Construction: Perpendicular Bisectors

About Geometry Worksheet Activity 2D:  

 

Activity 2D is practice for the construction of the perpendicular bisector of a line segment.

 

Prerequisite Skill: Construct the midpoint of a line segment (Activity 1C).  Name perpendicular bisectors (Assignment 2.17)

 

How to construct the perpendicular bisector of a line segment:

 

(Do problem 1 by following the steps below.)

 

1.   Place the compass point at an endpoint (M) of the given line segment.

 

2.   Open the compass pencil more than halfway to the other endpoint (N).  Draw a long arc (at least half of a circle.) 

 

3.   Do not change the compass opening.  Place the compass point at the other endpoint (N) of the line segment..

 

4.   Using the same compass opening, draw an long arc that intersects the first arc to the left and to the right of the line segment.

 

5.   Use a straightedge to draw a line through the two points of intersection of the long arcs.  

 

6.   The line is the perpendicular bisector of the given line segment.