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5.3 SAS Triangle Congruence

Essential Question: W
 hat does the SAS Triangle Congruence Theorem tell you about
triangles?

Resource
Locker

Explore 1   Drawing Triangles Given Two Sides and an Angle

You know that when all corresponding parts of two triangles are congruent, then the triangles are congruent.
Sometimes you can determine that triangles are congruent based on less information.

For this activity, cut two thin strips of paper, one 3 in. long and the other 2.5 in. long.

3 in. 2.5 in.

A On a sheet of paper use a straightedge to draw a horizontal line. Arrange the 3 in. strip to
form a 45° angle, as shown. Next, arrange the 2.5 in. strip to complete the triangle. How
many different triangles can you form? Support your answer with a diagram.

2.5 in.
3 in.

45°

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B Now arrange the two strips of paper to form a 45° angle so that the angle is included
between the two consecutive sides, as shown. With this arrangement, can you construct
more than one triangle? Why or why not?

3 in.

45°

2.5 in.

Module 5 245 Lesson 3

 Reflect

1. Discussion  If two triangles have two pairs of congruent corresponding sides and one pair of
congruent corresponding angles, under what conditions can you conclude that the triangles must
be congruent? Explain.

Explore 2   Justifying SAS Triangle Congruence

You can explain the results of Explore 1 using transformations.

_ _
A Construct △DEF by copying ∠A, side AB​
​   ​ . Let point D correspond to point A,
, and side AC​
point E correspond to point B, and point F correspond to point C, and place point E on the
segment shown.

D A B

B The diagram illustrates one step in a sequence of rigid motions that will map △DEF onto
△ABC. Describe a complete sequence of rigid motions that will map △DEF onto △ABC.

A B
D

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E

C What can you conclude about the relationship between △ABC and △DEF? Explain your
reasoning.

Reflect

2. Is it possible to map △DEF onto △ABC using a single rigid motion? If so, describe the rigid motion.

Module 5 246 Lesson 3

 Explain 1 Deciding Whether Triangles are Congruent
Using SAS Triangle Congruence
What you explored in the previous two activities can be summarized in a theorem. You can use this theorem and the
definition of congruence in terms of rigid motions to determine whether two triangles are congruent.

SAS Triangle Congruence Theorem

If two sides and the included angle of one triangle are congruent to two sides and the
included angle of another triangle, then the triangles are congruent.

Example 1 Determine whether the triangles are congruent. Explain your reasoning.

A Look for congruent corresponding parts. 20 cm

E D
_ _ _ A
20 cm
B 45°
• Sides DE and DF do not correspond to side BC, 43°
19 cm
because they are not 15 cm long. 19 cm 15 cm
_ _
• DE corresponds to AB, because DE = AB = 20 cm. F
_ _ C
• DF corresponds to AC, because DF = AC = 19 cm.
• ∠A and ∠D are corresponding angles because they are included between pairs of
corresponding sides, but they don’t have the same measure.
The triangles are not congruent, because there is no sequence of rigid motions that maps
△ABC onto △DEF.

B J
74 in.
K
P
37°
46 in.
46 in.
37°
N M
L 74 in.

Look for congruent corresponding parts.

_
• JL corresponds to , because JL = = in.

• corresponds to MN, because = MN = 74 in.

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• corresponds to , because = = .

Two sides and the included angle of △JKL are congruent to two sides and the included angle

of .△JKL ≅ by the .

Module 5 247 Lesson 3

 Your Turn

3. Determine whether the triangles are congruent. Explain your E H

reasoning.
2.5 cm 2.5 cm

D 2.9 cm G

1.7 cm 1.7 cm

F J

Explain 2 Proving Triangles Are Congruent Using

SAS Triangle Congruence
Theorems about congruent triangles can be used to show that triangles in real-world objects are congruent.

Example 2 Write each proof.

A Write a proof to show that the two halves of a triangular window are congruent if the
vertical post is the perpendicular bisector of the base.
_ _
Given: BD is the perpendicular bisector of AC.
Prove: △BDA ≅ △BDC

A C

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D
_ _
It is given that BD is the perpendicular
_ _ bisector
_ _ of AC. By the definition of a perpendicular bisector,
AD = CD, which means _ AD _≅ CD, and BD ⟘ AC, which means ∠BDA and ∠BDC are congruent right
angles. In addition, BD ≅ BD by the reflexive property of congruence. So two sides and the included angle
of △BDA are congruent to two sides and the included angle of △BDC. The triangles are congruent by the
SAS Triangle Congruence Theorem.

