A view of experimental geometry trough the

lateral symmetric triangle

Martı́n Acosta Gempeler∗,† and Nicolás Arévalo Hurtado∗,‡

†Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas

‡Escuela Colombiana de Ingenierı́a Juilo Garavito, Bogotá D.C.

E-mail: maedu@hotmail.com; nicolas.arevalo92@mail.escuelaing.edu.co

Abstract

The evolution of technology has been affecting every knowledge field, and mathe-

matics are not the exception. Our purpose its to show through the symmetrical lateral

triangle and one of its geometrical locus problems, how these advances such as dynamic

geometry softwares are safe with teaching and research in geometry.

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Introduction

Software technology has become an influential tool in all social practices , mathematics and
teaching mathematics are not the exception.Since the four colors theorem proof, some ques-
tions have been made about how technology is use in mathematics : Which is the roll of the
technology in discovery ? It is trustworthy accept experiments evidences with a computer?
How the use of the technology affects mathematical rigor?.

In this article we want to provide answer elements to these questions giving a solution
example of a geometric problem using a dynamic geometric software.We want to propose
Experimental Geometry as a solving practice of geometry problems that uses the potential
of dynamic geometry software to differentiate between an exact construction and an approx-
imate construction to make experiments that allow to formulate conjectures on the solution
of a problem and to make experiments to find theoretical arguments that can contribute
to the proof of the conjectures. The example problem that will be discussed later is part
of a collection of problems about the symmetric-lateral triangle (see definition on page 3).
All these problems ask for a geometric locus of points of the plane that guarantee the said
triangle has certain properties.

The example of this article asks for the place of points that guarantee the area of the said
symmetric-lateral triangle has a certain value.This problem is equivalent to Steiner’s theorem
about the pedal triangle (Johnson, p.), since the pedal triangle and the symmetric-lateral
triangle are homothetic. Even there are already proofs of this theorem, we want to illustrate
how the software can be used in the conjecturing and formalization process.

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The symmetric-lateral triangle

Given a ABC triangle and a point P in the plane, we will call symmetric-lateral triangle of
P (TSL) with respect to ABC, to the triangle formed by the symmetrical P a, P b and P c
points of P with respect to the sides BC, AC and AB respectively.

Figure 1: TSL of P with respect to the ABC triangle

Lateral symmetric triangle of given area

Problem:
Given a triangle ABC, what is the locus of points P of the plane such that its symmetric-
lateral triangle with respect to ABC has a given area?.

We will show the process of solving this problem through Experimental Geometry, which
is characterized by using dynamic geometry software to perform experiments that allow to
formulate conjectures and verify them, and also experiments that allow to find theoretical
arguments to proof these conjectures.Unlike working with figures constructed with ruler and

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compass, the interaction with dynamic figures on the computer screen allows working with
geometric objects and their logical relationships.

Experimentation to formulate the conjecture

To find a points set we use a technique called ’basting’, which consists in looking approx-
imately for the position of several points of the geometrical locus until we can make a
conjecture of the nature of the locus. with the dynamic geometry software it is possible to
automate the approximation procedure so that a point leaves a trace when a condition is
fulfilled approximately 1 so that the point can be dragged across the screen and a fingerprint
appears at the positions where the condition is closely met. In our case, we define a value
for the symmetric-lateral triangle area of P and we make point P leave a trace when that
area approaches that value. As a result we obtain the image of figure 2.
Which gives us a clear enough idea to make a conjecture about the desired geometric place:
a pair of concentric circles with the of ABC circumcircle.

Figure 2: Automatic basting

However, the conjecture is not yet precisely enough: we miss find a relation between the
two circles with the reference triangle ABC, so that it can be constructed in an exact way.
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In the annexes there is a detailed description of the construction procedure of that automatic basting .

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 Thus starting from the assumption that these are two concentric circles with the circum-
circle of ABC and looking for relations between them with the triangle ABC and the point P
we find that all points of these circles have equal power with respect to the circumcircle. As
can be seen in Figure 3, if two points E and F are taken that appear to be on these circles,
their power with respect to the circumcircle is almost the same. To confirm this conjecture,
we need to build exactly that geometric place, for which we will modify the original problem
slightly to obtain the following statement.

