Compass and

“Straight Edge”
Compass/Straight Edge
Constructions with
some proofs.
 Constructions
To Construct the Perpendicular Bisector of a line.

1. Place compass at A, set over halfway and

draw 2 arcs.
2. Place compass at B, with same distance set
and draw 2 arcs to intersect first two.

3. Draw the perpendicular bisector through the

points of intersection.

A B

Perpendicular
 Constructions
To Construct the Angle Bisector of a given angle.

1. Place compass at A, and draw an arc

crossing AB and AC.
2. Place compass at intersections and (with the
same distance set) draw 2 arcs that intersect. B

A C
3. Draw the angle bisector from A through the
point of intersection.
Angle
 Constructions
To Construct an Equilateral Triangle.

1. Draw base line AB of any length.

2. Place compass at A, set to distance AB and draw arc.
3. Place compass at B, with same distance set, draw an arc to intersect first one.
4. Join intersection point to A and B to form an equilateral triangle.

Eq Tri

A B
 To Show that triangle ABC is Equilateral
C

Can you explain

from the previous
construction why O O
A B
triangle ABC is
equilateral? AB = BC = AC
all radii of the
same circle
 Constructions
To Construct a Regular Hexagon.
1. Draw a circle of any radius.
2. With compass fixed at 1 radius place anywhere on the circumference and mark
off 6 arcs.
3. Join intersections of arcs together to form a regular hexagon.

Can you explain why

a regular hexagon
is formed?

What about now?

Each side is the base of

an equilateral triangle of
Reg Hex length equal to the
radius of the circle.
 Constructions
To Construct an angle of 60o.

1. Draw base line AB of any length.

2. Place compass at A, set to distance AB and draw arc.
3. Place compass at B, with same distance set and draw an arc to intersect first one.
4. Draw straight line from A through point of intersection. Angle BAC = 60o.
C

60 deg

A B
 Constructions
To Construct an angle of 30o.

1. Draw base line AB of any length.

2. Construct an angle of 60o at A.
3. Bisect angle BAC.
4. Angle BAD = 30o
C
30 deg
D

A B
 Constructions
To draw a perpendicular to a given point on a line.
1. Place compass at P and with distance PA set, draw arc at C.
2. With compass at A and distance set greater than AP, draw arc above line AB.
3. Repeat with compass at C and same distance set.
4. Draw line through intersection of arcs to P. This line is perpendicular to P.

A B
P C

Perp Point
 Constructions
To Construct an angle of 45o at any point P on a straight line.

1. Draw base line AB of any length.

2. Mark a point P anywhere on AB.
3. Construct the perpendicular to P.
4. Bisect angle BPD. E
5. Angle BPE = 45o. D

A B
P C

45 deg
 Constructions
To Construct the Circumscribed Circle of a given triangle.
The perpendicular bisectors of the sides of a triangle are co-incident at the
circumcentre. B

Circumscribed
Bisect any two sides of the triangle to find the circumcentre (In this case AB and
BC). Place compass at circumcentre and draw circumcircle through each vertex.
 Constructions
To Construct the Inscribed Circle for any given triangle.
The angle bisectors of a triangle are co-incident at the Incentre.
B

A Inscribed
Find the incentre by taking the angle bisector of any two angles. (CAB and
BCA in this case). Place compass at incentre and draw circle inside triangle.
 Constructions

To Construct a line through a given point P, parallel to a given line.

1. Mark off any 2 points on line AB.

2. With centre P and radius CD draw an arc adjacent to P.
3. With centre D and radius PC draw an arc to intersect the first one.
4. The line through P and the point of intersection is parallel to AB.

A B
C D

Parallel
 Constructions
To construct the perpendicular to a given line from a given point, not on the line.

1. With centre P, draw an arc of a circle that intersects AB at 2 points.

2. With centre C and compass set over ½ distance CD draw arc below AB.
3. With centre D and same distance set, draw an arc to intersect the previous one.
4. The line through P and the intersecting arcs is perpendicular to AB.

