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4.6
Goal
Identify medians in triangles.

Medians of a Triangle
A cardboard triangle will balance on the end of a pencil if the pencil is placed at a particular point on the triangle. Finding balancing points of objects is important in engineering, construction, and science. A median of a triangle is a segment from a vertex to the midpoint of the opposite side.

Key Words
median of a triangle centroid

median median

median

EXAMPLE

Draw a Median
S 4 T 6 S 4 T 3 P 5 3 R 5 R

In TSTR, draw a median from S to its opposite side.

Solution
&*. The side opposite aS is TR &*, and label it Find the midpoint of TR P. Then draw a segment from point S &* is a median of TSTR. to point P. SP

Draw a Median Copy the triangle and draw a median.

1.

3 6

2.

3.

5 5 5

4 3

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Medians of a Triangle

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The following theorem tells you that the three medians of a triangle intersect at one point. This point is called the centroid of the triangle.

THEOREM 4.9

Intersection of Medians of a Triangle

Words
The medians of a triangle intersect at the centroid, a point that is two thirds of the distance from each vertex to the midpoint of the opposite side. If P is the centroid of T ABC, then AP AD, BP BF, and CP CE.
2 3 2 3 2 3

D P B

Symbols

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EXAMPLE
Solution

Use the Centroid of a Triangle

B D C

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E is the centroid of T ABC and DA 27. Find EA and DE.

Using Theorem 4.9, you know that

2 2 EA DA (27) 18. 3 3

Now use the Segment Addition Postulate to find ED. DA DE EA 27 DE 18 27 18 DE 18 18 9 DE

ANSWER Segment Addition Postulate Substitute 27 for DA and 18 for EA. Subtract 18 from each side. Simplify.

& * has a length of 18 and DE &* has a length of 9. EA

EXAMPLE
Solution

Use the Centroid of a Triangle

P

&*. P is the centroid of TQRS and RP 10. Find the length of RT

RP RT 10 RT
3 3 2 (10) RT 2 2 3 2 3

2 3

Use Theorem 4.9. 10 Substitute 10 for RP.

R P T
3 2

Multiply each side by . Simplify.

15 RT
ANSWER

&* has a length of 15. The median RT

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Chapter 4

Triangle Relationships

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Use the Centroid of a Triangle The centroid of the triangle is shown. Find the lengths.
4. Find BE and ED, 5. Find JG and KG, 6. Find PQ and PN,

given BD 24.
B

given JK 4.
H

given QN 20.
L P P M

J E K A D C F G N

4.6 Exercises
Guided Practice
Vocabulary Check
In Exercises 1 and 2, complete the statement.
1. The segment from a vertex of a triangle to the midpoint of the

opposite side is a(n) __? __.

2. The __ ? __ is the point where the three medians intersect. 3. Copy TABC, then draw the median

&*. from point A to BC

9 A 8 10 C

Skill Check

&* is a median of TABC. Find the length of AD &*. BD

4.

5. A

6. A

D 11 A D 4 C B C B

7. T is the centroid of TPQR and

8. E is the centroid of T ABC and

PS 33. Find PT and ST.

P T

BE 12. Find BD and ED.

B

E R S P A D C

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Practice and Applications

Extra Practice
See p. 682.

In Exercises 9 and 10, copy the triangle and draw the three medians of the triangle.
9. F 10.

Using a Centroid P is the centroid of TLMN. Find PN and P.

11. QN 9 12. QN 21 13. QN 30

M P L P N

N P P M P P L L

Using a Centroid D is the centroid of T ABC. Find CD and CE.

14. DE 5 15. DE 11 16. DE 9

E D

E D

E D C C B C

17. Error Analysis D is the centroid of T ABC. Your friend wants to

find DE. The median AE 18. Find and correct the error. Explain your reasoning.

DE AE DE (18) DE 12
2 3

2 3

D B E C

Homework Help
Example 1: Exs. 9, 10, 18 Example 2: Exs. 1113, 17 Example 3: Exs. 1416
18. Finding a Centroid Draw a triangle and find the midpoint of each

side. Then draw the three medians of your triangle. Label the centroid P.

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Chapter 4

Triangle Relationships

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Using Algebra Copy the graph shown.

19. Find the coordinates of Q, R, and
y

HOMEWORK HELP Extra help with problem solving in Exs. 1921 is at classzone.com

S, the midpoints of the sides of the triangle.

20. Find the length of each median. 21. Find the coordinates of the
2

P (5, 6) S R M (1, 2)
10

N (11, 2)
x

centroid. Label this point as T.

Standardized Test Practice

22. Multiple Choice In the figure shown, N is the centroid of TJKL and

& &? KM 36. What is the length of MN

A C

K N J M L

9 16

B 12 D 24

23. Multiple Choice In the figure shown, P is the centroid of T RST

&* ? and PT 12. What is the length of VT

F H

8 24

G 18 J 36

S U V P R W T

Mixed Review

Finding Angle Measures in a Triangle Find ma1. (Lesson 4.2)

24. 25.

45 1 25

1 60

26.

35 1

27.

28.

40 43

29.

60 65 1

32 1 115

Algebra Skills

Writing Equivalent Fractions Write two fractions equivalent to the given fraction. (Skills Review, p. 656)
30.

1 2

31.

1 5

32.

3 4

33.

8 14

34.

12 26 14 35

35.

2 20 18 24

36.

8 36 20 30

37.

10 45

38.

39.

40.

41.

24 33

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Medians of a Triangle

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