Geometry: Special Segments in Triangles

Objectives

• Students will show why certain segments in triangles are medians, angle bisectors, altitudes, or perpendicular bisectors.
• Students will interpret what properties these particular segments have.

Vocabulary

• median
• angle bisector
• altitude
• perpendicular bisector

About the Lesson

In this activity, students will investigate 4 special segments from a given vertex in a triangle and identify relationships among the special segments and the angles that they form. You decide if you want students to create the figure or to use a figure that has already been created. If you want students to create the figure, give each student a copy of the "Create" handout. This will explain clearly how to create the necessary figure.