AI Tutor
Imagine you have a 12-inch strip of ribbon and want to share it equally with a friend using a single straight cut. Where exactly do you make that snip?

What Is a Midpoint?

A line segment is a straight path connecting two endpoints. The midpoint is the single point that divides a segment into two pieces of equal length.
Notice those little slashes on each half of the line? Let's look at why mathematicians draw them.

Tick Marks Show Equal Lengths

In geometry, small slash marks called tick marks show that two line segments have identical lengths. If AMAM and MBMB each have one matching tick mark, it means AM=MBAM = MB.
How do you calculate where the midpoint goes if you only know the total length?

Finding the Midpoint by Halving

Because the midpoint splits a segment into two equal halves, you simply divide the total length by 22. For a segment CDCD that is 14 cm14\text{ cm} long, the midpoint lies 14÷2=7 cm14 \div 2 = 7\text{ cm} from either endpoint.
What happens if a segment sits on a number line instead of starting at zero?

Midpoints on a Number Line