Figure 3: Conjecture and construction

Given a triangle ABC and a point P on the plane, determine the locus of points D such
that the area of its TSL with respect to triangle ABC is equal to the area of the TSL of
point P. According to our conjecture, that set of points is formed by all points D whose
power with respect to the circumcircle of ABC is equal to the power of P with respect to
the circumcircle of ABC.

According to Zhao (2011), the power β of a point with respect to a circle of radius r is equal
to |r2 − d2 | = β where d is the distance from the point to the center of the reference circle.
In our case we have:

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 |r2 − d2 | = β
=⇒ h Definition
 of absolute valuei
 r2 − d2 if d < r;

β=
 d2 − r2 if d ≥ r.

2
 hClearing d i
=⇒
 r2 − β if d < r;

2
d =
 r2 + β if d ≥ r.

2
=⇒hSquare root d i
p
 r2 − β if d < r;

d = p
 r2 + β if d ≥ r.


So if β > r2 there is only one solution for d; that is, there is only one solution circle: the
circumference centered on the circumcenter that passes through P. But when β < r2 there
are two solutions of d; that is, two circumferences. How to build the second circumference?

In the penultimate equality one can interpret d as the leg of a right triangle or as the
hypotenuse of a right triangle respectively. Assuming that d21 is the leg of a right triangle and
r is the other leg as can be seen in figure 4, the third vertex of the triangle can be constructed
as the point of intersection of the line OP perpendicular to P and the circumcircle. In that
case, β corresponds to the PE segment.

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 Figure 4: construction

If on the contrary we consider that d represents the hypotenuse of a right triangle, then we
can draw the perpendicular to OE by E and build on it a point E0 such that P E = EE0 .
In this way, OE0 represents the second value of d, and the second circumference of the locus
can be constructed.

Figure 5: building

Making a construction like the one just mentioned and for a given triangle ABC we compare

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the area of the TSLs of two points on the pair of circumferences and through the software
we can see that they are equal as expected as can be seen in the next pair of images.

(a) Construction verification (b) Construction verification

Thus we have verified experimentally that all the points that have the same power with
respect to the circumcircle of ABC have symmetric-lateral triangles of equal area. However,
mathematical rigor requires us to make a formal proof of that conjecture. That is why we
proceed to use the GDS(geometry dy-namic softwares) to look for theoretical arguments that
serve for this demonstration.

Exploration for the conjecture proof

Now that we know how to construct the locus of points P, such that the area of its TSL with
respect to a given triangle ABC is constant, we continue with the experimentation focused
on the conjecture proof; that is to say, throw of the geometry dynamic software we want to
find relations between the geometrical place and the theory that take us to the proof of the
conjecture.

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 First let’s state important relationships between the lateral symmetric triangle and the
reference triangle ABC:

lemma 1. Given a triangle ABC, any point P and the triangle PaPbPc the TSL of P with
respect to ABC then:

]P aCP b = 2]ACB

Proof. We know that the composition of two axial symmetries of secant axes is a rotation
whose center is the intersection of the two axes and whose amplitude is twice the angle
between the two axes (Dimathéme, p 185). Since Pa and P are symmetric with respect to
BC, and Pb and P are symmetric with respect to AC, we can say that Pa is the image of
Pb by a composition of axial symmetries of axes AC and BC, and therefore Pa is rotation
of Pb around C with an angle 2]ACB.

Equally, we can say that Pb is rotation of Pc around A with an angle 2]CAB and Pc is
rotation of Pa around B with an angle 2]ABC.

