Median of a triangle - math word definition (original) (raw)

A median of a triangle is a line segmentjoining a vertexto the midpoint of the opposite side.
A triangle therefore has three medians.

Try this Drag the orange dots on each vertexto reshape the triangle. Notice the three medians all meet at one point.

A median of a triangle is a line segmentfrom a vertex of the triangle to the midpoint of the side opposite that vertex. Because there are three vertices, there are of course three possible medians. One of the fascinating things about them is that no matter what shape the triangle, all three always intersect at a single point. This point is called the centroid of the triangle.

Adjust the triangle above by dragging any vertex. Convince yourself that the three medians (gray lines) always intersect at a single point. You can also visually estimate that the area facts given above are true.