Lesson 5

In the Constructions and Rigid Transformations unit, students used perpendicular bisectors to partition a region based on distances from given points. In the Coordinate Geometry unit, students proved that the medians of a triangle intersect at a single point. In that unit they also looked at a specific case of triangle altitudes coinciding, and in an optional activity, plotted the intersection of the perpendicular bisectors of a specific triangle’s sides in the coordinate plane.

In this lesson, students build on this previous work and construct the circumscribed circle of a triangle. First, students recall that points on the perpendicular bisector of a segment are equidistant from the vertices of the segment. Then, they use this property to conclude that all 3 perpendicular bisectors of the sides of a triangle intersect in a single point, the triangle’s circumcenter. They construct the circumcenter and circumscribed circle of a triangle, and conclude that this method would apply to any triangle. Finally, students investigate the locations of circumcenters in right, obtuse, and acute triangles.

One of the activities in this lesson works best when students have access to devices that can run the GeoGebra applet because students will benefit from seeing the relationship in a dynamic way.

Students make use of structure (MP7) as they use the properties of perpendicular bisectors to draw conclusions about triangle circumcenters.

Devices are required for the digital version of the activity Wandering Centers, ideally 1 for every 1-2 students.

Be prepared to display the applet in the synthesis for Wandering Centers.