1. Start with any line segment, decide how many equal parts you are planning to divide this segment in to.

2. Pick any point not on the original line segment (preferably near one end of the segment) and connect that point, constructing a segment to the endpoint of the line.

3. Construct a parrallel line to the new segment at the other end of the original line segment.

4. Construct a circle using the endpoint of the line segment as the center and the new segment as the radius. Mark the intersection point of this circle and the parrallel line.

5. Connect this new point with the first point that was constructed off the line. This line bisects the original line segment.

6. Hide all construction lines.

7. Now it is easy to see the midpoint of the line segment.

8. If you want to divide the line segment into more than two segments, then just repeat step 4 at the point of intersection of the circle and parrallel line. If you want to create n equal parts of the line segment, you will need to create a total of n-1 circles. Construct the segment from this final intersection point (of the circle and parrallel line) and the original point off the original line. Mark where this line intersects the original line segment.

9. Start at the new point and create a circle with that point as the center and the endpoint of the line segment as a point on the circle. Continue constructing circles using the new intersection point as the center and the old center as a point on the circle.

10. Hide all construction lines and now you have divided your line into equal parts. In this example, I divided the line into five equal parts.

---

Line Segments

GSP Scripts

Laura's Homepage