Property of Angle Bisectors: What is this about?
A Mathematical Droodle
Explanation
Copyright © 1996-2009 Alexander Bogomolny
Angle bisectors divide the opposite side in the ratio of the adjacent sides. More accurately, if, in ABC, AD is an angle bisector of angle A, then
Note that the same holds also for the external angle bisectors.
Proof
Assume the straight line through C parallel to AD meets AB in E. Then, first of all, AEC is isosceles: AC = AE. This is because
Therefore, AE = AC, and the required proportion follows from the similarity of triangles BEC and BAD. (There is a less standard proof.)
This property of angle bisectors is one way to show that the three angle bisectors in a triangle meet in a point. The result is an immediate consequence of Ceva's theorem.
Last note: the converse theorem holds as a matter of course, because there is only one point on a given segment that divides it in a given ratio. Thus if a point divides the base of a triangle in the ratio equal to the ratio of the sides, it is bound to be the foot of the angle bisector from the apex.
Copyright © 1996-2009 Alexander Bogomolny
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