Figure 6: Example Pa and Pb

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lemma 2. Given a triangle ABC and any point P, the triangle PaPbPc the TSL of P with
respect to ABC then:

P aP b = P C ∗ sin(ACB)

Proof. by lemma 1 the triangles PaPbC is an isosceles triangle thus,

P aP b
2
= P bC ∗ cos(]P aP bC)
= P bC ∗ cos(90 − ]ACB)
= P bC ∗ sin(2]ACB)
=⇒ hClearingi
P aP b = P aC ∗ sin(ACB)
=⇒ hCircumf erenceC1 i
P aP b = P C ∗ sin(ACB)

Equally, P bP c = P A ∗ sin(]BAC) Y P aP c = P B ∗ sin(]ACB).

Now, we need to find relationships between the power of a point with respect to the
circumcircle of ABC and the area of its symmetric-lateral triangle.

Given a triangle ABC and a point P on the plane, what is the relationship between the
area TSL of P with respect to ABC and its power with respect to the circumcircle of ABC?
(see Figure 6). That is, what is the relationship between the area of the triangle PaPbPc
and the product AP*PPa’=BP*PPb’=CP*PPc’ ? where the Pa’,Pb’ and Pc’ are the points
of intersection of the lines AP, BP and CP with the circumcircle respectively.

The first thing that is observed when doing this construction is that apparently ∆PaPbPc
is similar to ∆Pa’Pb’Pc’. In the following images you can see the verification of this conjec-

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 Figure 7: Theoretical exploration

ture through experimentation with the software.

(a) Similarity Verification (b) Similarity Verification

Below the proof of this conjecture.

lemma 3. Given a triangle ABC and any point P, the triangle Pa’Pb’Pc’ formed by the
points of intersection of the lines AP, BP, CP with the circumcircle respectively is similar
to the lateral symmetric triangle of P with respect to ABC.

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 Figure 8: Double axial symmetry

Proof. Since P, Pb and Pa are on a circle of center C and radius PC (since PaPbC is isosceles),
then by the central angle theorem

]P CP a
]P P bP a = 2

and by properties of axial symmetry

]P CP a
]P P bP a = 2

= ]P CB

In the same way since P, Pc and Pb are on a circumference with center A and radio PA, then

]P AP c
]P P bP c = 2

= ]P AB

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 Figure 9: P in the opposite half-plane of A

If P is on the opposite half-plane of A with respect to line BC (see figure 9), then by the
central angle theorem

]P a0 AB = ]P AB
= ]P a0 CB

So for the first two results then we have (see figure 8):

]P a0 P b0 P c0 = ]P a0 CP c0
= |]P a0 CB − ]P c0 CB|
= |]P AB − ]P CB|
= |]P P bP a − ]P P bP c|
= ]P aP bP c

in a similar way we can verify that:

]P c0 P a0 P b0 = ]P cP aP b

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y

]P b0 P c0 P a0 = ]P bP cP a

Figure 10: P in the same half plane of A

If P is in the same semiplane of A with respect to line BC (see figure 10), we have in the
last step that:
]P a0 P b0 P c0 = ]P a0 CP c0
= ]P a0 CB + ]P c0 CB
= ]P AB + ]P CB
= ]P P bP a + ]P P bP c
= ]P aP bP c

In conclusion, the triangles Pa’Pb’Pc ’and PaPbPc are similar.

When verifying experimentally we confirm that the area of ∆Pa’Pb’Pc’ it is not constant
as can be seen in the figures ”(a) Verification constant area Pa’Pb’Pc” and ”(b) Verification
constant area Pa’Pb’Pc”.

However, we can try to construct a triangle whose sides have PB and PC measurements and

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 (a) Verification constant area Pa’Pb’Pc (b) Verification constant area Pa’Pb’Pc

whose area is proportional to the PaPbPc area.

