Congruence of triang.

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Congruence - Congruent
You walk into your favorite mall and see dozens
of copies of your favorite CD on sale. All of the
CDs are exactly the same size and shape.
In fact, you can probably think of many objects
that are mass produced to be exactly the same size
and shape.

Objects that are exactly the same size and shape are said to
be congruent.
Congruent objects are duplicates of one another.
If two mathematical figures are congruent and you cut one figure out with a pair of
scissors, it will fit perfectly on top of the other figure.

Mathematicians use the word congruent to describe geometrical

figures.
-- If two quadrilaterals (4 sided) are the same size and shape,
they are congruent.
-- If two pentagons (5 sided) are the same size and shape,
they are congruent.
-- If two polygons (any number of sides) are the same size and
shape,
they are congruent.
-- If two line segments are the same length (they already are the
same
shape), they are congruent.

The mathematical symbol used to denote Congruent

congruent is . Symbol
The symbol is made up of two parts:
which means the same shape (similar) and
which means the same size (equal).
 When you are looking at congruent figures, be sure to find the sides
and the angles that "match up" (are in the same places) in each
figure. Sides and angles that "match up" are called corresponding
sides andcorresponding angles.

In congruent figures, these corresponding parts are also congruent.

The corresponding sides will be equal in measure (length) and that
the corresponding angles will be equal in degrees.

Latest news bulletin:

The most popular congruent figures are triangles!
In many geometrical proofs, it may be necessary to prove that
two triangles are congruent to each other. The task may simply
be to prove the triangles congruent, or it may be to use these
congruent triangles to gain additional information.

When triangles are congruent and one triangle is placed on top of the other,
the sides and angles that coincide (are in the same positions) are
called corresponding parts.

Example:

When two triangles are congruent, there are NOTE: The corresponding
6 facts that are true about the triangles: congruent sides are marked
with small straight line
  the triangles have 3 sets of congruent segments called hash marks.
(of equal length) sides and The corresponding congruent
 the triangles have 3 sets of congruent angles are marked with arcs.
(of equal measure) angles.

The 6 facts for our congruent triangles example:

Note: The order of the letters in the names of the triangles should display the
corresponding relationships. By doing so, even without a picture, you would know
that <A would be congruent to <D, and would be congruent to , because
they are in the same position in each triangle name.

Wow! Six facts for every set of congruent triangles!

Fortunately, when we need to PROVE (or show) that triangles are congruent, we do
NOT need to show all six facts are true. There are certain combinations of the facts
that are sufficient to prove that triangles are congruent. These combinations of facts
guarantee that if a triangle can be drawn with this information, it will take on only one
shape. Only one unique triangle can be created, thus guaranteeing that triangles
created with this method are congruent.

Methods for Proving (Showing) Triangles to be Congruent

If three sides of one triangle are congruent to three sides of
SSS another triangle, the triangles are congruent.
(For this method, the sum of the lengths of any two sides must be greater than
the length of the third side, to guarantee a triangle exists.)
 If two sides and the included angle of one triangle are
SAS congruent to the corresponding parts of another triangle,
the triangles are congruent. (The included angle is the angle formed
by the sides being used.)

If two angles and the included side of one triangle are

ASA congruent to the corresponding parts of another triangle,
the triangles are congruent. (The included side is the side between
the angles being used. It is the side where the rays of the angles would
overlap.)

If two angles and the non-included side of one triangle are

AAS congruent to the corresponding parts of another triangle,
the triangles are congruent. (The non-included side can be either of
the two sides that are not between the two angles being used.)

If the hypotenuse and leg of one right triangle are

HL congruent to the corresponding parts of another right
Right triangle, the right triangles are congruent. (Either leg of the
Triangles right triangle may be used as long as the corresponding legs are used.)
Only

BE CAREFUL!!!
Only the combinations
listed above will give
congruent triangles.

So, why do other combinations not work?

Methods that DO NOT Prove Triangles to be Congruent

AAA works fine to show that triangles are
AAA the same SHAPE (similar), but
does NOT work to also show they are the
You can easily draw 2 equilateral
triangles that are the same shape
but are not congruent (the same
size).
 same size, thus congruent!

Consider the example at the right.

SSA SSA (or ASS) is humorously referred

to as the "Donkey Theorem".
or
This is NOT a universal method to prove
ASS triangles congruent because it cannot
guarantee that one unique triangle will be
drawn!!
The SSA (or ASS) combination affords the possibility of
creating zero, one, or two triangles. Consider this
diagram of triangle DEF. If for the second side, EF is
equal to EG (the minimum distance needed to create a triangle),
only one triangle can be drawn. However, if EF is
greater than EG, two triangles can be drawn as shown by
the dotted segment. Should EF be less than the
minimum length needed to create a triangle, EG, no
triangle can be drawn.
The possible "swing" of side can create two different triangles which
causes our problem with this method. The first triangle, below, and the last
triangle both show SSA, but they arenot congruent triangles.

