Name of Student: Teacher: Anancita L.

Pollo
Year and Section: Subject: Geometry
Date: Time:

THE IDEA OF A SIMILARITY & PROPORTIONALITY AND

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN TRIANGLES

WHAT I NEED TO KNOW

The learner will be able to:

A. Express the ideas of similarity in the vocabulary of proportions,
B. Differentiate triangle similarity and triangle congruence,
C. Find the similarity ratio and scale factor of similar triangles.

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

The Idea of a Similarity and Proportion

Two geometric figures are similar if they have the same shape, but not
necessarily the same size. Another way of expressing this is to say that two figures are
similar if one of them is an exact scale model of the other.
Definition
Given two sequences a, b, c…and p, q, r… of positive numbers. If
𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
= = = ⋯,
𝑝 𝑞 𝑟

Then the sequences a, b, c… and p, q, r… are called proportional, and we write

a, b, c… ~ p, q, r, …
The symbol ~, when used between sequences, is pronounced “is proportional to.”
Theorem: Proportionality between sequences is an equivalence relation.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN TRIANGLES

Definition
Given a correspondence between two triangles. If corresponding angles are congruent,
and corresponding sides are proportional, then the correspondence is called a
similarity, and the triangles are said to be similar.

• Similarity ratio is the ratio of lengths of the corresponding sides of two

similar polygons.
• A scale factor describes how much the figure is enlarged or reduced.

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Sukgisan
The Idea of a Similarity. Proportionality
Roughly speaking, two geometric figures are similar if they have the same shape, but not
necessarily the same size. For example, any two circles are similar; any two squares are similar;
any two equilateral triangles are similar; and any two segments are similar.

Another way of expressing this is to say that two figures are similar if one of them is an exact
scale model of the other.
The marks in the figure below indicate that the two triangles ought to be similar.

B’
B
a=3 a’=6
c=2 c’=4

A b=4 C C’
A b’=8

It ought to be possible to “stretch” the first triangle, doubling its size without changing its shape,
to get the second triangle. The “stretching” scheme can be described by the correspondence
ABC A’ B’ C’.
Of course, this correspondence is not a congruence, because each side of the second triangle is
twice as long as the corresponding side of the first. Correspondences of this kind are called
similarities.
Similarities may shrink things instead of stretching them. For example, the correspondence
A’ B’ C’ ABC shrinks the second triangle onto the first.
Note that the lengths of the sides of our two triangles form two sequences of positive
numbers a, b, c and a’, b’, c’. These sequences stand in a special relation: each number in the
second sequence is exactly twice the corresponding number in the first sequence. Thus
a’=2a, b’=2b, c’=2c.
Or, putting it the other way around, we can say that each number in the first sequence is exactly
half of the corresponding number in the second:

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Sukgisan
 1 1 1
a=2 𝑎′ , b=2 𝑏 ′ , c=2 𝑐 ′ .

Thus
𝑎′ 𝑏′ 𝑐′
= =
𝑎 𝑏 𝑐

Because each of these fractions is equal to 2; and

𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
𝑎′
= 𝑏′ = 𝑐′
1
Because each of these fractions is equal to 2. Sequences which are related in this way are called
proportional.

Similarity ratio is the ratio of lengths of the corresponding sides of two similar
polygons.
A scale factor describes how much the figure is enlarged or reduced.

Definition
Given two sequences a, b, c…and p, q, r… of positive numbers. If
𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
𝑝
= 𝑞 = 𝑟 = ⋯,

Then the sequences a, b, c… and p, q, r… are called proportional, and we write

a, b, c… ~ p, q, r, …
The symbol ~, when used between sequences, is pronounced “is proportional to.”
The notation a, b, c, ~ p, q, r… is often convenient because it is easy to read off from a figure. In
the preceding figure, reading off corresponding sides in their proper order, we get a, b, c ~ a’, b’,
c’; numerically this means that 3, 4, 2 ~ 6, 8, 4. This is correct, because
3 4 2
6
=8=4

Theorem: Proportionality between sequences is an equivalence relation.

Proof. We have three things to check.

