The midpoints of the sides of triangle are the points , , and . Given that the coordinates of , , and are , , and , respectively, find the coordinates of , and .
To find the coordinates of vertices , , and , we use the midpoint connection. If is the midpoint of a segment with endpoints and , its coordinates are:
Let , , and be , , and . Given , , and are midpoints of , , and , we write equations for -coordinates:
Equation 1:
Equation 2:
Equation 3:
Step 1: Find the sum of -coordinates.
Adding the three equations:
This simplifies to:
Step 2: Calculate individual -coordinates.
Subtracting each equation from the sum gives:
Step 3: Find the sum and individual -coordinates.
For -coordinates:
Adding gives:
Subtracting each gives:
∴ The vertices are , , and .
Explanation
The question requires applying the midpoint formula in reverse. The textbook context introduces the connection between the coordinates of a midpoint and its endpoints, specifically asking students to find an endpoint given the midpoint and the other endpoint.
By setting up a system of equations based on this midpoint connection for all three sides of the triangle and adding them together, we can easily find the sum of the coordinates of the vertices, which then allows us to solve for each vertex individually by subtracting the known midpoint equations.
Solution Steps
Step 1: Set up equations using the midpoint formula for , , as midpoints of , , .
Step 2: Add the -coordinate equations to find .
Step 3: Subtract each -coordinate equation from the sum to find , , .
Step 4: Add the -coordinate equations to find .
Step 5: Subtract each -coordinate equation from the sum to find , , .