CONSTRUCTING

TRIANGLES
Objective: to construct different types of triangles.

Starter – work out the missing angles in the

following triangles:
C

B
 EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR
CONSTRUCTIONS
Before you begin make sure you have the following
equipment:

A ruler marked in
cm and mm A protractor

A compass A sharp pencil

CONSTRUCTING TRIANGLES

To accurately construct a triangle you need to know:

The length of two sides and the included angle (SAS)

The size of two angles and a side (ASA)

The lengths of three of the sides (SSS)

Or

A right angle, the length of the hypotenuse and the length

of one other side (RHS)
 CONSTRUCTING SAS TRIANGLES
How could we construct a triangle given the lengths of two of its
sides and the angle between them?

Side Angle Side

side

angle

side

The angle between the two sides is often called the included
angle.
 CONSTRUCTING SAS TRIANGLES
For example, construct triangle ABC with AB = 6 cm, B = 68°
and BC = 5 cm.

Step 1: Start by drawing side AB with a ruler.

Step 2: Use a protractor to mark an angle of 68° from point B.

Step 3: Use a ruler to draw a line of 5 cm from B to C.

Step 4: Join A to C using a ruler to complete the triangle.

5 cm
68°
A 6 cm B
 CONSTRUCTING ASA TRIANGLES
How could we construct a triangle given two angles and the
length of the side between them?

Angle Side Angle

angle
angle
side

The side between the two angles is often called the included
side.
 CONSTRUCTING ASA TRIANGLES
For example, construct triangle ABC with AB = 10 cm, A=
35° and B = 155°.

Step 1: Start by drawing side AB with a ruler.

Step 2: Use a protractor to mark an angle of 35° from point A.

Step 3: Use a ruler to draw a long line from A.

Step 4: Use a protractor to mark an angle of 115° from point B.

C
Step 5: Use a ruler to draw a line from B to meet the other line at point
C.

115°
35°
A 10 cm B
 CONSTRUCTING SSS TRIANGLES
How could we construct a triangle given the lengths of three
sides?

Side Side Side

side side

side
To construct this angle you will need to use a compass.
 CONSTRUCTING SSS TRIANGLES
For example, construct triangle ABC with AB = 4cm, BC = 3cm
and AC = 5cm.

Step 1: Start by drawing side AB with a ruler.

Step 2: Open a pair of compasses to a length of 5cm.

Step 3: Put the compass needle at point A and draw an arc above line AB.

Step 4: Next, open the compasses out to a length of 3cm.

Step 5: Put the compass needle at point B and draw an

arc crossing over the other one. This is point C.
C
Step 6: Draw lines AC and BC to complete the triangle.

5 cm
3 cm

A 4 cm B