A B
D C
 Constructions
To divide a straight line into any number of parts. (Example is into 5 parts)

1. Draw line AC at any angle to AB.

2. Use compass to mark off 5 equal line segments of any length along AC.
3. Join point of intersection on last arc to point B.
4. Draw other lines from points of intersection on AC parallel to CB to meet AB.
5. AB is now divided into 5 equal parts.
C

Division

A B
 To Prove that CD bisects AB at M.

M
A B

D
Proof 1 Bisect
Line
Arcs lay on the circumference of circles of equal radii.
AC = AD = BC = BD (radii of the same circle).
Triangles ACD and BCD are congruent with CD common to both (SSS).
So Angle ACD = BCD.
Triangles CAM and CBM are congruent (SAS). Therefore AM = BM. QED
 To Prove that AG is the Angle Bisector of CAB

D G
F

A E B

Proof 2 Angle
Bisect
AD = AE (radii of the same circle).
DG = EG (radii of the same circle).
Triangle ADG is congruent to AEG (AG common to both) SSS.
So angle EAG = DAG.
Therefore AG is the angle bisector of CAB. QED
 Constructions
To prove that DEP is perpendicular to AB at P.
1. AP = PC by construction. 2. AE = CE equal radii.
3. Triangles AEP and CEP are congruent (SSS) with EP common to both.
4. So angle APE = angle CPE = 90o (Angles on a line sum to 180o)
therefore line DEP is perpendicular to AB at P. QED.
D

A B
P C
Proof 3 Perp
Point
 Compass and
ruler/protractor
Compass/Protractor/Ruler
constructions of
triangles.
 Constructions
To Construct a triangle, given 3 sides.
Example 1: To construct a triangle of sides 8 cm, 7cm and 6 cm.
1. Draw line 8cm long and use as base of triangle.
2. Set compass to 7 cm, place at A and draw an arc.
3. Set compass to 6 cm, place at B and draw an arc to intersect the first one.
4. Draw straight lines from A and B to point of intersection.

Tri 3 sides
7 cm 6 cm

A B
8 cm
 Constructions
To Construct a triangle, given 3 sides.
Example 2: To construct a triangle of sides 7 cm, 9 cm and 4 cm.
1. Using the longest side as the base, draw a straight line 9 cm long.
2. Set compass to 7 cm, place at A and draw an arc.
3. Set compass to 4 cm, place at B and draw an arc to intersect the first one.
4. Draw straight lines from A and B to point of intersection.

7 cm 4 cm

A B
9 cm
 Constructions
To Construct a triangle, given 3 sides.
Example 3: To construct a triangle of sides 7 cm, 3½ cm and 10 cm.
1. Using the longest side as the base, draw a straight line 10 cm long.
2. Set compass to 7 cm, place at A and draw an arc.
3. Set compass to 3½ cm, place at B and draw an arc to intersect the first one.
4. Draw straight lines from A and B to point of intersection.

7 cm 3½ cm

A B
10 cm
 Explain why a triangle with sides
2 cm,10 cm and 7 cm cannot be
constructed.

7 cm 6 cm

A B 7 cm 4 cm
8 cm
Under what conditions can it
be guaranteed that a triangle
can be constructed from 3 A B
9 cm
given lengths?
The sum of the lengths
of the smaller sides
7 cm 3½ cm must exceed the length
of the longest side.
A B
10 cm
The table below shows lengths of sides for constructing a triangle. Which ones
cannot form a triangle?

