Median of a triangle

Revision as of 09:15, 21 November 2006 by Solafidefarms (talk | contribs) (Added median-length formula.)

A median of a triangle is a cevian of the triangle that joins one vertex to the midpoint of the opposite side.

In the following figure, $AM$ is a median of triangle $ABC$.

Median.PNG

Each triangle has 3 medians. The medians are concurrent at the centroid. The centroid divides the medians (segments) in a 2:1 ratio.

Stewart's theorem applied to the case $m=n$, gives the length of the median to side $BC$ equal to

$\frac 12 \sqrt{2AB^2+2AC^2-BC^2}$

This formula is particularly useful when $\angle CAB$ is right, as by the Pythagorean Theorem we find that $BM=AM=CM$.

See Also

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