Learning Resources

Focus C: Where are the Washrooms?

Test yourself (solutions)

First place the points on a set of coordinate axes.

1. It looks like Ð LKJ might be a right angle.  To find out, use the slope formula:

              Therefore, JK ^ LK  and D LKJ is a right triangle.

2. Since D LKJ is a right triangle, its longest side is its hypotenuse, so we have to find its midpoint:

3. Now use the distance formula to find the distances from this point, call it M, to the vertices of the triangle:

    From the above calculations, it can be seen that the distances to the three vertices are equal.

Something to think about:

Does this happen for the mid-point of the hypotenuse of all right triangles?