(1) (Reflexive Property) For every sequence a, b, c…,
a, b, c… ~ a, b, c,…
(2) (Symmetric Property)
If a, b, c…~ p, q, r…, then p, q, r… ~ a, b, c….,
(3) (Transitive Property)
If a, b, c…~ p, q, r…, then p, q, r… ~ x, y, z…,
Then a, b, c… ~ x, y, z,…
All three of these are easy to prove. The Reflexive Property holds because

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Sukgisan
 𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
= = = ⋯ = 1.
𝑎 𝑏 𝑐

We have already observed that the Symmetric Property holds: if

𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
= = ,
𝑝 𝑞 𝑟

then
𝑝 𝑞 𝑟
𝑎
=𝑏=𝑐

We check the Transitive Property as follows. If

𝑎 𝑏 𝑐 𝑝 𝑞 𝑟
𝑝
=𝑞=𝑟 and 𝑥
=𝑦=𝑧,

Then multiplying term by term, we get

𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
𝑥
=𝑦=𝑧,

and so, a, b, c… ~ x, y, z….

Properties of Proportion
We deal with proportionalities by the usual methods of algebra. The easiest proportionalities to
work with are those which involve only four numbers. We often refer to such a proportionality as
a proportion. Below are some examples of what you can conclude, given that a, b and p, q are
proportional. Given:
𝑎 𝑏
(1) 𝑝
=𝑞 ,

By definition of proportionality. Multiplying on both sides by pq, we obtain

(2) aq=bp.
Dividing on both sides by bq, we get
𝑎 𝑝
(3) 𝑏
=𝑞.

There is no danger of dividing by zero here, because all the numbers in a proportionality must be
positive. Next, adding one to both sides and simplifying, we get
𝑎+𝑏 𝑝+𝑞
(4) 𝑏
= 𝑞

Subtracting one from both sides of equation (3), we obtain

𝑎−𝑏 𝑝−𝑞
(5) 𝑏
= 𝑞

These are merely the most useful of the equations that can be derived from (1); there are many
others. These equations need not be memorized. If you try to learn things like this by rote, then
half the time you will misremember them when you need them. What you need to remember is
the algebraic method that we use in obtaining one equation from another.
Another Property of Proportion:
𝑎 𝑐 𝑒 𝑎+𝑐+𝑒+⋯ 𝑎
If 𝑏
=𝑑= 𝑓
= …..., then 𝑏+𝑑+𝑓+⋯
= 𝑏 = ….

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Sukgisan
 𝑎 𝑐 𝑒 𝑔 𝑎+𝑐+𝑒+𝑔 𝑎
Prove: If = = = ℎ, then =
𝑏 𝑑 𝑓 𝑏+𝑑+𝑓+ℎ 𝑏
𝑎
Let = k Then a = kb, c = kd, e = kf, g = kh
𝑏

a + c + e + g = k (b + d + f + h)
𝑎+𝑐+𝑒+𝑔
Therefore =k
𝑏+𝑑+𝑓+ℎ

Definition
If a, b, c are positive numbers, and
𝑎 𝑏
𝑏
= 𝑐
,

then b is called the geometric mean between a and c,

It is easy to calculate that b = √𝑎𝑐.

For any two positive numbers a and c, the Arithmetic Mean d = ½ (a + c)
Example:
1.) Supply the numbers which will make the statement a proportionality.
2 ? ? 2𝑥 ?
3
=6= 15
= ?
= 1.5

2.) Complete the statement.

𝑎 𝑎
If 3a = 2b, then 𝑏 = ______ and 2
= _____
𝑥 𝑦 30
3.) Given 40
= 50
= 20
. Solve for x and y

Answer Key:
2 4 10 2𝑥 1
1.) 3
=6= 15
= 3𝑥 = 1.5
𝑎 2 𝑎 𝑏
2.) = and =
𝑏 3 2 3
3.) x = 60 and y = 75

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN TRIANGGLES

We now state the definition of a similarity between two triangles. Suppose we have given a
correspondence ABC ↔ A’B’C’ between ∆𝐴𝐵𝐶 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ∆𝐴′𝐵′𝐶′. As usual, a is the length of the side
opposite A, b is the length of the side opposite B, and so on. If corresponding angles are
congruent and B
𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
= 𝑏′ = 𝑐′ ,
𝑎′ c a

A b C

Then we say that the correspondence ABC ↔ A’B’C’ is a similarity, and we write

∆ABC ~ ∆A’B’C.’ B’

a’
c’

alvpollo
A’
Sukgisan
b’ C’
 Definition
Given a correspondence between two triangles. If corresponding angles are congruent, and
corresponding sides are proportional, then the correspondence is called a similarity, and
the triangles are said to be similar.

