Example 3

The midpoints of a triangle are [math]X (–2, 5)[/math], [math]Y (3, 1)[/math], and [math]Z (4, 8)[/math]. Find the coordinates of the vertices of the triangle.

[list=1] [*]Plot the midpoints on a coordinate plane. [*]Connect the midpoints to form the midsegments [math]\overline{XY}[/math], [math]\overline{YZ}[/math], and [math]\overline{XZ}[/math]. [*]Calculate the slope of each midsegment. [*]Draw the lines that contain the midpoints. [*]Determine the vertices of the triangle. [/list] This applet is provided by Walch Education as supplemental material for their mathematics programs. Visit [url="http://www.walch.com"]www.walch.com[/url] for more information on their resources.