88 MATHEMATICS

Chapter 6
The Triangle and
its Properties

6.1 I NTRODUCTION
A triangle, you have seen, is a simple closed curve made of three line
segments. It has three vertices, three sides and three angles.
Here is ∆ABC (Fig 6.1). It has
Sides: AB , BC , CA
Angles: ∠BAC, ∠ABC, ∠BCA
Fig 6.1
Vertices: A, B, C
The side opposite to the vertex A is BC. Can you name the angle opposite to the side AB?
You know how to classify triangles based on the (i) sides (ii) angles.
(i) Based on Sides: Scalene, Isosceles and Equilateral triangles.
(ii) Based on Angles: Acute-angled, Obtuse-angled and Right-angled triangles.
Make paper-cut models of the above triangular shapes. Compare your models with
those of your friends and discuss about them.

TRY THESE
1. Write the six elements (i.e., the 3 sides and the 3 angles) of ∆ABC.
2. Write the:
(i) Side opposite to the vertex Q of ∆PQR
(ii) Angle opposite to the side LM of ∆LMN
(iii) Vertex opposite to the side RT of ∆RST
3. Look at Fig 6.2 and classify each of the triangles according to its
(a) Sides
(b) Angles

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P
L

cm
8cm
7cm

10
Q M N
6cm R 7cm
(ii) (iii)

Fig 6.2

Now, let us try to explore something more about triangles.

6.2 MEDIANS OF A TRIANGLE

Given a line segment, you know how to find its perpendicular bisector by paper folding.
Cut out a triangle ABC from a piece of paper (Fig 6.3). Consider any one of its sides, say,
BC . By paper-folding, locate the perpendicular bisector of BC . The folded crease meets
BC at D, its mid-point. Join AD .
A A

B C B C
D D
Fig 6.3
The line segment AD, joining the mid-point of BC to its opposite vertex A is called a
median of the triangle.
Consider the sides AB and CA and find two more medians of the triangle.
A median connects a vertex of a triangle to the mid-point of the opposite side.

THINK , DISCUSS AND WRITE

1. How many medians can a triangle have?
2. Does a median lie wholly in the interior of the triangle? (If you think that this is not
true, draw a figure to show such a case).

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6.3 ALTITUDES OF A TRIANGLE A

Make a triangular shaped cardboard ABC. Place it

upright on a table. How ‘tall’ is the triangle? The height
is the distance from vertex A (in the Fig 6.4) to the B C

base BC .
From A to BC , you can think of many line Fig 6.4
segments (see the next Fig 6.5). Which among them
will represent its height? A
The height is given by the line segment that starts from A,
comes straight down to BC , and is perpendicular to BC .
This line segment AL is an altitude of the triangle. B L C
An altitude has one end point at a vertex of the triangle Fig 6.5
and the other on the line containing the opposite side. Through
each vertex, an altitude can be drawn.
THINK, DISCUSS AND WRITE
1. How many altitudes can a triangle have?
2. Draw rough sketches of altitudes from A to BC for the following triangles (Fig 6.6):
A
A A

B C B C B C
Acute-angled Right-angled Obtuse-angled
(i) (ii) (iii)
Fig 6.6
3. Will an altitude always lie in the interior of a triangle? If you think that this need not be
true, draw a rough sketch to show such a case.
4. Can you think of a triangle in which two altitudes of the triangle are two of its sides?
5. Can the altitude and median be same for a triangle?
(Hint: For Q.No. 4 and 5, investigate by drawing the altitudes for every type of triangle).
D O THIS
Take several cut-outs of
(i) an equilateral triangle (ii) an isosceles triangle and
(iii) a scalene triangle.
Find their altitudes and medians. Do you find anything special about them? Discuss it
with your friends.

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E XERCISE 6.1
1. In ∆ PQR, D is the mid-point of QR .
P
PM is _________________.
PD is _________________.
Is QM = MR?
Q R
2. Draw rough sketches for the following: M D
(a) In ∆ABC, BE is a median.
(b) In ∆PQR, PQ and PR are altitudes of the triangle.
(c) In ∆XYZ, YL is an altitude in the exterior of the triangle.
3. Verify by drawing a diagram if the median and altitude of an isosceles triangle can be
same.