The situation here is like that for congruence: ∆ABC ~ ∆A’B’C’ means not merely that
the triangles are similar, but also that the particular correspondence ∆ABC ↔ ∆A’B’C’ is a
similarity. Thus, given ∆ABC ~ ∆A’B’C,’ we can immediately write the proportionality
𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
= =
𝑎′ 𝑏′ 𝑐′
Without referring to a figure. If the length of the sides is not labeled, these equations take
the form
𝐵𝐶 𝐴𝐶 𝐴𝐵
𝐵′𝐶′
= 𝐴′𝐶′ = 𝐴′𝐵′.
The definition of a similarity requires two things: (1) corresponding angles must be
congruent, and (2) corresponding sides must be proportional. For triangles, it will turn out
that if one of these conditions holds, then so does the other. That is, if corresponding
angles are congruent, then corresponding sides are proportional, and conversely. These
facts are given in the AAA Similarity Theorem and the SSS Similarity Theorem, which will
be proved later in this chapter.
In requiring both (1) and (2), we were playing it safe; and this was a good plan,
because triangles are the only figures for which similarity is a simple idea. Consider, for
example, a square and a rectangle:

B C B’
C’

D’
A D A’

Under the correspondence ABCD ↔ A’B’C’D’, corresponding angles are congruent,

because all the angles are right angles. But corresponding sides are not proportional, and
surely neither of the two figures is a scale model of the other.
For other quadrilaterals, exactly the opposite trouble can come up.

Consider a square and a rhombus:

B 1 C 1
B’ C’

1 1 1 1

alvpollo A 1 D A’
Sukgisan 1 D’
 Under the correspondence ABCD ↔ A’B’C’D’, corresponding sides are proportional, but
the figures have quite different shapes.

Example:
▱ABCD ~ ▱EFGH. Find:
a.) Their scale factor.
b.) The values of x, y, and z.
c.) The perimeters of the two quadrilaterals.
d.) The ratio of the perimeters.

Similarity ratio is the ratio of lengths of the corresponding sides of two similar polygons.
A scale factor describes how much the figure is enlarged or reduced.
𝐷𝐶 20 2
Given the example above, we can easily get the similarity factor by using the ratio = = , the
𝐻𝐺 30 3
ratio should always be in lowest term.
Given that ▱ABCD ~ ▱EFGH. We enlarged ▱ABCD to get ▱EFGH. Computing for the scale factor,
𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝐻𝐺 30 3 3
the formula is: = = = meaning: the smaller triangle is enlarged times. If
𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝐷𝐶 20 2 2
the scale factor is > 1, then the figure is enlarged.
𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝐷𝐶
But, if we want to know how much ▱EFGH is reduced to get ▱ABCD, we can use =
𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝐻𝐺
20 2 2
= 30
= 3
. ▱EFGH is reduced by 3 to get ▱ABCD. If the scale factor is < 1, then the figure is reduced.

You can use this scale factor to get the corresponding sides of the enlarged triangle. To get the
3 3 30
value of z: EH = AD ∙ 2 (from small to larger figure); EH = 10 ∙ 2 = 2 = 15.
3 24
For the value of y: FG = 8∙ 2 = 2
= 12

To get the value of x: the corresponding side is EF of the larger triangle. For this, we will use the
2 2 42
scale factor of reduced figure which is 3 . So, x = 21 ∙ 3 = 3 = 14

Solution:
𝐷𝐶 20 2
a.) The similarity ratio if ▱ABCD ~ ▱EFGH = =
𝐻𝐺 30 3

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Sukgisan
 𝐻𝐺 30 3
The scale factor if ▱ABCD ~ ▱EFGH = =
𝐷𝐶 20 2
𝐷𝐶 20 2
The scale factor if ▱EFGH ~ ▱ABCD = =
𝐻𝐺 30 3
𝐷𝐶 𝐴𝐵 𝐷𝐶 𝐵𝐶 𝐷𝐶 𝐴𝐷
b.) 𝐻𝐺 = = =
𝐸𝐹 𝐻𝐺 𝐹𝐺 𝐻𝐺 𝐻𝐸
2 𝑥 2 8 2 10
= = =
3 21 3 𝑦 3 𝑍
x = 14 y = 12 Z = 15
This solution uses similarity ratio.
c.) The perimeter of ▱ABCD = 10 + 20 + 8 + 14 = 52
The perimeter of ▱EFGH = 15 + 30 + 12 + 21 = 78
52 2
d.) The ratio of the perimeters is or
78 3
If you compare the ratio of the perimeters with the scale factor of the similarity,
you discover they are the same.

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Sukgisan