Note: Right angles are often denoted by adding a small right angle that forms a square with the angle.
Dictionary Definition
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a right angle as "an angle of ninety degrees; specifically one formed by two perpendicular lines, as in the corner of a square."Real Examples of Right Angles
The angles below are all right angles:
A Real Example of a Right Angle: The Right Triangle
A right triangle is a triangle containing a right angle.
The right triangle is one of the most useful triangles in mathematics.
It is used for Pythagoras' theorem and in trigonometry.
Learn more about right triangles
Euclid and Right Angles
Euclid defines angles in his book, Elements. Definition 10: "When a straight line standing on a straight line makes the adjacent angles equal to one another, each of the equal angles is right".
Lines that are at a right angle to each other are called perpendicular.
Complementary Angles
Two angles are complementary if they add up to a right angle.
This page was written by Stephen Clarke.
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