6.4 E XTERIOR ANGLE OF A TRIANGLE AND ITS PROPERTY

DO THIS
1. Draw a triangle ABC and produce one of its sides,
say BC as shown in Fig 6.7. Observe the angle ACD
formed at the point C. This angle lies in the exterior
of ∆ABC. We call it an exterior angle of the ∆ABC
formed at vertex C.
Clearly ∠BCA is an adjacent angle to ∠ACD. The Fig 6.7
remaining two angles of the triangle namely ∠A and
∠B are called the two interior opposite angles or the two remote interior angles
of ∠ACD. Now cut out (or make trace copies of) ∠A and ∠B and place them
adjacent to each other as shown in Fig 6.8.
Do these two pieces together entirely cover ∠ACD?
Can you say that
m ∠ACD = m ∠A + m ∠B?
2. As done earlier, draw a triangle ABC and form an
exterior angle ACD. Now take a protractor and
measure ∠ACD, ∠A and ∠B.
Find the sum ∠A + ∠B and compare it with the
measure of ∠ACD. Do you observe that ∠ACD is
equal (or nearly equal, if there is an error in
measurement) to ∠A + ∠B? Fig 6.8

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You may repeat the two activities as mentioned by drawing some more triangles along
with their exterior angles. Every time, you will find that the exterior angle of a triangle is
equal to the sum of its two interior opposite angles.
A logical step-by-step argument can further confirm this fact.
An exterior angle of a triangle is equal to the sum of its interior opposite
angles.
Given: Consider ∆ABC.
∠ACD is an exterior angle.
To Show: m∠ACD = m∠A + m∠B
Through C draw CE , parallel to BA .
Fig 6.9
Justification
Steps Reasons

(a) ∠1 = ∠x BA || CE and AC is a transversal.

Therefore, alternate angles should be equal.
(b) ∠2 = ∠y BA || CE and BD is a transversal.
Therefore, corresponding angles should be equal.
(c) ∠1 + ∠2 = ∠x + ∠y
(d) Now, ∠x + ∠y = m ∠ACD From Fig 6.9
Hence, ∠1 + ∠2 = ∠ACD
The above relation between an exterior angle and its two interior opposite angles is
referred to as the Exterior Angle Property of a triangle.

THINK, DISCUSS AND WRITE

1. Exterior angles can be formed for a triangle in many ways. Three of them are shown
here (Fig 6.10)

Fig 6.10
There are three more ways of getting exterior angles. Try to produce those rough
sketches.
2. Are the exterior angles formed at each vertex of a triangle equal?
3. What can you say about the sum of an exterior angle of a triangle and its adjacent
interior angle?

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E XAMPLE 1 Find angle x in Fig 6.11.

S OLUTION Sum of interior opposite angles = Exterior angle
or 50° + x = 110°
or x = 60° Fig 6.11

THINK , DISCUSS AND WRITE

1. What can you say about each of the interior opposite angles, when the exterior angle is
(i) a right angle? (ii) an obtuse angle? (iii) an acute angle?
2. Can the exterior angle of a triangle be a straight angle?

TRY THESE
1. An exterior angle of a triangle is of measure 70º and one of its interior opposite
angles is of measure 25º. Find the measure of the other interior opposite
angle.
2. The two interior opposite angles of an exterior angle of a triangle are 60º and
80º. Find the measure of the exterior angle.
3. Is something wrong in this diagram (Fig 6.12)? Comment. Fig 6.12

EXERCISE 6.2
1. Find the value of the unknown exterior angle x in the following diagrams:

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2. Find the value of the unknown interior angle x in the following figures:

6.5 ANGLE SUM PROPER TY OF A TRIANGLE

There is a remarkable property connecting the three angles of a triangle. You are going to
see this through the following four activities.
1. Draw a triangle. Cut on the three angles. Rearrange them as shown in Fig 6.13 (i), (ii).
The three angles now constitute one angle. This angle is a straight angle and so has
measure 180°.

(i)
(ii) Fig 6.13

Thus, the sum of the measures of the three angles of a triangle is 180°.
2. The same fact you can observe in a different way also. Take three copies of any
triangle, say ∆ABC (Fig 6.14).

Fig 6.14

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Arrange them as in Fig 6.15.

