Thomas Earl Ricks
Mathematics Education
Assignment # 9
Investigation #11b
ÒPedal Triangles and SimsonÕs LineÓ
We will review briefly what the pedal triangle is, and
then explore SimsonÕs Line in more depth, especially the envelope created by
the lines as the pedal point is moved about the circumcircle of the original
triangle.
Pedal Point and Pedal Triangle.
If given any triangle ABC in the plane:
And any point P in the plane:
By constructing perpendiculars through P to the sides of
ABC (extended if necessary)
Forms points R, S, and T respectively
Connecting these points forms triangle RST, which is a
pedal triangle for the pedal point P.
For a GSP file of the above graphics, click here.
Notice that we can create the pedal triangle without
showing the perpendicular lines:
What happens as P moves about the plane?
In the above graphic, P is below triangle ABC
Now it is inside triangle ABC.
So the pedal triangle changes shape as P moves around.
Here is a pedal triangle for P that involves extending
the sides of triangle ABC to find the points of intersection of the
perpendiculars:
And here is pedal triangle for a different triangle
ABC:
Here is pedal triangle that is completely outside
triangle ABC:
To explore different triangles and their pedal
triangles as point P moves around, click here
for a GSP file to open and explore.
Question:
Can you find a pedal triangle that compresses to just a line segment?
This line segment is known as the SimsonÕs Line. This brings us to our next topic.
SimsonÕs Line
There are locations in the plane for P that compresses
the pedal triangle into a single line segment. When this occurs, the compressed pedal triangle is called
SimsonÕs Line.
Here is an example:
We will now hide the dashed lines to find other
location of P that form SimsonÕs Lines.
Three locations you may have found where this occurs
is the verticies of triangle ABC:
But there are many other locations for P that yield
SimsonÕs Lines. Can you describe
the places where P gives SimsonÕs Lines?
Is there a pattern to where P should be?
If you guessed or found the circumcircle, you are
right!
What else can you discover about pedal points and
pedal triangles?
For more information on Pedal Triangles, click here.
For more information on SimsonÕs Line, click here.