Ptolemy's Theorem
Ptolemy's theorem gives a relationship between the side lengths and the diagonals of a cyclic quadrilateral; it is the equality case of the Ptolemy inequality. Ptolemy's theorem frequently shows up as an intermediate step in problems involving inscribed figures.
Contents
[hide]Definition
Given a cyclic quadrilateral 
with side lengths 
and diagonals 
:
.
Proof: Method I
Given cyclic quadrilateral 
extend 
to 
such that 
Since quadrilateral is cyclic, 
However, 
is also supplementary to 
Hence, 
and 
by 
similarity.
Proof: Method II
Example
In a regular heptagon ABCDEFG, prove that: 1/AB = 1/AC + 1/AD.
Solution: Let ABCDEFG be the regular heptagon. Consider the quadrilateral ABCE. If a, b, and c represent the lengths of the side, the short diagonal, and the long diagonal respectively, then the lengths of the sides of ABCE are a, a, b and c; and the diagonals of ABCE are b and c, respectively.
Now Ptolemy's theorem states that ab + ac = bc, which is equivalent to 1/a=1/b+1/c.