What do you observe about ∠1 + ∠2 + ∠3?
(Do you also see the ‘exterior angle
property’?)
Fig 6.15
3. Take a piece of paper and cut out a triangle, say, ∆ABC (Fig 6.16).
Make the altitude AM by folding ∆ABC such that it passes through A.
Fold now the three corners such that all the three vertices A, B and C touch at M.
A A

A C
B B C
M M
(i) (ii) (iii)
Fig 6.16
You find that all the three angles form together a straight angle. This again shows that
the sum of the measures of the three angles of a triangle is 180°.
4. Draw any three triangles, say ∆ABC, ∆PQR and ∆XYZ in your notebook.
Use your protractor and measure each of the angles of these triangles.
Tabulate your results
Name of ∆ Measures of Angles Sum of the Measures
of the three Angles
∆ABC m∠A = m∠B = m∠C = m∠A + m∠B + m∠C =
∆PQR m∠P = m∠Q = m∠R = m∠P + m∠Q + m∠R =
∆XYZ m∠X = m∠Y = m∠Z = m∠X + m∠Y + m∠Z =
Allowing marginal errors in measurement, you will find that the last column always
gives 180° (or nearly 180°).
When perfect precision is possible, this will also show that the sum of the measures of
the three angles of a triangle is 180°.
You are now ready to give a formal justification of your assertion through logical
argument.
Statement The total measure of
the three angles of a
triangle is 180°.
To justify this let us use the exterior
angle property of a triangle.
Fig 6.17

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Given ∠1, ∠2, ∠3 are angles of ∆ABC (Fig 6.17).

∠4 is the exterior angle when BC is extended to D.
Justification ∠1 + ∠2 = ∠4 (by exterior angle property)
∠1 + ∠2 + ∠3 = ∠4 + ∠3 (adding ∠3 to both the sides)
But ∠4 and ∠3 form a linear pair so it is 180°. Therefore, ∠1 + ∠2 + ∠3 = 180°.
Let us see how we can use this property in a number of ways.

EXAMPLE 2 In the given figure (Fig 6.18) find m∠P. P

SOLUTION By angle sum property of a triangle,

m∠P + 47° + 52° = 180°
Q 47° 52° R
Therefore m∠P = 180° – 47° – 52°
= 180° – 99° = 81° Fig 6.18

EXERCISE 6.3
1. Find the value of the unknown x in the following diagrams:

2. Find the values of the unknowns x and y in the following diagrams:

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TRY THESE
1. Two angles of a triangle are 30º and 80º. Find the third angle.
2. One of the angles of a triangle is 80º and the other two angles are equal. Find the
measure of each of the equal angles.
3. The three angles of a triangle are in the ratio 1:2:1. Find all the angles of the triangle.
Classify the triangle in two different ways.

THINK, DISCUSS AND WRITE

1. Can you have a triangle with two right angles?
2. Can you have a triangle with two obtuse angles?
3. Can you have a triangle with two acute angles?
4. Can you have a triangle with all the three angles greater than 60º?
5. Can you have a triangle with all the three angles equal to 60º?
6. Can you have a triangle with all the three angles less than 60º?

6.6 TWO SPECIAL TRIANGLES : EQUILATERAL AND ISOSCELES

A triangle in which all the three sides are of equal lengths is called an equilateral
triangle.
Take two copies of an equilateral triangle ABC (Fig 6.19). Keep one of them fixed.
Place the second triangle on it. It fits exactly into the first. Turn it round in any way and still
they fit with one another exactly. Are you able to see that
when the three sides of a triangle have equal lengths then A
the three angles are also of the same size?
We conclude that in an equilateral triangle:
(i) all sides have same length.
(ii) each angle has measure 60°. B C
(i) (ii)
Fig 6.19

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A triangle in which two sides are of equal lengths is called an isosceles triangle.

Fig 6.20
From a piece of paper cut out an isosceles triangle XYZ, with XY=XZ (Fig 6.20).
Fold it such that Z lies on Y. The line XM through X is now the axis of symmetry (which
you will read in Chapter 14). You find that ∠Y and ∠Z fit on each other exactly. XY and
XZ are called equal sides; YZ is called the base; ∠Y and ∠Z are called base angles and
these are also equal.
Thus, in an isosceles triangle:
(i) two sides have same length.
(ii) base angles opposite to the equal sides are equal.

