Big Ideas Math Integrated I, 2016
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Big Ideas Math Integrated I, 2016 View details
5. Proving Triangle Congruence by SSS
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Exercise 4 Page 622

Can you show that the three sides of one triangle are congruent to the three sides of the other triangle?

Not enough information
Explanation: See solution.

Practice makes perfect
From the diagram we see that one set of sides, PQ and RQ, are congruent. Additionally, the triangles share a side, QS. According to the Reflexive Property of Congruence, this side is therefore congruent in the triangles as well. Let's add this information to the diagram.

To claim congruence by the SSS Congruence Theorem we need the last side to be congruent as well. Even though it may look like PS and RS are congruent, there is not enough information to prove that the triangles are congruent using the SSS Congruence Theorem.