What’s a triangle between friends? / myLot

United States

January 5, 2017 4:05pm CST

If we’re talking about a love triangle, a triangle can be the wedge that splits friends and lovers. I’m not talking about that kind of triangle, though. The kinds of triangles to which I refer are acute, right, obtuse, scalene, isosceles, and equilateral. You see, triangles can be classified by the measures of their angles, the length of their sides, or both. What I tell my students is that every triangle has a first name based on its angles, a middle name based on its sides, and its last name is always triangle. For instance, a triangle with all acute angles and no congruent sides would be called an Acute Scalene Triangle. A triangle with one right angle and two congruent sides would be called a Right Isosceles Triangle. The students seem to grasp the idea of triangles having names instead of just being labelled. What do you know about triangles? Do you know what the sum of the measures of the interior angles of a triangle is? My students do.

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10 responses

John Roberts

@JohnRoberts (109841)

• Los Angeles, California

6 Jan 17

A triangle is a musical instrument!

2 people like this

DW Davis

@DWDavis (25797)

• United States

6 Jan 17

Geometrically speaking, the musical instrument known at the triangle isn't a true triangle, as a true triangle is a 3 sided, closed figure and the musical triangle has an opening to allow the metal to vibrate and create the ringing sound such are famous for.

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DW Davis

@DWDavis (25797)

• United States

6 Jan 17

@JohnRoberts Sorry, I can't help it. Teaching is a compulsion.

1 person likes this

John Roberts

@JohnRoberts (109841)

• Los Angeles, California

6 Jan 17

@DWDavis Argh! You are such a teacher!

2 people like this

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Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (323168)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

6 Jan 17

Side A plus Side B = Side C I hope I got that right. It's been a few years.

1 person likes this

DW Davis

@DWDavis (25797)

• United States

6 Jan 17

If you were trying for the Pythagorean Theorem, you got close. The formula is A squared + B squared = C squared, or to put it in words, the sum of the squares of the legs is equal to the square of the hypotenuse.

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Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (323168)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

6 Jan 17

@DWDavis Okay, I was close. It's been 20 years since I was in college and worked with those equations.

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Silvermist

@silvermist (19701)

• India

6 Jan 17

@DWDavis Funny,I still remember many of these terms.

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DW Davis

@DWDavis (25797)

• United States

6 Jan 17

Scalene is my favorite of the triangle terms. It makes a triangle sound like a type of whale.

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LK2018

@Letranknight2015 (52665)

• Philippines

6 Jan 17

A triangle for me is a three sides of every thing.

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DW Davis

@DWDavis (25797)

• United States

7 Jan 17

A triangle is where every polygon begins. An equilateral triangle is the regular polygon least like a circle. As you add sides, the closer you get to a circle.