TRY THESE
1. Find angle x in each figure:

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2. Find angles x and y in each figure.

6.7 SUM OF THE LENGTHS OF TWO SIDES OF A TRIANGLE

1. Mark three non-collinear spots A, B and C in your playground. Using lime powder
mark the paths AB, BC and AC.
Ask your friend to start from A and reach C, walking along one or more
of these paths. She can, for example, walk first along AB and then
along BC to reach C; or she can walk straight along AC . She will
naturally prefer the direct path AC. If she takes the other path ( AB and
Fig 6.21
then BC ), she will have to walk more. In other words,
AB + BC > AC (i)
Similarly, if one were to start from B and go to A, he or she will not take the route
BC and CA but will prefer BA This is because
BC + CA > AB (ii)
By a similar argument, you find that
CA + AB > BC (iii)
These observations suggest that the sum of the lengths of any two sides of a
triangle is greater than the third side.
2. Collect fifteen small sticks (or strips) of different lengths, say, 6 cm, 7 cm, 8 cm,
9 cm, ..., 20 cm.
Take any three of these sticks and try to form a triangle. Repeat this by choosing
different combinations of three sticks.
Suppose you first choose two sticks of length 6 cm and 12 cm. Your third stick has to
be of length more than 12 – 6 = 6 cm and less than 12 + 6 = 18 cm. Try this and find
out why it is so.
To form a triangle you will need any three sticks such that the sum of the lengths of
any two of them will always be greater than the length of the third stick.
This also suggests that the sum of the lengths of any two sides of a triangle is greater
than the third side.

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3. Draw any three triangles, say ∆ABC, ∆PQR and ∆XYZ in your notebook
(Fig 6.22).
A R

B C P Q
(i) (ii) (iii)
Fig 6.22

Use your ruler to find the lengths of their sides and then tabulate your results as follows:

Name of ∆ Lengths of Sides Is this True?

∆ ABC AB ___ AB – BC < CA (Yes/No)
___ + ___ > ___
BC ___ BC – CA < AB (Yes/No)
___ + ___ > ___
CA ___ CA – AB < BC (Yes/No)
___ + ___ > ___

∆ PQR PQ ___ PQ – QR < RP (Yes/No)

___ + ___ > ___
QR ___ QR – RP < PQ (Yes/No)
___ + ___ > ___
RP ___ RP – PQ < QR (Yes/No)
___ + ___ > ___

∆ XYZ XY ___ XY – YZ < ZX (Yes/No)

___ + ___ > ___
YZ ___ YZ – ZX < XY (Yes/No)
___ + ___ > ___
ZX ___ ZX – XY < YZ (Yes/No)
___ + ___ > ___

This also strengthens our earlier guess. Therefore, we conclude that sum of the lengths
of any two sides of a triangle is greater than the length of the third side.
We also find that the difference between the length of any two sides of a triangle is
smaller than the length of the third side.

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E XAMPLE 3 Is there a triangle whose sides have lengths 10.2 cm, 5.8 cm and 4.5 cm?
S OLUTION Suppose such a triangle is possible. Then the sum of the lengths of any two
sides would be greater than the length of the third side. Let us check this.
Is 4.5 + 5.8 >10.2? Yes
Is 5.8 + 10.2 > 4.5? Yes
Is 10.2 + 4.5 > 5.8? Yes
Therefore, the triangle is possible.

EXAMPLE 4 The lengths of two sides of a triangle are 6 cm and 8 cm. Between which
two numbers can length of the third side fall?

S OLUTION We know that the sum of two sides of a triangle is always greater than
the third.
Therefore, third side has to be less than the sum of the two sides. The third side is thus,
less than 8 + 6 = 14 cm.
The side cannot be less than the difference of the two sides. Thus, the third side has to
be more than 8 – 6 = 2 cm.
The length of the third side could be any length greater than 2 and less than 14 cm.

