Triangle Basics

In Euclidean Geometry a triangle is a three-sided polygon with three angles that add up to 180
degrees, or pi radians. What is a radian, exactly? It is defined as the arc length along the unit
circle that is subtended by an angle. But since the Unit Circle in Taxicab geometry is a different
shape, we can see that radian measurements will be different using this measurement. Hence,
we can refer to this new measurement as t-radians.

A t-radian is an angle whose vertex is the center of a unit taxicab circle, and intercepts an arc of
unit (taxicab) length. (i.e. a taxicab length of 1). The taxicab measure of a taxicab angle is the
number of t-radians subtended by the taxicab circle about the vertex. (Taxicab Geometry -
Angles).


Figure taken from (Taxicab Geometry - Angles).

In the figure above, the taxi distance of the subtended angle is 1, so must be 1 t-radian.

We will use Taxicab circles and angle measurements to make observations about Taxicab
triangles.

In Euclidean Geometry there are 2 radians in a circle. In Taxicab Geometry there are 8 t-
radians in a circle, meaning the radius length of the taxi-circle can be placed on the perimeter of
that taxi-circle 8 times.

According to Taxicab Geometry-Triangle Basics there are 4 t-radians in every triangle. When
looking at the taxi-circle partitioned into 4 equal parts below, we see that four triangles are
formed.


Each of the shaded triangles are 45-45-90 triangles and isosceles triangles. We know this
because the arclengths subtended by the angles are 1-1-2 t-radians, and the distance of two
side lengths are the same. Since there are 8 t-radians in a circle and there are 360 degrees in a
taxi-circle, we know that each t-radian that is subtended is subtended by a 45 degree angle.
Therefore, a triangle with a vertex at the center of a unit taxicab circle and sides equivalent to 1-
1-2 t-radians is the same as a 45-45-90 triangle.

Taking a closer look, we can make observations about the combination of two shaded triangles.
We will consider the triangle BCD formed by the two shaded triangles BAC and DAC. The
triangle BCD is an equilateral 45-45-90 degree triangle in Taxicab. This shows that although
angles are the same in Euclidean and Taxicab Geometry, the properties that hold between
angles and side lengths are not the same between the two geometries. This case is also an
example of one of the multiple instances where properties of triangles in Euclidean are altered
in Taxicab Geometry.

In Euclidean Geometry there are three types of triangles: equilateral, isosceles, and scalene.
Equilateral triangles are made up of 3 equal side lengths and are equiangular, isosceles
triangles have 2 equal side lengths that correspond to 2 congruent base angles, and scalene
triangles have sides that are unequal in length and angles that are unequal in measure. While
this knowledge of triangles may be somewhat trivial in Euclidean, it is not so simple to think
about and consider in Taxicab. When transferred and tested in Taxicab geometry, we find that
triangles do exist but with special properties that would not hold in Euclidean Geometry.
According to Bar^olakolu, H. H., & Kaya, R. (2009) there is no such thing as a taxicab
regular (equilateral and equiangular) triangle. The example considered above shows a case
where isosceles triangles that cannot be categorized as equilateral triangles are made up of the
same angles as an equilateral triangle. This case displays how comparisons between the two
geometries show simple yet significant variances and invariances. These comparisons
challenge the conventional way of thinking about properties of triangles and call for the
consideration of ways to prove congruence and similarity of triangles.