Google ClassroomGoogle Classroom
GeoGebraGeoGebra Classroom

Math 235 Geometric Mean

Below is right triangle CBA with the altitude of segment BD. Use the hide/show buttons to examine what is true about the three triangles, , , and . When you show each triangle, there will be a blue point (to move the triangle) and a red point (to rotate the triangle).
  1. What do you notice is true about the three triangles? How did you determine this?
  2. In this image, the geometric mean would state . Using what you learned from the relationship among the triangles, why is this proportion true?