We know that the area of PaPbPc can be calculated in the following way:

1
2
∗ P bP c ∗ P bP a ∗ sin(]P aP bP c)

In addition, we know that PbPa is proportional to PC (since PaPbC is isosceles in C and

P C = CP a) and PbPc is proportional to PA as shown in lemma 2. So if we build a triangle
of sides PA and PC where the angle between these two sides is equal to the angle PaPbPc,
its area will be a multiple of the triangle PaPbPc area.
To reproduce the PaPbPc angle from the CP segment, a parallel is drawn to CPa ’by P. In
effect,

]P CP a0 = ]P c0 CP a0 = ]P c0 P b0 P a0
Pero como

∆P a0 P b0 P c0 ∼ ∆P aP bP c

entonces

]P CP a0 = ]P cP bP a

and by alternate internal angles between parallels ]QP C = ]P CP a0 .To ensure that
the other side of that angle is equal to PA, point Q is constructed as an intersection between

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 Figure 11: Double axial symmetry

the plotted parallel and the circle of center P passing through A.

So the area of the triangle PCQ is a PaPbPc’s area multiple. But the height of the tri-
angle PQC is proportional to the segment Pa’P (since they are between parallels); therefore
the PQC area is proportional to the product PQ * Pa ’. But PQ = PA (by construction),
so the PQC area is proportional to the product AP * PPa ’(which is the power of P with
respect to the circumcircle of ABC).
Therefore we can say that if P is on a circle concentric with the circumcircle of ABC so
that the power of P with respect to that circumcircle is constant then the area of PQC is
constant.But since that area is proportional to the area of PaPbPc, then we can conclude
that the area of the TSL of P with respect to ABC will also be constant.

Finally we want to determine exactly how this power can be expressed p of P with
respect to the circumcircle in terms of the TSL area of P, we only need to determine the
proportionality of the Pa’P segment with the height h of the PQC triangle and this is:

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 P C∗sin(]P aP bP c)
P a0 P = sin(]ABC)

as the reader can verify, so we have :

p = d(A, P ) ∗ d(P, P a0 )
P C∗sin(]P aP bP c)
= AP ∗ sin(]ABC)
AP ∗P C∗sin(]P aP bP c)
= sin(]ABC)
AP b∗CP a∗sin(]P aP bP c)
= sin(]ABC)
AP b∗CP a∗sin(]P aP bP c)∗sin()∗sin() 1
= sin(]ABC)
{ sin(BCA)∗sin(]CAB) }
A(T SL)
= sin(]BAC)∗sin(]ACB)∗sin(]ABC)

Finally we have demonstrated the following theorem.

Theorem 1. The locus of points P such that the area of its TSL with respect to triangle
ABC is alpha is the set of points P whose power p with respect to the circumcircle of ABC
is:
α
p = sin(]BAC)∗sin(]ACB)∗sin(]ABC)

Conclusions:

We have shown examples of an experimental geometry practice: Specifically using the

DGPad software to enunciate, verify and proof conjectures regarding the locus of points P
such that the TSL of P with respect to a triangle ABC has a constant area.

The possibility of doing both approximate and exact constructions, and verify experi-
mentally conjectures makes the DGS a powerful tool for solving geometry problems. The
software can not only be used to enunciate and verify conjectures but also to look for theoret-
ical arguments that help connecting deductively the data of the problem with the statements

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of the conjectures, that is to produce a formal proof of them.

We hope to contribute in this way to clarify the role of the DGS in a practice of solving
geometry problems; In fact, when we are working with the tools of the DGS, it is not just
interacting with drawings, but also using helpful tools such as dragging let you identify the
invariants that represent geometric objects (theoretical) and their properties, unlike when
YOU are working with paper and pencil.

Finally, Experimental geometry can then be taken as a reference in the teaching of geom-
etry, as a practice that allows students to develop visualization, conjecture and deduction,
having the advantage of producing greater conviction about the reasoning and results that
can be verified in every moment experimentally.

Bibliography

1. Zhao,Yufei.(2011). Power of a point.Trinity College, Cambridge.

2. Johnson, R. A. (1960). Advanced Euclidean Geometry. Nueva York, Estados

Unidos: Do-ver Publications, inc.

3. Nassiet, F., Porté, D., Rivoallan, L.(1995) Dimathème. Mathématiques 1ère S:

probabilités, géométrie. ISO 690 .Les Éditions Didier, Paris.

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