E XERCISE 6.4
1. Is it possible to have a triangle with the following sides?
(i) 2 cm, 3 cm, 5 cm (ii) 3 cm, 6 cm, 7 cm
(iii) 6 cm, 3 cm, 2 cm R
2. Take any point O in the interior of a triangle PQR. Is
(i) OP + OQ > PQ? O
P Q
(ii) OQ + OR > QR? A
(iii) OR + OP > RP?
3. AM is a median of a triangle ABC.
Is AB + BC + CA > 2 AM? B C
M
(Consider the sides of triangles
∆ABM and ∆AMC.)
4. ABCD is a quadrilateral.
Is AB + BC + CD + DA > AC + BD?
5. ABCD is quadrilateral. Is
AB + BC + CD + DA < 2 (AC + BD)?

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6. The lengths of two sides of a triangle are 12 cm and 15 cm. Between what two
measures should the length of the third side fall?

THINK, DISCUSS AND WRITE

1. Is the sum of any two angles of a triangle always greater than the third angle?

6.8 RIGHT- ANGLED TRIANGLES AND PYTHAGORAS PROPERTY

Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher of sixth century
B.C. is said to have found a very important and useful
property of right-angled triangles given in this section.
The property is, hence, named after him. In fact, this
property was known to people of many other
countries too. The Indian mathematician Baudhayan
has also given an equivalent form of this property.
We now try to explain the Pythagoras property. Fig 6.23
In a right-angled triangle, the sides have some
special names. The side opposite to the right angle
is called the hypotenuse; the other two sides are
known as the legs of the right-angled triangle.
In ∆ABC (Fig 6.23), the right-angle is at B. So,
AC is the hypotenuse. AB and BC are the legs of
∆ABC.
Make eight identical copies of right angled
triangle of any size you prefer. For example, you
make a right-angled triangle whose hypotenuse is a
units long and the legs are of lengths b units and
c units (Fig 6.24). Fig 6.24
Draw two identical squares on a sheet with sides
of lengths b + c.
You are to place four triangles in one square and the remaining four triangles in the
other square, as shown in the following diagram (Fig 6.25).

Square A Fig 6.25 Square B

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The squares are identical; the eight triangles inserted are also identical.
Hence the uncovered area of square A = Uncovered area of square B.
i.e., Area of inner square of square A = The total area of two uncovered squares in square B.
a2 = b2 + c2
This is Pythagoras property. It may be stated as follows:

In a right-angled triangle,
the square on the hypotenuse = sum of the squares on the legs.

Pythagoras property is a very useful tool in mathematics. It is formally proved as a

theorem in later classes. You should be clear about its meaning.
It says that for any right-angled triangle, the area of the square on the hypotenuse is
equal to the sum of the areas of the squares on the legs.
Draw a right triangle, preferably on
a square sheet, construct squares on
its sides, compute the area of these
squares and verify the theorem
practically (Fig 6.26).
If you have a right-angled triangle,
the Pythagoras property holds. If the
Pythagoras property holds for some
triangle, will the triangle be right-
angled? (Such problems are known as
converse problems). We will try to
answer this. Now, we will show that,
if there is a triangle such that sum of
the squares on two of its sides is equal
to the square of the third side, it must Fig 6.26
be a right-angled triangle.

D O THIS
1. Have cut-outs of squares with sides 4 cm,
5 cm, 6 cm long. Arrange to get a triangular
shape by placing the corners of the squares
suitably as shown in the figure (Fig 6.27). 62
Trace out the triangle formed. Measure each 52 5 6
angle of the triangle. You find that there is no
right angle at all. 4
42
In fact, in this case each angle will be acute! Note
that 42 + 52 ≠ 62, 52 + 62 ≠ 42 and 62 + 42 ≠ 52. Fig 6.27

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2. Repeat the above activity with squares whose sides have lengths 4 cm, 5 cm and
7 cm. You get an obtuse-angled triangle! Note that
42 + 52 ≠ 72 etc.
This shows that Pythagoras property holds if and only if the triangle is right-angled.
Hence we get this fact:

If the Pythagoras property holds, the triangle must be right-angled.

E XAMPLE 5 Determine whether the triangle whose lengths of sides are 3 cm, 4 cm,
5 cm is a right-angled triangle.

S OLUTION 32 = 3 × 3 = 9; 42 = 4 × 4 = 16; 52 = 5 × 5 = 25
We find 32 + 42 = 52.
Therefore, the triangle is right-angled.
Note: In any right-angled triangle, the hypotenuse happens to be the longest side. In this
example, the side with length 5 cm is the hypotenuse.

