Big Ideas Math Geometry, 2014
BI
Big Ideas Math Geometry, 2014 View details
2. Bisectors of Triangles
Continue to next subchapter

Exercise 15 Page 315

Consider the Circumcenter Theorem.

PZ=32

Practice makes perfect

We are told that the point P is the circumcenter of △ XYZ. According to the Circumcenter Theorem, the circumcenter of a triangle is equidistant from the vertices of the triangle. This means that PX, PY, and PZ have equal lengths.

Since these segments have equal lengths, we can equate the given expressions for PX and PY to solve for x.
PX=PY
3x+2= 4x-8
Solve for x
2=x-8
10=x
x=10
Finally, we can calculate the lengths of any of the segments by substituting the value of x into either of the given expressions. PX: 3( 10)+2 =32 PY: 4( 10)-8 =32 Because both of these segments have a length of 32, we know PZ does as well.