ANGLES: NAMING, TYPES,

AND HOW TO MEASURE

THEM
 WHAT IS AN ANGLE?
 An angle is defined as the amount of turn between two
straight lines that share a common end point.  Angles are
measured in degrees.  The symbol used for degrees is a
little circle °. 

Amount of
turn

Drawn by J. Bouchard

Microsoft Clip Art

 TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH ANGLES
 VERTEX - The vertex of an angle is the common point
where the two lines meet.
 ARM -  The arms of an angle or sides are the lines that
make up the angle.
 DEGREES - The size of the angle is measured in degrees
and usually denoted with the ° symbol.  For example, an
angle may measure 45°.
 PROTRACTOR - A tool that is used to measure angles.

m
Ar

Vertex
45° Arm
Protractor
Microsoft Clip Art
 NAMING ANGLES
 There are different ways to name angles.  One way is to
use the ∠ symbol followed by three letters.  From the
diagram below you see ∠BAC.  The first and third letters
indicate points on the two arms.  The letter in the middle is
the vertex.  The first and third letters can be switched
because they measure the same angle.  For
example, ∠BAC is the same as ∠CAB. 

Drawn by J. Bouchard
 NAMING ANGLES (continued)
 Another way to label the angle is by using the ∠ symbol
with the only the vertex point.  The angle would be called
∠A. 

 Finally, the last way to label the angle would be by using

the ∠ symbol followed by the letter or number between
the angle.  This would be ∠x. 
 

Drawn by J. Bouchard
 PRACTICE NAMING ANGLES
Name all the possible angles shown below

1.

3.

2.
Click for more PRACTICE

Pictures drawn by J. Bouchard

 FOUR TYPES OF ANGLES

ACUTE

RIGHT

OBTUSE

STRAIGHT
Photo used under creative commons from Eric
 ACUTE ANGLES
An acute angle is an angle that measures
greater than 0° and less than 90°.

30°
80°

Microsoft Clip Art

 RIGHT ANGLES
A right angle is an angle that measures
90°.

90°

Photo used under creative commons from Camera Eye Photography

 OBTUSE ANGLES
An obtuse angle is an angle that
measures greater than 90° and less than
180°.
155°

115°

Photo used under creative commons from Judy Baxter

 STRAIGHT ANGLES
A Straight angle looks like a straight line
and measures 180°. It is half a revolution
of a circle.

180°

Photo used under creative commons from Simon Harrod

Can you identify the angles below?

1. 4.

2. 5.

3. 6.
Identify the type of angle from the
measure shown below

1. 180° 4. 117°

2. 33° 5. 153°

3. 90° 6. 27°

Click here to practice Photo used under creative commons from Kevin Dooley
 HOW TO USE A PROTRACTOR
A protractor has two scales:
•The outer scale reads from 0° to 180° reading
from left to right.
•The inner scale reads from 0° to 180° reading
from right to left.

Protractor picture taken from Clip Art etc. http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/

 MEASURING ANGLES
 To measure ∠ABC:
 1.Place the center of the
protractor on the vertex
B.
 2.Adjust the 0° line or
baseline of the protractor
so that it lines up with line
BC.
 3.Since the angle is acute
Protractor picture taken from Clip Art etc. http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/
and the 0° line or baseline
was used from the right,
you will take the reading
from the inner scale.
MEASURING ANGLES (CONTINUED)
If anangle is facing the other direction and the 0° line or
baseline was used on the left, the outer scale will be used. 
Since it is on the left and you know the angle is
obtuse, reading from left to right the measurement is 100°.

Protractor picture taken from Clip Art etc. http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/

 LET’S PRACTICE
What is the measure of the angle below?
LET’S PRACTICE (continued)
What is the measure of the angle below?
LET’S PRACTICE (continued)
What is the measure of the angle below?

Click here for more practice

 REFERENCES
 Slide 7: “From Every Angle” Photo used under creative commons
from Eric
 Slide 9: “Right Angle…Week #27” Photo used under creative
commons from Camera Eye Photography
 Slide 10: “Our Daily Challenge: ANGLES” Photo used under
creative commons from Judy Baxter
 Slide 11: “Tangential: M180” Photo used under creative
commons from Simon Harrod
 Slide 13: “48 angles” Photo used under creative commons from
Kevin Dooley