Introducing SSS, SAS and ASA Postulates

Unit Title Subject Area Age Group Essential Question Congruent Triangles Mathematics: Geometry 14-15 years old What is the minimum number of statements that need to be justified before triangle congruence can be established? Thinking Interdependently: students will be working and discussing ideas with one another, which will provide them with access to multiple viewpoints and may lead to insights the students may not have developed if they had approached the topic individually. G-CO8: Explain how the criteria for triangle congruence (ASA, SAS, and SSS) follow from the definition of congruence in terms of rigid motions. Grade 10 - Geometry and Spatial Sense Standard: Characteristics and Properties #3 Understanding of rigid transformations, definition of congruence in terms of rigid transformations and corresponding parts (sides and angles) with respect to two congruent triangles. 1) Identify the minimum number of corresponding pairs needed to establish two triangles are congruent 2) Formulate conjectures that correspond to the SSS, SAS and ASA Postulates 3) Identify included and non-included angles and sides Allow time for student questions on previous nights homework assignment at the start of the period Entry: Provide each student with string and ask students to cut three pieces: one 3 inches,

Habit of Mind

Common Core Content Standards State of Ohio Standards Prerequisite Knowledge

Learning Objectives

Learning / Lesson Narrative

one 4 inches and one 6 inches Have students form a triangle from the three pieces and trace the triangle on a piece of paper using a straightedge Have students cut out the triangle formed and compare triangles with the person sitting next to them. Question: What do you notice about your triangles? Lead students back to definition of congruence. Have students compare their triangle with a few more students. Once students have established they are all congruent, ask students to conjecture whether or not all the triangles in the class would be congruent and have them explain their reasoning out loud.

Body: Review Discussion (teacher to whole class) Ask students define congruence in terms of rigid motions (rotation, reflection, translation) and corresponding parts. Question: According to the definition of congruence, how many pairs of corresponding parts do you need to show two triangles are congruent to prove the triangles are congruent? - 6. What are the corresponding parts? 3 pairs of sides and 3 pairs of angles Question: How many parts do we know are congruent in the triangles we just constructed? -3 Do we know anything about the angles? Thus do we need to prove all six congruence statements to prove the triangles are congruent? -No. Dynamic Geometry Software Investigation What is the minimum number of corresponding parts we need to show are congruent to prove the triangles are

congruent? As a class, have students come up with a list of the following groupings of corresponding parts: one angle, one side, an angle and a side, two angles, two sides, three sides, three angles, two angles and one side, two sides and one angle. Have students work in pairs to test each of these groupings on Geometers SketchPad or another form of dynamic geometry software. Students should construct a triangle for each case and test if the figure can be distorted to form a noncongruent triangle. Have students create a document with statements of congruence or non-congruence with counterexamples for each case that does not guarantee triangle congruence. For students who are unfamiliar with the software, demonstrate to the class how to construct a segment with set length and an angle with set measure. Demonstrate that non-set lengths and measure can be adjusted by dragging. Note when the triangle can be distorted, new triangles are being formed with the same set of given parameters; thus those parameters do not guarantee congruence. Question: what does it mean when the figure cannot be distorted? Only one triangle can be formed with those parameters, thus all other triangles with those parameters must be congruent. Provide each student with a conjecture sheet that provides space for the students to state their findings and draw their counterexamples. Conjecture statements such as the following should be provided: If _____ ________ of one triangle are congruent to _____ ________ of another triangle, then the triangles are ___________.

Optional: create spreadsheet on Google drive and have each pair fill a specific conjecture as they are working and display the results to the class as they are working.

Summary/Group Discussion Call on each pair to share one of their conjectures with the class and draw their counterexamples on the board if congruence is not guaranteed. . Be sure to discuss the differences between ASA and AAS as well as SAS and SSA when students are presenting. For example, if a pair states that congruence between two sides and an angle guarantees congruence, ask the remaining students if they all made the same conjecture. If they did not, have students draw a diagram of their non-congruent triangles on the board highlighting the set sides and angles. Ask the first group to draw a diagram of the triangle they constructed highlighting the set sides and angles. Then have the class determine where the difference between the two triangle constructions lies and introduce the terms included angle and included side. Closure: Once finished collecting conjectures, summarize which groupings of corresponding parts showed congruence: SSS, SAS, ASA and AAS. State that SSS, SAS, ASA will be assumed as postulates. State that AAS is actually a theorem that can be proven using one of the three postulates. Ask students to try to figure out which postulate can be used for homework and discuss at the beginning of the next class.

Also assign students a homework set that consists of identifying if two triangles are congruent based on a diagram and given information: Classroom Exercise p. 123 (all) Written Exercises p. 124 1-17 (odd)

Assessment

Informally assess the students responses to questions during the discussion portion specifically looking to see if they can recall and use terms such as congruence and rigid transformations Have students save, print or e-mail their activity from the Sketchpad investigation Monitor students while working on the activity to see if they are dragging their figures to check for all possibilities and to check if they are including all the set information Monitor student responses on the excel worksheet and conjecture sheet while student are working Informally assess how well students can explain and defend their conjectures during the presentation portion of the lesson Review the students individual work on homework assignment next lesson

Instructional Materials and Resources

Each student will need String Ruler/Straightedge Scissors Paper handout with guided conjectures and space for other findings to be written homework handout (may be assigned problems from textbook) Access to dynamic geometry software such

Technology Requirements

as GeoGebra or Geometers Sketchpad Student and teacher access to Google Drive (optional)

Strategies for Diverse Learners

Students will be working with multiple modalities throughout the lesson. Students will have access to written, spoken and visual representations of the material. Students may also be strategically paired so that students with dissimilar weaknesses may work together to aid each other in learning and concept development. This lesson may be adjusted by having students complete the initial activity by constructing triangles with a ruler and given measurements as opposed to string constructions. This will conserve time so students may spend more time analyzing the data and formulating their conjectures. This lesson may also be improved by beginning with a discussion of included sides and angles, so that students may include examples for each of those specific cases in their investigation.

Reflection (after lesson has been taught)