Understanding Supplementary Angles | Explained with Examples and Applications

supplementary angles

Supplementary angles are a pair of angles that have a sum of 180 degrees

Supplementary angles are a pair of angles that have a sum of 180 degrees. In other words, when you add the measures of two supplementary angles together, the result will always be equal to 180 degrees.

To better understand this concept, let’s consider an example. Let’s say we have two angles, angle A and angle B. If angle A measures 60 degrees, and angle B is supplementary to angle A, we can find the measure of angle B by subtracting 60 degrees from 180 degrees (since the sum of the measures of supplementary angles is 180 degrees).

180 degrees – 60 degrees = 120 degrees

So, angle B measures 120 degrees. Thus, angle A and angle B are supplementary angles.

It is important to note that supplementary angles do not have to be adjacent or sharing a common vertex. They can be placed anywhere in relation to each other. For instance, one angle could be inside a triangle, while the other might be outside the triangle.

Supplementary angles are commonly found in various geometric situations, such as in a straight line or in a triangle. In parallel lines, for example, alternate interior angles are supplementary. Furthermore, in a triangle, the sum of the three angles is always 180 degrees, making them supplementary to each other.

Knowing that two angles are supplementary can be helpful in solving problems involving angles, as it provides a relationship between their measures.

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