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Euler Line Activity

Mr. Novak

The Euler Line of a Triangle

Leonhard Euler (pronounced “oiler”) (1701-1783) was a prolific

mathematician known for his discoveries in many branches of
mathematics such as number theory, analysis, and geometry. Have you
ever wondered what the e button on your calculator represents? This value
of e was discovered by Euler! In order to understand the concept of the
Euler Line, we will first construct three concurrency points in a triangle.

Essential Question: Where do you

think the center of a triangle is and
how do you think you find it?

Directions: Using your compass, find the centroid,

orthocenter, and circumcenter of the triangle.

Median - A median of a triangle is a line segment

drawn from a vertex to the midpoint of the
opposite side of the vertex. The medians of a
triangle are concurrent at a point. The point of
concurrency is called the centroid.
Centroid - The centroid of a triangle is the point where the three medians coincide.

Altitude - An altitude of a triangle is the

perpendicular segment from a vertex of a triangle
to the opposite side (or the line containing the
opposite side). An altitude of a triangle can be a
side or may lie outside the triangle.
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Orthocenter - An orthocenter can be defined as the point of intersection of altitudes that

are drawn perpendicular from the vertex to the opposite sides of a triangle. The
orthocenter of a triangle is that point where all the three altitudes of a triangle
intersect.

Angle Bisectors - The angle bisector of an angle of

a triangle is a straight line that divides the angle
into two congruent angles.
Circumcenter - The circumcenter of a triangle is
defined as the point where the perpendicular
bisectors of the sides of that particular triangle
intersect.

To find the median of a triangle: Using your

compass, put the pointed end on a vertex and
make the opening of the compass a little bit more
than halfway of the adjacent line. Draw one half of
your “football” and then go to the adjacent corner
and do the same thing. Where your “footballs”
overlap, draw a straight line down the center and then connect that point to the opposite
vertex and you will have your median! Do to all sides of the triangle and where the 3
lines overlap will be your Centroid.

To find the altitude of a triangle: Using your compass, put the pointed end on a vertex
and make a “smiley face” arc on the line opposite of the vertex you are on. (make sure
that your smiley face crosses the opposite line on two points, you may need to extend
your line). From here, put the pointy end of your compass on the point that crossed your
line and make a small mark below. Do this on both points where your “smiley face”
crossed the line. Where your two lower marks cross will be where you connect your line
from the vertex you originally started on. This will be your altitude. Repeat from all 3
vertices. Where your three altitudes meet will be your Orthocenter.

To find the perpendicular bisector: Using your compass, make your “footballs” on each
side of the triangle. Draw a straight line down through your footballs and through to the
opposite side (not connected to the opposite vertex). The line down the center of your
“football” will be your perpendicular bisector. Do this on all 3 sides of your triangle and
where your 3 lines meet will be your Circumcenter. From here, put the point of your
compass on your circumcenter and set the width of your compass to one point of your
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triangle. If you found the circumcenter correctly, when you draw your circle around the
triangle it should touch all 3 vertices.

1) To find the __________________, first you have to find the triangle's altitudes.
2) To find the circumcenter of a triangle, first you have to find the triangle’s
________________ ________________.
3) The medians of the triangle will help me find the ________________.

4)
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5)

To find your EULER LINE: create any

triangle and find the orthocenter,
circumcenter, and centroid. The line that
connects your three points will be your
EULER LINE.
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Euler Line on Desmos

Now that you have found a Euler line IRL, let’s try doing it using technology!

Directions: Go to Desmos.com/geometry. You will be constructing your centroid,

circumcenter, and orthocenter all on the same triangle.

1) Create any triangle that your heart desires. To do this, select the segment line
button and draw three connected segments.
2) To find your centroid, you will need to first find your midpoints. To do this, click
on “more tools” and select the midpoint option. Then simply click on each of the
sides of your triangle and your midpoint will be placed.
3) Next, click back on the segment button and connect your newly found midpoints
to the opposite vertex (use a different color than you did to make your triangle).
4) The point where the three segments coincide is your Centroid (label this).

5) Next we will be constructing the circumcenter. We already know that the

circumcenter is equidistant from the three vertices of the triangle and that it lies
on the perpendicular bisector. We have already created midpoints, so all you have
to do now is click on the more tools and select the perpendicular line button.
Once you have selected this, you will need to click on the side of the triangle that
you want your perpendicular line to protrude from and then click on the midpoint
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of that line. Do this on all three sides of your triangle (using a different color than
your centroid lines).
6) Label the point where your three perpendicular lines intersect as your
circumcenter.

7) Last, we will be creating our orthocenter. The orthocenter is the intersection of

your altitudes.To create your altitudes click on more tools and again select the
perpendicular line button. The difference here is that we want our perpendicular lines to
protrude from our vertices. To do this, first click on the line opposite of the vertex you
wish to connect it to, and then click on the vertex (make these lines a different color).
8) Label your intersection as the orthocenter.
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9) Okay this is the last step, really! Draw a line segment connecting your centroid,
circumcenter, and orthocenter. Label this as your Euler Line and you are finished!

10) Bonus step: Explain how you will know that you correctly made your Euler Line.
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Hint: Grab one vertex of your triangle and start to move it around. Does anything seem
to line up?