lesson
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Imagine you have a straight piece of licorice to share with a friend. How can you cut it into two exact halves with a neat, square cut without using a measuring tape?
A line that cuts straight through the exact middle of a segment at a square corner is called a perpendicular bisector.
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How can two simple drawing tools help us find this middle line every single time?
The Two Tools
You only need a compass, which draws round circles, and a straightedge, which helps you draw straight lines.
Over 2,300 years ago in ancient Greece, a math teacher named Euclid showed that these two simple tools can solve giant shape puzzles.
How do we use these tools together step by step?
Step-by-Step Construction
First, place the sharp point of your compass on point A and open it more than halfway across your line.
Swing a curved curve mark called an arc above the line and another arc below the line.
Without changing the compass width, move the sharp point to point B and draw two new arcs that cross the first ones to make two X marks.
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