Two angles on a straight line measure 115° and x°. What is the value of x?
Show worked explanation
Angles on a straight line add up to 180°. So 115° + x° = 180°. Therefore x = 180 - 115 = 65°. ✓
11+ Angles & Shapes Practice
(GL Assessment)
In the GL Assessment 11+ maths paper, geometry (angles, shape properties, symmetry, nets, coordinates and transformations) typically accounts for six to ten of the 50 questions, with angle calculation and shape properties the two biggest parts. Every question is multiple choice with five options (A to E), and every diagram is labelled "Not drawn to scale," which means your child must calculate angles, never measure them with their eye.
These questions test whether a child knows their shape facts and can apply the angle rules: angles in a triangle add to 180 degrees, angles in a quadrilateral add to 360, angles on a straight line add to 180, and angles around a point add to 360. From there, GL builds up to isosceles triangle puzzles, symmetry, folding nets in the mind, and reading coordinates.
For a worried parent, the reassuring part is how rule-based this topic is. There is no measuring, no guessing from the picture, and the facts are finite. Once the angle sums are automatic and your child has seen shapes drawn at odd angles, the marks become reliable.
What the GL 11+ Tests on Angles & Shapes
In rough order of frequency, GL tests:
- Angle calculation using angle-sum rules, the largest category (~25 to 30%). This includes triangles, quadrilaterals, straight lines, points and vertically opposite angles.
- Properties of 2D shapes: identifying shapes from clues, knowing sides, angles and symmetry of triangles and quadrilaterals (~20 to 25%).
- Symmetry, both lines of symmetry and order of rotational symmetry (~10 to 15%).
- 3D shapes and nets: counting faces, edges and vertices, and matching nets to solids (~10 to 15%).
- Coordinates, mostly first quadrant, occasionally all four (~10 to 15%).
- Reflection, translation and rotation on grids (~10 to 15% combined).
Difficulty spans D1 to D3, with one-step "find the third angle" questions at the easy end and multi-step angle chains or interior angles of regular polygons at the hard end. Format is always five-option multiple choice. These weightings are estimates from GL practice papers and tutor resources, so treat them as well-grounded rather than published exact figures.
Sample Angles & Shapes Questions
Five questions drawn from PrepStep’s angles & shapes bank, spanning Foundation to Challenging. Tap “Show worked explanation” to see the full method after you’ve had a go. The correct answer is highlighted on each question so you can check immediately.
Emma draws three angles around a point. Two angles are 100° and 130°. What is the third angle?
Show worked explanation
Angles around a point add up to 360°. So 100° + 130° + third angle = 360°. The third angle = 360 - 100 - 130 = 130°. ✓
Tom draws an isosceles triangle with two equal angles of 65° each. What is the third angle?
Show worked explanation
In an isosceles triangle, two angles are equal. The angles sum to 180°. So 65° + 65° + third angle = 180°. The third angle = 180 - 130 = 50°. ✓
Four angles meet at a point. Three of them are 85°, 90°, and 105°. What is the fourth angle?
Show worked explanation
Angles around a point add up to 360°. So 85° + 90° + 105° + fourth angle = 360°. The fourth angle = 360 - 280 = 80°. ✓
A regular pentagon has 5 equal sides and 5 equal angles. What is each interior angle?
Show worked explanation
The sum of interior angles in a pentagon is (5-2) × 180° = 540°. In a regular pentagon, all angles are equal, so each angle = 540 ÷ 5 = 108°. ✓
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Common mistake 1 of 4
Estimating an angle from the picture.
Tip: Diagrams say "Not drawn to scale" for a reason. An angle that looks like 90 degrees might be 85. Train your child to calculate every angle, never to judge by eye.
Common mistake 2 of 4
Getting caught by the isosceles ambiguity.
Tip: When given one angle of an isosceles triangle, the child must work out whether it is the unique angle or one of the equal base angles. GL usually adds a clue (such as "angle B is greater than 60"), and missing that clue leads straight to a wrong answer.
Common mistake 3 of 4
Thinking a square is not a rectangle.
Tip: A square IS a special rectangle, and a rectangle IS a special parallelogram. GL exploits this so-called class-inclusion confusion, often by listing a square among the options to a rectangle question.
Common mistake 4 of 4
Miscounting lines of symmetry.
Tip: A non-square rectangle has two lines of symmetry, not four; its diagonals are not lines of symmetry. Drawing the fold lines, rather than guessing, fixes this quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What angle and shape topics are in the GL 11+ maths exam?
GL tests missing-angle calculations (triangles, quadrilaterals, straight lines, points and vertically opposite angles), properties of 2D shapes, lines and order of symmetry, 3D shapes and nets, coordinates, and transformations like reflection and translation. Angle calculation and shape properties are the most common. All questions are five-option multiple choice.
What are the key angle rules for the 11+ exam?
Angles in a triangle add to 180 degrees; angles in a quadrilateral add to 360; angles on a straight line add to 180; angles around a point add to 360; and vertically opposite angles are equal. The exterior angle of a triangle equals the sum of the two opposite interior angles. These must be recalled instantly under time pressure.
Why do GL 11+ diagrams say "not drawn to scale"?
It is a deliberate warning that the picture cannot be trusted for measuring. An angle drawn to look like a right angle may actually be 85 or 95 degrees. Children must calculate using angle rules, never estimate from the diagram. Estimating from the picture is one of the most common ways to lose marks.
Is a square a rectangle in the 11+ exam?
Yes. A square is a special rectangle with four equal sides, and it is also a special rhombus. A rectangle is a special parallelogram. GL deliberately tests this "class inclusion" idea, often by including a square among the answer options to a question about rectangles, catching children who treat the shapes as entirely separate.
How many geometry questions are in the GL 11+ maths paper?
Geometry usually makes up six to ten questions in a 50-question paper, around 12 to 20 percent. Angle calculation and shape properties dominate, with smaller numbers of symmetry, nets, coordinates and transformation questions. Number topics appear far more often, so geometry is a steady but smaller part of the paper.
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