Lesson Plan

Tangent Segments

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

What's so special about tangents? Learners first explore how if a circle is tangent to both rays of an angle, then its center is on the angle bisector. They then complete a set of exercises designed to explore further properties and theorems of tangent segments, including the construction of an incenter from the intersection of angle bisectors.

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CCSS: Designed
Additional Tags
Instructional Ideas
  • Skip the opening exercise if you anticipate that learners will require more than the allotted time for the exercises
Classroom Considerations
  • The lesson is a continuation of the previous intallment on tangent lines, so learners need to be familiar with tangents
  • Exploration involves use of contrapositive, so be sure learners know this proof technique
  • The 13th installment of a 23-part module
Pros
  • Teacher resources give notes explaining the purpose and point of each exercise problem
  • Learners discover properties of tangents through investigation rather than rote memorization
Cons
  • None
Common Core