WASSCE SHS
A construction is a sequence you can repeat. The arcs are the working. Rubbing them out before the marker sees them hides the method.
To bisect a straight line, open the compass to more than half the line. Draw an arc from each end with that same radius. The two arcs cross above the line and below it. The line that joins those crossings is the perpendicular bisector. It cuts the given line at its midpoint and at a right angle. To bisect an angle, draw an arc from the vertex so that it cuts both arms. From those two points, draw equal arcs that cross. The line from the vertex through that crossing splits the angle into two equal parts.
A regular hexagon drawn inside a circle has each side equal to the radius of the circle. You can step the radius around the circumference six times and join the points. A tangent touches a circle at one point. The radius to that point of contact is perpendicular to the tangent. A locus is the path of a point that moves under a rule. The locus of a point at a fixed distance from a fixed point is a circle. Leave the construction arcs light, and line in the required result with the outline. A freehand guess of a hexagon is not this construction.
The Technical Drawing tips guide sets out the objective paper, the geometry paper including vector geometry, and the drawing paper. Start practising on glearn.now with Kevin and Anna. WASSCE Technical Drawing tips
The method is the answer when the question says construct. Name the compass opening and which points you join. "I drew the middle" does not show a bisector. A tangent is not a chord. A chord cuts the circle in two points. The radius meets the tangent at a right angle. If the question gives a length, use that length. Do not invent a measurement.
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
4 marks
Describe how to construct the perpendicular bisector of a line AB. (4 marks)
Open the compass to more than half of AB. Draw an arc from A and an arc from B with that same radius, so the arcs cross twice. Join the two crossings. That line cuts AB at its midpoint and at a right angle.
2 marks
State the relationship between the side of a regular hexagon and the radius of the circle it is drawn in. (2 marks)
Each side equals the radius. The radius can be stepped around the circle six times.
1 mark
A tangent touches a circle at P. What angle does the radius to P make with the tangent? (1 mark)
A right angle. The radius to the point of contact is perpendicular to the tangent.
More questions on this topic are inside glearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
Practise Technical Drawing freeMore than half the line, and the same opening from both ends. If the opening is half or less, the arcs may not cross. Join the two crossings. That line is the perpendicular bisector.
A tangent touches the circle at one point. A chord joins two points on the circle and lies inside it. The radius to the point where a tangent touches is perpendicular to the tangent. All WASSCE Technical Drawing past questions