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Na U4m12l04
Na U4m12l04
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A Make two copies of the right triangle on a piece of paper and cut them out.
B Choose one of the triangles. Fold the paper to find the altitude to the hypotenuse.
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C Cut the second triangle along the altitude. Label the triangles as shown.
2
1
F Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for triangles 1 and 3. Does the same relationship
hold true for triangles 1 and 3?
Reflect
2. What is the relationship between triangles 2 and 3? Explain.
3. When you draw the altitude to the hypotenuse of a right triangle, what kinds of
figures are produced?
4. Suppose you draw △ABC such that _∠B is a right angle and the altitude to the
at point P. Match each triangle to a similar
hypotenuse intersects hypotenuse AC
―
geometric mean of a and b. The geometric mean of two positive numbers is the positive square root of their product.
So the geometric mean of a and b is the positive number x such that x = √ab or x 2 = ab.
A 4 and 25
Write proportion. 4 =_
_ x
x 25
Multiply both sides by the product of the denominators. 4 = 25x · _
25x · _ x
x 25
Multiply. 100x = _
_ 25x 2
x 25
Simplify. 100 = x 2
_ _
Take the square root of both sides. √ 100 = √x 2
Simplify. 10 = x
B 9 and 20
20x · _ _x
Multiply both sides by the product of the denominators. x = 20x · 20
Multiply. _ 20x 2
x =_
x 20
Simplify. = x2
_
Simplify. =x
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Reflect
5. ―
How can you show that if positive numbers a and b are such that __ax = __bx , then x = √ab ?
Your Turn
Find the geometric mean of the numbers. If necessary, give the answer in simplest radical form.
6. 6 and 24 7. 5 and 12
The altitude to the hypotenuse of a right triangle forms two triangles that are similar to each other and to
the original triangle.
That theorem leads to two additional theorems about right triangles. Both of the theorems involve geometric means.
Statements Reasons
_
1. △ABC with altitude BD 1. Given
2. △CBD ∼ △BAD 2.
Reflect
8. Discussion How can you prove the second Geometric Means Theorem?
10 2
A x
Write proportion. 2 =_
_ x
x 10
Multiply both sides by the product of the denominators. 2 = 10x · _
10x · _ x
x 10
Multiply. 20x = _
_ 10x 2
x 10
Simplify. 20 = x 2
Simplify. 2√―
5=x
B y
10 = _
_ y
Write proportion. y 12
10 =
_ _y
Multiply both sides by the product of the denominators. y 12
Multiply. _=_
y 12
Simplify. =
――― ――
Take the square root of both sides. √ = √
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Simplify. =y
Reflect
Your Turn
10. Find x.
y z
x
5 7
a B
Part 1 C
∠A ≅ ∠A by .
Part 2 A
d X c
Use the fact that corresponding sides of similar triangles are proportional a B
C
to write two proportions.
a = _.
Proportion 1: △BXC ∼ △BCA, so _
c a
b = _____.
Proportion 2: △AXC ∼ △ACB, so _
c b
Multiply both sides of Proportion1 by ac. Write the resulting equation.
Multiply both sides of Proportion12 by bc. Write the resulting equation.
Finally, use the fact that e + d = by the Segment Addition Postulate to rewrite the equation
as .
Reflect
11. Error Analysis A student used the figure in Part 2 of the example, and wrote the following
incorrect proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. Critique the student’s proof. △BXC ∼ △BCA and
△BCA ∼ △CXA, so △BXC ∼ △CXA by transitivity of similarity. Let CX = f. Since corresponding
f
sides of similar triangles are proportional, _ e = _ and f 2 = ed. Because △BXC ∼ △CXA and they
f d
are right triangles, a 2 = e2 + f 2 and b 2 = f 2 + d 2 .
= ( e + d)
2
Factor.
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_
13. △XYZ is an _isosceles right triangle and the right angle is ∠Y. Suppose the altitude to hypotenuse XZ
at point P. Describe the relationships among triangles △XYZ, △YPZ and △XPY.
intersects XZ
14. Can two different pairs of numbers have the same geometric mean? If so, give an example. If not, explain
why not.
15. Essential Question Check-In How is the altitude to the hypotenuse of a right
triangle related to the segments of the hypotenuse it creates?
Find the geometric mean x of each pair of numbers. If necessary, give the answer in
simplest radical form.
4. 5 and 20 5. 3 and 12
8. 1.5 and 84 9. 27
2 and _
_
3 40
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Find x, y, and z.
10. 25 11.
x
65 y y x z
z
30 40
y
z
9.6
x
a d
e
ec = _
13. _
ac = _
14. _ a
d
c+d _
15. _ = b
d = _
16. _ ec
b
2 2
Find the length of the altitude to the hypotenuse under the given © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
conditions.
B D
A C
23. Algebra An 8-inch-long altitude of a right triangle divides the hypotenuse into two
segments. One segment is 4 times as long as the other. What are the lengths of the
segments of the hypotenuse?
24. Error Analysis Cecile and Amelia both found a value for EF in △DEF. Both
students work are shown. Which student’s solution is correct? What mistake did the
other student make?
12
Cecile: ___
EF
EF
= ___
8
E
D F
So EF 2 = 8(4) = 32.
_ _
32 = 4√2 .
Then EF = √
1. Find the geometric mean of 1 + 50% and 1 - 50%. (Each 1 represents the fact that
at the beginning of each year, an investment is worth 100% of itself.) Round to the
nearest thousandth.
2. It is the geometric mean, not the arithmetic mean, that tells you what the interest rate
would have had to have been over an entire investment period to achieve the end
result. You can use your answer to Exercise 1 to check this claim. Find the value of a
$100 investment after it increased or decreased at the rate you found in Exercise 1 for
two years. Show your work.
3. Copy the right triangle shown here. Write the terms “Year 1 Rate”, “Year 2 Rate”, and
“Average Rate” to show geometrically how the three investment rates relate to each
other.
4. The geometric mean of n numbers is the nth root of the product of the numbers. Find
what the interest rate would have had to have been over 4 years to achieve the result
of a $100 investment that grew 20% in Year 1 and 30% in Year 2, then lost 20% in
Year 3 and 30% in Year 4. Show your work. Round your answer to the nearest tenth
of a percent.