The combination of SSA (or ASS) creates a unique triangle ONLY when
working in a right triangle with the hypotenuse and a leg. This application is
given the name HL (Hypotenuse-Leg) for Right Triangles to avoid confusion.
You should not list SSA (or ASS) as a reason when writing a proof.

Once you prove your triangles are congruent, the "left-over" pieces that
 were not used in your method of proof, are also congruent.
Remember, congruent triangles have 6 sets of congruent pieces. We
now have a "follow-up" theorem to be used AFTER the triangles are
known to be congruent:

Theorem: (CPCTC) Corresponding parts

of congruent triangles are congruent.
Two triangles are congruent if all pairs of corresponding sides are congruent, and all
pairs of corresponding angles are congruent. Fortunately, we do not need to show all
six of these congruent parts each time we want to show triangles congruent. There are
5 combination methods that allow us to show triangles to be congruent.
Remember to look for ONLY these combinations
for congruent triangles:
SAS, ASA, SSS, AAS, and HL(right triangle)

But how do we decide which method we should be using?

Let's look at some examples and tips:

Example 1:
Here is an example problem, using one of the methods mentioned above.

Prove:
:
Which congruent triangle method do you think Answ er
is used in this example?
 Did you notice that the congruent
triangle parts that were given to us
were marked up in the diagram?
This technique is very helpful
when trying to decide which
method of congruent triangles to
use.

TIP: Mark any given information on your diagram.

Mark diagram

Try your hand at matching the corresponding

parts for these congruent triangles.
CLICK HERE for Interactive Matching Game

Example 2:
In this example problem, examine the given information, mark the given information
on the diagram as in the first tip, and decide if congruent triangles will help you solve
this problem.

Prove:
:
This problem does not ask you to prove the triangles are congruent. This, however, does not mean that you
should not "look" for congruent triangles in this problem. Remember that once two triangles are congruent,
their "left-over" corresponding pieces are also congruent. If you can prove these two triangles are
congruent, you will be able to prove that the segments you need are also congruent since they will be "left-
over" corresponding pieces.
 Which of the congruent triangle methods Answ er

do you think is used in this example?

For the triangles in this second example, three sets of corresponding parts were used to prove the
triangles congruent. Can you name the other 3 sets of corresponding parts?
CLICK HERE to see the answer.

TIP: Look to see if the pieces you need are "parts"

Corresponding of the triangles that can be proven congruent.
Parts

Example 3:
In this example problem, examine the given information, decide what else you need to
know, and then decide the proper method to be used to prove the triangles congruent.

Prove:
There seems to be missing information in this problem. There are only two pieces of congruent information
given. This problem expects you to "find" the additional information you will need to show that the
triangles are congruent. What else do you notice is true in this picture?

Answ er
Which of the congruent triangle methods
do you think is used in this example?

TIP: If not given all needed pieces to prove the

triangles congruent, look to see what else you might
Examine know about the diagram.
Diagram

Example 4:
In this example problem, examine the given information carefully, mark up the
diagram and then decide upon the proper method to be used to prove the triangles
congruent.

When you marked up the diagram, did you mark the information gained from the definition of the angle
bisector? While this problem only gives you two of the three sets of congruent pieces needed to prove the
triangles congruent, it also gives you a "hint" as to how to obtain the third needed set. The "hint" in this
problem is in the form of a definition - the angle bisector.
Answ er
Which of the congruent triangle methods
do you think is used in this example?

TIP: Know your definitions! If the given

information contains definitions, consider these as
Use Definitions "hints" to the solution and be sure to use them.
This particular example can be solved in more than one way.
 Even though the given information gives congruent information about <B and <D,
this information is not needed to prove the triangles congruent. The two triangles in
this problem "share" a side (called a common side). This "sharing" automatically
gives you another set of congruent pieces.

TIP: Stay open-minded. There may be more than

More than one one way to solve a problem.
solution

TIP: Look to see if your triangles "share" parts.

These common parts are automatically one set of
Common Parts congruent parts.

In summary, when working with congruent triangles, remember to:

1. Mark any given information on your diagram.

2. Look to see if the pieces you need are "parts" of the triangles that can be proven
congruent.
3. If not given all needed pieces to prove the triangles congruent, look to see what
else you might know about the diagram.
4. Know your definitions! If the given information contains definitions, consider
these as "hints" to the solution and be sure to use them.
5. Stay open-minded. There may be more than one way to solve a problem.
6. Look to see if your triangles "share" parts. These common parts are automatically
 one set of congruent parts.

Remember that proving triangles congruent is like solving a puzzle. Look carefully at
the "puzzle" and use all of your geometrical strategies to arrive at an answer.