Question

A segment bisector is a line, ray or segment that divides a line segment into two equal parts. in the triangle formed by points A(-1,7), B(1,2), C(7,6) what is the slope of the line that goes through point A and bisects BC?​

Answer 1

Answer: -3/5

In decimal form, this is equivalent to -0.6

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Step-by-step explanation:

This segment bisector is cutting side BC in half. So we have a point D such that it is between B and C. Also, we can say BD = DC. Refer to the diagram below.

To find the location of D, we'll apply the midpoint formula to points B and C.

B(1,2) and C(7,6) have x coordinates of 1 and 7 respectively. Average those x values to get (1+7)/2 = 8/2 = 4. This is the x coordinate of point D.

Repeat this idea for the y coordinates. We'll get (2+6)/2 = 8/2 = 4 which is the y coordinate of D.

Point D is located at (4,4)

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The takeaway from that last section, if we were to summarize it in one sentence, is that D is located at (4,4).

Now focus on the points A(-1,7) and D(4,4)

We'll apply the slope formula

m = (y2-y1)/(x2-x1)

m = (4-7)/(4-(-1))

m = (4-7)/(4+1)

m = -3/5 is the slope

Notice that to go from A to D, we can drop down by 3 units and move to the right 5 units. We can say rise = -3 and run = 5; therefore, slope = rise/run = -3/5