Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) Mathematics Practice Exam

What term is used to describe the angle between a secant and a line that touches the circle?

1. Chord Angle

2. Inscribed Angle

3. Exterior Angle

4. Central Angle

The correct answer is: Exterior Angle

The term used to describe the angle between a secant and a line that touches the circle is the exterior angle. In the context of circle geometry, when you have a secant that intersects the circle at two points and you also have a tangent line that touches the circle at a single point, the angle formed outside the circle by the secant and the tangent is referred to as the exterior angle. This angle can be calculated using the measures of the intercepted arcs. Specifically, the measure of the exterior angle is equal to half the difference of the measures of the intercepted arcs formed by the secant and the tangent. This relationship highlights the unique properties of angles associated with secants and tangents in circle geometry, differentiating them from other angle types such as central and inscribed angles.