Side 1 Side 2 Side 3

1 12 cm 8 cm 7 cm
2 9 cm 12 cm 4 cm
3 8 cm 15 cm 7 cm
4 18 cm 3 cm 20 cm
5 8 cm 8 cm 17 cm
6 19 cm 7 cm 13 cm
7 9.3 cm 18 cm 7.2 cm
8 50 cm 26 cm 23 cm
9 40 cm 41 cm 82 cm
10 99 cm 2 cm 100 cm
 Constructions
To construct a triangle, given 1 side and 2 angles.
Example 1: To construct a triangle of side, 9 cm with angles of 35o and 65o.
1. Draw a straight line 9 cm long.
2. Use a protractor to draw angles of 35o and 65o on either end of line.
3. Draw straight lines from A and B to point of intersection to form the triangle.

Tri 1 side/2
angles

A B
9 cm
 Constructions
To construct a triangle, given 1 side and 2 angles.
Example 1: To construct a triangle of side, 9 cm with angles of 35o and 65o.
1. Draw a straight line 9 cm long.
2. Use a protractor to draw angles of 35o and 65o on either end of line.
3. Draw straight lines from A and B to point of intersection to form the triangle.

35o 65o
A B
9 cm
 Constructions
To construct a triangle, given 1 side and 2 angles.
Example 2: To construct a triangle of side, 8 cm with angles of 30o and 100o.
1. Draw a straight line 8 cm long.
2. Use a protractor to draw angles of 30o and 100o on either end of line.
3. Draw straight lines from A and B to point of intersection to form the triangle.

A B
8 cm
 Constructions
To construct a triangle, given 1 side and 2 angles.
Example 2: To construct a triangle of side, 8 cm with angles of 30o and 100o.
1. Draw a straight line 8 cm long.
2. Use a protractor to draw angles of 30o and 100o on either end of line.
3. Draw straight lines from A and B to point of intersection to form the triangle.

100o 30o
A B
8 cm
 Constructions
To construct a triangle, given 2 sides and an angle.
Example 1: To construct a triangle of sides, 9 cm and 7cm with an angle of 40o.
1. Draw a straight line 9 cm long.
2. Use a protractor to draw an angle of 40o on either end of line.
3. Mark off a length of 7 cm.

Tri 2 sides/1
angle
A B
9 cm
 Constructions
To construct a triangle, given 2 sides and an angle.
Example 1: To construct a triangle of sides, 9 cm and 7cm with an angle of 40o.
1. Draw a straight line 9 cm long.
2. Use a protractor to draw an angle of 40o on either end of line.
3. Mark off a length of 7 cm.
4. Join end points to form the required triangle.

7 cm

40o B
A
9 cm
 Constructions
To construct a triangle, given 2 sides and an angle.
Example 2: To construct a triangle of sides, 10 cm and 7cm with an angle of 115o.
1. Draw a straight line 10 cm long.
2. Use a protractor to draw an angle of 115o on either end of line.
3. Mark off a length of 7 cm.

A B
10 cm
 Constructions
To construct a triangle, given 2 sides and an angle.
Example 2: To construct a triangle of sides, 10 cm and 7cm with an angle of 115o.
1. Draw a straight line 10 cm long.
2. Use a protractor to draw an angle of 115o on either end of line.
3. Mark off a length of 7 cm.
4. Join end points to form the required triangle.

7 cm

115o
A B
10 cm
 Constructions

The Ambiguous Case

In the previous constructions using SSS, SAS and ASA, all constructed triangles
are congruent to each other. This is not the case when you are given SSA (that
is, two sides and an angle that is not included). This situation can give rise to
more than one solution.
Consider the situation for a triangle with sides 9 cm, 5 cm and an angle of 30o

A B
9 cm
 Constructions

The Ambiguous Case

In the previous constructions using SSS, SAS and ASA, all constructed triangles
are congruent to each other. This is not the case when you are given SSA (that
is, two sides and an angle that is not included). This situation can give rise to
more than one solution.
Consider the situation for a triangle with sides 9 cm, 5 cm and an angle of 30o
This gives 2 non-congruent D
triangles (ABC and ABD) Arc of circle of
containing the same given radius 5 cm
sides and angle. centred on B.
C
5 cm

5 cm

30o B
A
9 cm