Right Triangle Similarity

Warm-Up

LESSON What relationships are formed when the alritude from the right angle of a triangle
Question is drawn?

Goals

Examine theorems about ________

right triangles.

Prove the
Write _________
similarity Apply right triangle
______________
pythagoreom
statements involving _________
theorems to solve
theorem using similar
right triangles. problems.
triangles.

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 Right Triangle Similarity
Warm-Up

Words to Know
Write the letter of the definition next to the matching word as you work through the lesson.
You may use the glossary to help you.

A. the side of a right triangle that is opposite the

_________ altitude right angle and is always the longest side of
the triangle

B. in a right triangle, either of the two sides

_________ geometric mean
forming the right angle

C. for two positive numbers, a and b, the positive

_________ hypotenuse
number x that satisfies a/x = x/b

D. in a polygon, a perpendicular segment from

_________ leg a vertex to the opposite side or to the line
containing the opposite side

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 Right Triangle Similarity
Warm-Up

Right Triangles
• Right triangles have one
_________ Label each side of the triangle
interior angle measuring 90°. ‘hypotenuse’ or ‘leg.’ Then draw an
altitude that is perpendicular to the
• The hypotenuse is the side opposite
hypotenuse.
the right angle.

• The legs are the sides adjacent to

the right angle. legs
________ altitude
________
• line segment
An altitude is a ______
drawn from a vertex and
perpendicular to the opposite
_______________
side.

hypotnuse
_____________

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 Right Triangle Similarity
Instruction

The Right Triangle Altitude Theorem: Dividing Triangles

Right triangle altitude theorem: If the
altitude is drawn to the hypotenuse of a
_________

right triangle, then the two triangles formed

similar to the original triangle and to
are _________

each other.
A A
To prove that the two new triangles are

similar to the original triangle, we use the

____
original
triangle similarity criteria.
B D D C

The Right Triangle Altitude Theorem: Proving Triangles Similar

Right triangle altitude theorem: If the
altitude is drawn to the hypotenuse of a right
triangle, then the two triangles formed are
similar to the original triangle and to each
other.

DAC
∆ABC ~ ∆ _______
D
ABC ~ ∆DBA
∆ _______ D
DAC ~ ∆DBA
∆ _______

B A A C

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 Right Triangle Similarity
Instruction

Geometric Mean
geometric mean of two positive
A ___________
numbers, a and b, is the positive number
a x
x that satisfies = .
x b
CD
AD _____
=
CD BD

We refer to ______ as a geometric mean

between AD and DB.

We refer to CD as a geometric mean between AD and ______.

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 Right Triangle Similarity
Instruction

The Geometric Mean (Altitude) Theorem

Geometric mean (altitude) theorem:
altitude of the
The length of the __________
hypotenuse of a right triangle is the

geometric mean between the lengths of the

hypotenuse
segments of the ____________.
segment 1 altitude
• =
altitude segment 2
For the given figure:
x h or y h
= =
h ___
x h ___
x

To demonstrate this, assign values for x and y: let x = 2 and x = 6.

2 h
=
h 6

h2 = 12

2^2
h = ____ 3

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 Right Triangle Similarity
Instruction

Applying the Geometric Mean (Altitude) Theorem

Use the geometric mean (altitude)
theorem to find the value of p.
Segment1 altitude
=
altitude Segment2

6 15
=
15 p
225
6p = _______

37.5
p = _______

The Geometric Mean (Leg) Theorem

Geometric mean (leg) theorem:
altitude of the hypotenuse of a
The _________

right triangle intersects it so that the length

of each leg is the geometric mean between
adjacent segment of
the length of its ___________
the hypotenuse and the length of the entire
hypotenuse
______________.
x+ y a x+ y b
= and =
a y b x

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 Right Triangle Similarity
Instruction

Applying the Geometric Mean (Leg) Theorem

Use the geometric mean (leg) theorem to
find the value of e.
hyp. leg
=
leg adj.seg of hyp.

EG + GD e
___
=
e GD
20 e
=
e ___
GD

80 = e2
____
80 = e

16 5 = e

_____ 5 =e
4 _____

The Pythagorean Theorem

The Pythagorean theorem: In a right triangle, the square of the length of the
hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the _____.
_____________ legs

2
c
a2 + b2 =____

2
f = a2 C
h2 + __ 2
𝑎 A e + h2 = b2
___
ℎ 𝑏
𝑒

D 𝑓 B D ℎ C

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 Right Triangle Similarity
Instruction

Finding Side Lengths in a Right Triangle

What is the value of x?
Look at ∆DEG.
2
2 2 26
10 + x = ____

100 + x2 = 676
______

x2 = 576

24
x = _____

When I take a look at this triangle on the

right, which is also a right triangle, I can use
the Pythagorean theorem with legs of 24
15 to find the missing side, EF.
and _____

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 Right Triangle Similarity
Summary

LESSON What relationships are formed when the altitude from the right angle of a triangle
Question is drawn?

Answer

Review: Key Concepts

• Right triangle altitude theorem

• If the altitude is drawn to the

hypotenuse of a right triangle,
then the two triangles formed
are going to be ________ to the
D
original triangle, as well as to D
ℎ ℎ 𝑦
each other. 𝑥

• ∆ABC ~ ∆ACD ~ ∆ ________ A 𝑏 C C 𝑎 B

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 Right Triangle Similarity
Summary

Review: Key Concepts

• Geometric mean (altitude) theorem

• The length of the altitude of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is

a ___________ mean between the lengths of the segments of
the hypotenuse.

•
x
=
h
h
___
• Geometric mean (leg) theorem
• The altitude of the _____________ of a right triangle intersects it
so that the length of each leg is the geometric mean between the
length of the adjacent segment of the hypotenuse and the entire
hypotenuse.

c ___
• =
a y
• Pythagorean theorem
• That the sum of the __________ of the lengths of the legs of a
right triangle is equal to the length of the hypotenuse, squared.
2
• a2 + b2 = ___

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 Right Triangle Similarity
Summary

Use this space to write any questions or thoughts about this lesson.

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