5-1 Bisectors, Medians, and

Altitudes
Lil’ Wayne Sez

Most things in
Geometry make
perfect sense….

….it’s just hard to

explain them.
 Check this out!

Today we will go over the

definitions, but then Mr. A
will draw them LIVE
Perpendicular Bisector is what it says.
Any point on the perpendicular bisector is
the same distance from the ends of the
segment being bisected.
s ure!
em e a
e sam
are t h
They
In a triangle, there are three perpendicular
bisectors.
Where they meet
is called the
circumcenter
Check this out: The circumcenter of a
triangle is automatically the same distance
from its vertices! NO MATTER WHAT!!

(Mr. A must minimize now, and go to the

program to show you, so remind him
because he is kinda slow…)
Angle Bisector If you have an
angle bisector
in a triangle,
then it is the
same
distance from
both of the
sides of the
angle.
A triangle has three angle-
bisectors as well.

Where they meet is

called the incenter.
The incenter of a
triangle is always
the same distance
from the sides, NO
MATTER WHAT!

(Mr. A will now minimize)

• A Median is a segment that has endpoints
at a vertex and the midpoint of the
opposite side in a triangle.

a triangle has three of these

as well.
M
ED
IA
N
!!
• And, of course, there’s a special name for
where the medians meet…CENTROID.
What’s special
about the
centroid,
Mr. A ?
 The Centroid is always
I’m Glad You Asked!
2/3 of the total
distance from the
vertex to the other
side!

2/3
 For Example:
If G is the centroid, and GE = 6, how long is
BE ?
A GE = (2/3)BE
6 = (2/3)BE
6(3/2) = BE
F 9 = BE
B
G

C
E
D
The altitude is a segment from the vertex of
a triangle to the opposite side that is
perpendicular to that side.

ORTHOCENTER
• There is nothing special about the
orthocenter.

..but you will be asked to find it…