Geometry Problems – Part 1

Parts of a Triangle
The focus of this article is to introduce problem solving using the concepts of Parts of a
Triangle. If you have taken a geometry course in school or from somewhere else, most of these
concepts will probably be review. If you have not taken a geometry course, then pay close
attention to each of the concepts introduced. Structurally, this article is divided into two parts, a
part on Concepts and a part on Problems.

Concepts

Angle Bisectors

The angle bisector of an angle splits the angle into two equal angles, and the angle
bisector consists of all points that are equidistant from the sides of the angle. The three angle
bisectors of a triangle are concurrent at the incenter, which is the center of the incircle, which is
the circle that has the radius of inradius. The inradius is the common distance from the incenter
to the sides of a triangle. Hence, the inradius is perpendicular to the sides of a triangle.

There are a couple useful results of angle bisectors. The first is the Angle Bisector
Theorem: In the figure below, if BD is an angle bisector of angle ABC, then =

C
A D

The second important result is a formula I call the Inradius Formula:

Sr = A
Where S is the semiperimeter (the total perimeter of the triangle divided by 2), r is the inradius,
and A is the area of the triangle.

Perpendicular Bisectors

A perpendicular bisector of a line segment is the line that passes through the midpoint
of the line segment and is also perpendicular to the line segment. The circumcenter is the point
where the perpendicular bisectors of the sides of a triangle are concurrent. The circumcenter is
also the center of the circle which circumscribes the original triangle. The circumradius is
simply the radius of the circle whose center is the circumcenter. Therefore, the line segment that
connects any of the three vertices of the circumscribed triangle to the circumcenter is a
circumradius.

Medians

A median of a triangle connects the vertex of a triangle to the midpoint of the opposite
side. The point where the medians of the triangle are concurrent is the centroid. There is a very
useful result about the way the centroid divides the medians. In triangle ABC below, let

D E

A F C

Let’s call the centroid G. The important result is that = = =

Altitudes

An altitude of a triangle is the perpendicular segment that connects a vertex to the

opposite base(extended if necessary). The altitudes are concurrent at the orthocenter. The
position or location of the orthocenter is important to know. In an acute triangle, the orthocenter
is located inside the triangle, the orthocenter of a right triangle is the vertex of the right angle,
and the orthocenter of an obtuse triangle is outside the triangle.

Problems

These problems will illustrate important problem solving approaches and strategies.
Besides knowledge of parts of a triangle, several of these problems require some understanding
of other basic geometric concepts, such as right triangles, similarity, etc. I suggest that you
attempt these problems by yourself and then study the solution I provided afterwards.

1. Nondegenerate triangle ABC has integer side lengths. BD is an angle bisector, AD = 3, and
DC = 8. What is the smallest possible value of the perimeter?

Solution: The angle bisector in the problem makes us think of the angle bisector theorem
immediately: = , so = . From this, we find that 3BC = 8BA. We know that BC and BA
are integers, so we are essentially looking for the lowest common multiple of 3 and 8, which
happens to be 24. But when 3BC = 8BA = 24, we get BC = 8 and BA = 3. 8 + 3 = 11, so that
creates a degenerate triangle. The next multiple lowest common multiple of 3 and 8 is 48, so
when 3BC = 8BA = 48, BC = 16 and BA = 6. 16 + 6 > 11, so the triangle is nondegenerate. The
perimeter of triangle ABC is 6 + 11 + 16 = 33

2. Given AB = BC = 10 and AC = 12, find the circumradius.

Solution: The first thing we should is draw a nice diagram:

10 r 10
E
r r
8-r
A C
6 D 6
The r in the labeled diagram above is the circumradius, as E is the circumcenter. We know that
ED is 8 – r because BD is 8 by the Pythagorean Triple of 6, 8, and 10. Hence, since triangle AED
is right, we can use the Pythagorean Theorem to generate the following equation:
+ =
36 + 64 – 16 + =
100 = 16r
25/ 4 = r
r = 25/4

3. In triangle ABC, the median from vertex A is perpendicular to the median from vertex B. The
lengths of sides AC and BC are 6 and 7, respectively. Find the length of side AB.

Solution: The first thing we should is draw a nice diagram:

7/2

E
G
7/2

A 3 D 3 C
An important observation to make in this problem is that the point G, which is where AE and BD
intersect, is the centroid of the triangle. Hence, we know that = = . So after making this
initial observation, let’s call BG = 2x, GD = x, AG = 2y, and GE = y. Now, we can use the
Pythagorean Theorem on right triangles AGD and BGE. We get the following two equations:
+ =
+ =
Let’s add the two equations together. We get:
+ = 85/4
Before we proceed, let’s keep in mind what we want to find in this problem. The problems asks
us to find the length of side AB, which is √ . Therefore, let’s manipulate the +
= 85/4 equation to have a + value, and then we can take the square root of that
value. So, we do the following steps:
(4/5)( + = 85/4)
+ = 17
√ =√
AB = √

4. In the figure, BI bisects angle CBA, CI bisects angle ACB, and MN is parallel to BC. If AB =
12, BC = 24, and AC = 18, then find the perimeter of triangle AMN.

Solution: We are given that BI and CI are angle bisectors, and in the diagram they meet at point
I. We know that point I must be the incenter because the point where two of the angle bisectors
meet is also the point where the third angle bisector will meet. So let’s draw in the inradius from
the incenter. By Herron’s formula, the area of triangle ABC is 27√ . By the Inradius Formula,
which states that Sr = A, the inradius of triangle ABC is A/S, where A = 27√ , and S = 27, so
the inradius = √ . Now let h be the length of the altitude from point A to side BC. We know the
√
area of triangle ABC, 27√ is also equal to , which is equal to 12h. So h = . We also
know that triangles AMN and ABC are similar by AA similarity. The altitude from A to MN of
√ √
triangle AMN is √ . So if we let P be the perimeter of triangle AMN the ratio
√
we can set up is the following: = √
, which means that P = 30

Note: There is an easier way to do this problem. I used the above solution because I wanted to
show you guys an application of the parts of a triangle. See if you can find the easier solution I
am talking about!

Mini Problem Set

1. In triangle , side and the perpendicular bisector of meet in point ,
and bisects . If and , what is the area of triangle ABD? (Source:
AMC 12)

2. In triangle we have , , . Point is on the circumscribed

circle of the triangle so that bisects angle . What is the value of AD/CD? (Source:
AMC 10)

3. Triangle has . Let and be on and , respectively, such

that . Let be the intersection of segments and , and suppose
that is equilateral. What is ? (Source: AMC 10)