EXAMPLE 6 ∆ ABC is right-angled at C. If

AC = 5 cm and BC = 12 cm find
the length of AB.

S OLUTION A rough figure will help us (Fig 6.28).

By Pythagoras property, Fig 6.28

AB2 = AC2 + BC2

= 52 + 122 = 25 + 144 = 169 = 132
or AB2 = 132. So, AB = 13
or the length of AB is 13 cm.
Note: To identify perfect squares, you may use prime factorisation technique.

TRY THESE
Find the unknown length x in the following figures (Fig 6.29):

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24 37 37
12
7
x x
(iv) (v)
Fig 6.29

E XERCISE 6.5

1. PQR is a triangle, right-angled at P. If PQ = 10 cm

and PR = 24 cm, find QR.
2. ABC is a triangle, right-angled at C. If AB = 25
cm and AC = 7 cm, find BC.
3. A 15 m long ladder reached a window 12 m high
from the ground on placing it against a wall at a
distance a. Find the distance of the foot of the
ladder from the wall.
4. Which of the following can be the sides of a right
triangle?
(i) 2.5 cm,6.5 cm, 6 cm.
(ii) 2 cm, 2 cm, 5 cm.
(iii) 1.5 cm, 2cm, 2.5 cm.
In the case of right-angled triangles, identify the
right angles.
5. A tree is broken at a height of 5 m from the ground
and its top touches the ground at a distance of
12 m from the base of the tree. Find the original
height of the tree.
6. Angles Q and R of a ∆PQR are 25º and 65º. P
Write which of the following is true:
(i) PQ2 + QR2 = RP2
(ii) PQ2 + RP2 = QR2 25° 65°
Q R
(iii) RP2 + QR2 = PQ2
7. Find the perimeter of the rectangle whose length is 40 cm and a diagonal is 41 cm.
8. The diagonals of a rhombus measure 16 cm and 30 cm. Find its perimeter.

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THINK, DISCUSS AND WRITE

1. Which is the longest side in the triangle PQR, right-angled at P?
2. Which is the longest side in the triangle ABC, right-angled at B?
3. Which is the longest side of a right triangle?
4. ‘The diagonal of a rectangle produce by itself the same area as produced by its
length and breadth’– This is Baudhayan Theorem. Compare it with the Pythagoras
property.

D O THIS
Enrichment activity
There are many proofs for Pythagoras theorem, using ‘dissection’ and ‘rearrangement’
procedure. Try to collect a few of them and draw charts explaining them.

WHAT HAVE WE DISCUSSED?

1. The six elements of a triangle are its three angles and the three sides.
2. The line segment joining a vertex of a triangle to the mid point of its opposite side is
called a median of the triangle. A triangle has 3 medians.
3. The perpendicular line segment from a vertex of a triangle to its opposite side is
called an altitude of the triangle. A triangle has 3 altitudes.
4. An exterior angle of a triangle is formed, when a side of a triangle is produced. At
each vertex, you have two ways of forming an exterior angle.
5. A property of exterior angles:
The measure of any exterior angle of a triangle is equal to the sum of the measures of
its interior opposite angles.
6. The angle sum property of a triangle:
The total measure of the three angles of a triangle is 180°.
7. A triangle is said to be equilateral, if each one of its sides has the same length.
In an equilateral triangle, each angle has measure 60°.
8. A triangle is said to be isosceles, if atleast any two of its sides are of same length.
The non-equal side of an isosceles triangle is called its base; the base angles of an
isosceles triangle have equal measure.
9. Property of the lengths of sides of a triangle:
The sum of the lengths of any two sides of a triangle is greater than the length of the
third side.
The difference between the lengths of any two sides is smaller than the length of the
third side.

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This property is useful to know if it is possible to draw a triangle when the lengths of
the three sides are known.
10. In a right angled triangle, the side opposite to the right angle is called the hypotenuse
and the other two sides are called its legs.
11. Pythagoras property:
In a right-angled triangle,
the square on the hypotenuse = the sum of the squares on its legs.
If a triangle is not right-angled, this property does not hold good. This property is
useful to decide whether a given triangle is right-angled or not.

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