GRADE 7 MATHEMATICS

CONSTRUCTION OF MEDIAN OF A TRIANGLE

A median of a triangle is a line segment joining a vertex to the midpoint of the

opposite side, thus bisecting that side. Every triangle has exactly three medians, one
from each vertex, and they all intersect each other at the triangle's centroid G.

Before we learn how to construct median of a triangle, first we have to know how to
construct perpendicular bisector.

So, let us learn how to construct perpendicular bisector.

Constructing Median of a Triangle

Construct median to the side BC of the triangle ABC with AB = 6 cm, BC = 7 cm and
AC = 5 cm.

Step 1 :

Draw triangle ABC using the given measurements.

Step 2 :

Construct the perpendicular bisector of the side BC to find midpoint E of BC.

Step 3 :

Now, join the vertex A and the mid point E of BC.

Now, AE is the median to the side BC of the triangle ABC.

This construction clearly shows how to draw median of a triangle with a compass
and a ruler. The median divides the side into two equal halves.

In the above example, median AE divides the side BC in to two equal halves.

The point of intersection of the medians of a triangle is called the centroid of the
triangle and is usually denoted by G.

Let us see, how to find centroid of a triangle through the following example.

Construct the centroid of the triangle ABC whose sides are AB = 6 cm, BC = 7 cm
and A C = 5 cm.

Step 1 :

Draw triangle ABC using the given measurements.

Step 2 :

Construct the perpendicular bisectors of two sides AC and BC to find the mid points
D and E of AC and BC respectively .
Step 3 :

Draw the medians AE and BD and let them meet at G.

Now, the point G is the centroid of the given triangle ABC.