ship's radio can be heard up to 30 km from the ship. A lighthouse's light can be seen up to 20 km from the lighthouse. The ship and the lighthouse are 40 km apart along the coast. Describe the region where BOTH the radio can be heard AND the light can be seen.

3.From an external point P, two tangents PA and PB touch a circle with centre O at the points A and B. Angle APB = 46°. C is a point on the major arc AB, the arc on the opposite side of AB from P. Work out the size of angle ACB.

4.A shape is reflected in the line y = 1, and the image is then reflected in the line y = 4. Which single transformation is equivalent to this combination, for every point?

5.Triangle T has an area of 6 cm². It is enlarged by scale factor −2 about the origin, and the image is then rotated 90° about the origin. Work out the area of the final image, and state whether it is the same way round as T or a mirror image of it.

6.Two similar triangles have lengths in the ratio 2 : 5. The sides of the smaller triangle are 4 cm, 6 cm and 8 cm. Work out the length of the longest side of the larger triangle.

7.Work out the exact value of cos 0° − sin 30°.

8.Triangle DEF has a right angle at E. Angle DFE = 60° and EF = 9 cm. Work out the exact length of DE.

9.A, B and C are points on a circle with centre O, and AB is a diameter. Prove that angle ACB = 90°, using the fact that triangle OAC and triangle OBC are both isosceles. In the proof, angle OAC = angle OCA = x and angle OBC = angle OCB = y. Which equation correctly expresses the angle sum of triangle ABC in terms of x and y, and leads to the required proof?

10.A triangle has one unknown side or angle, marked x. In which one of these situations should the sine rule, rather than the cosine rule, be used to find x?

11.Three of these are rational numbers and one is irrational. Write down the one that is irrational.

12.A solid has 10 vertices and 15 edges. Using the formula F + V − E = 2, work out how many faces it has.

13.A roof truss has two horizontal parallel rafters, one above the other. A straight strut crosses both rafters. Where the strut crosses the lower rafter, the angle above the rafter and to the left of the strut is 65°. Work out the size of the angle above the upper rafter and to the right of the strut, where the strut crosses it.

14.A zip-wire is fixed at an angle of 60° to the horizontal ground. The zip-wire is 12 m long. Using the exact value of cos 60°, work out the exact horizontal distance it covers.