Education Technology


Geometry: Applications of Similar Figures

by Texas Instruments

Objectives

  • Students will identify corresponding parts of similar figures.
  • Students will apply what they know about similar figures to solve real-world design problems.

Vocabulary

  • similar
  • corresponding parts  

About the Lesson

In this lesson, students use similar figures to solve real-world applications. In Problem 1, students use similar rectangles to enlarge a photo. In Problem 2, students use similar triangles to estimate the height of a building.

As a result, students will:

  • Use the definition of similarity to decide if two figures are similar.
  • Model with geometry and apply the principle of similar figures to solve design problems.
  • Explain the meaning of similarity for triangles as the equality of all corresponding pairs of angles and the proportionality of all corresponding pairs of sides.