Cady Bright 

Math 3 
2.15.18 

P.O.W. 6 - On Patrol 
 
Problem Statement 
The purpose of this POW was to find a point equidistant from first two lines that intersect utilising the 
knowledge that the most direct path from a point to a line is perpendicular to the line. Once points have been 
found for the two lines, we were to find a point equidistant from three lines, and then four, and five, until a 
generalised result can be produced.  
 
Visual Representation 

 
 
Process 
I started with figuring out where the point would go for just two lines. Common geometric sense tells 
us that a line that bisects an angle is equidistant from both lines forming the angle, so anywhere along the 
blue lines on the image above (top left) would be equidistant from each line. This part of the problem was 
simple. 
With three lines, this problem became more complicated. Of course, if all the lines are parallel or all 
cross at the same point, there is no equidistant point. At first I thought that if the arrangement does not fit into 
any of these categories, the arrangement must be a triangle, and as such, will have an equidistant centre 
because you can always inscribe a circle in a triangle. Later, I remembered that two parallel lines and one 
intersecting line is also a thing, but the same angle bisector method works for this arrangement as well, as this 
figure can also always have a circle inscribed in it. I re-affirmed this method when talking to Amanda and 
Caeley. 
Expanding on the inscribed circle method, I sketched a few more diagrams and realised that so long as 
a figure can have a circle inscribed in it, of course it will be equidistant from the lines making up the figure. 
Research confirmed that any lines that form a shape where the angle bisectors intersect at one point can have 
an inscribed circle in it and thus an equidistant point. After doing more research, I found that the name for this 
property is an tangential polygon or circumscribed polygon. Examples of this include every triangle, regular 
polygons, and isosceles trapezoids, but not concave figures. 
 
Solution 
For two lines: 
Anywhere along the angle bisectors.  
 
For three lines: 
Where the angle bisectors intersect, or if there are no angles formed, then there can be no equidistant 
point.  
 
For more than three lines:  
Where the angle bisectors of shapes formed intersect. If the angle bisectors do not intersect, or if 
there are no angles formed, then there can be no equidistant point because there cannot be an inscribed circle.  
 
I know this to be complete and correct for two and three lines, and with three+ it just makes geometric sense.  
 
Evaluation 
I had to uncover a lot of geometry content I learned in grade eight to back up conclusions I thought 
was common sense to solve this POW. I found that, like in most problems where there is not a concrete 
answer, I was unsure of the completeness of my answer. Nevertheless, this POW was a little on the easy side.  
 
Self-Assessment 
I would give myself an A for this POW because aside from completing the problem, I expanded past 
the resources easily available to me (peers, textbook, etc) and spent a long time researching inscribed circles, 
different polygons, and their proofs.