_ _ _ _
Niehoff/Imagebroker/age fotostock

B Given: CD bisects AE and AE bisects CD A D

Prove: △ABC ≅ △EBD
_ _ _ _
It is given that CD bisects AE and AE bisects CD . So by the definition B
_ _
of a bisector, AB = EB and , which makes AB ≅ EB

and . ∠ABC ≅ because they are C E

. So two sides and the angle of △ABC

are congruent to two sides and the angle of △EBD. The

triangles are congruent by the .

Module 5 248 Lesson 3

 Your Turn
_ _
4. Given: AB ≅ AD and ∠1 ≅ ∠2 B
Prove: △BAC ≅ △DAC

1
A C
2

Elaborate
5. Explain why the corresponding angles must be included angles in order to use the SAS Triangle
Congruence Theorem.

6. Jeffrey draws △PQR and △TUV. He uses a translation to map point Q

P to point T and point R to point V as shown. What should be his
next step in showing the triangles are congruent? Why?
P R
T V

7. Essential Question Check-In If two triangles share a common side, what else must be true for the SAS
Triangle Congruence Theorem to apply?

Evaluate: Homework and Practice

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• Online Homework
1. Sarah performs rigid motions mapping point • Hints and Help
A to point D and point B to point E, as shown. • Extra Practice
Does she have enough information to confirm C
that the triangles are congruent? Explain your
reasoning.
A B
D E

Module 5 249 Lesson 3

Determine whether the triangles are congruent. Explain your reasoning.

2. 3. B
Q
30 mm
2 in.
A 30 mm
P R
C
2 in. D

4. E 5. A
H

30 mm 40 mm 30 mm 95° 40 mm
D F G J
52 mm

C 1.3 m B 1.3 m D

Find the value of the variable that results in congruent triangles. Explain.

6. C F 7.

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(2x + 14)° C F

30° 30°
9 in (2x) in. 9 in (x + 4) in. (4x)°
13.5 in. 12 in. 13.5 in. 12 in.

A B D E
A B D E

Module 5 250 Lesson 3

 _ _
8. ​  ≅ AE​
Given that polygon ABCDEF is a regular hexagon, prove that AC​ ​  .

B C

A D

F E

Statements Reasons

9. A product designer is designing an easel

_ with
_ extra_braces_as
shown in the diagram.
_ _ that if BD​
Prove ​  ≅ FD​
​  and CD​
​  ≅ ED​
​  ,
​  and FC​
then the braces BE​ ​  are also congruent.

D
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C E

A
©Andreyuu/iStockPhoto.com

B F

Module 5 251 Lesson 3

10. An artist is framing a large picture and wants to put metal poles across the back to
strengthen the frame as shown in the diagram. _If the
_ metal poles
_ are _both the same
​  ≅ CD​
length and they bisect each other, prove that AB​ ​  and AD​
​  ≅ CB​
​  .

A B

D C

11. The figure shows a side panel of a skateboard ramp. Kalim wants to confirm that the
right triangles in the panel are congruent.

A D
B

a. What measurements should Kalim take if he wants to confirm that the triangles
are congruent by SAS? Explain.

b. What measurements should Kalim take if he wants to confirm that the triangles

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are congruent by ASA? Explain.

Module 5 252 Lesson 3

 12. Which of the following are reasons that justify why the C F
triangles are congruent? Select all that apply.
A. SSA Triangle Congruence Theorem

B. SAS Triangle Congruence Theorem

A B D E
C. ASA Triangle Congruence Theorem

D. Converse of CPCTC

E. CPCTC

H.O.T.   Focus on Higher Order Thinking

13. Multi-Step  Refer to the following diagram to answer each question.

a. Use a triangle congruence theorem to explain why these triangles are congruent.
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b. Describe a sequence of rigid motions to map the top triangle onto the bottom
triangle to confirm that they are congruent.

Module 5 253 Lesson 3

14. Explain the Error  Mark says that the diagram confirms that a given angle and two
given side lengths determine a unique triangle even if the angle is not an included
angle. Explain Mark’s error.

J K

15. Justify Reasoning  The opposite sides of a rectangle are congruent. Can you
conclude that a diagonal of a rectangle divides the rectangle into two congruent
triangles? Justify your response.

Lesson Performance Task

The diagram of _ the Great Pyramid at_ Giza gives the approximate A
​  and slant
lengths of edge AB​ _ height AC​
​ . The slant height is the
slant height
​  
perpendicular bisector of BD​ . Find the perimeter of △ABD. edge 600 ft
Explain how you found the answer. 720 ft

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E
B

Module 5 254 Lesson 3