Illustrating Theorems on

Triangle Inequalities

MIRASOL Q. GENOVEA
G8-Mathematics Teacher
 OBJECTIVE
At the end of today’s lesson, you should be able to;
 Illustrate theorems on triangle inequalities
(Exterior Angle Inequality Theorem, Triangle
Inequality Theorem, Angle-Side Relationship
Theorem, Hinge Theorem, SSS Inequality
Theorem.
 Applies theorem on triangle inequalities.
(SSP_M8GE-IVa-b) 6 hrs.
Activity: Investigate Me!
Directions: Use the figure below to answer the
questions that follow.

1. What is the included side

in ∠B and ∠C? in ∠E and ∠F?

2. What is the included angle

̅ ̅ ̅ ̅
in 𝐴𝐶̅ and 𝐵𝐶̅? in 𝐷𝐹̅ and 𝐸𝐹̅̅?
̅ ̅ ̅
Activity: Investigate Me!
Directions: Use the figure below to answer the
questions that follow.
3. What is the sum of the interior
angles of ΔABC? ΔDEF?

4. If ∠B ≅ ∠E, and ∠C ≅ ∠F,

what additional information
is required to tell that the
triangles are congruent using
SAS Congruence?
Activity: Investigate Me!
Directions: Use the figure below to answer the
questions that follow.
̅
5. If ̅≅ and ≅ , what
additional information is
required to tell that the
triangles are congruent using
SSS Congruence?
Questions:
1. Did you find any difficulty in the conduct of
the activity?

2. What did you do to overcome this difficulty?

The activity Investigate Me is a recall of your
understanding on the different angles and
sides of triangles. In the next activity you will
be using some measuring tools, pen and
paper to further understand the concept
behind the previous activity.
Activity: Measuring Angles and Sides
Materials needed: protractor, ruler, paper and
pencil/pen

Directions: Using measuring tools, construct an

angle based on the given measurements of the angle
and the length of the sides. Lastly connect the end
point of each side to form a triangle and find its
measurement. Write your answer on a separate sheet
of paper. An illustration is provided to guide you in
how to do the measurement.
1. Given that Side 1 is 3 inches and Side 2 is 2
inches. Find the length between the end points of the
side when the angle measures:
2. Given that both sides of the angle measures 2
inches. Find the length between the end points of the
side when the angle measures:
Questions:
1. What can you say about the length of the side
connecting the endpoints? What pattern were you
able to establish?

2. What can you say about the relationship of the

measurement of the angle and the length of the
opposite side?

3. Is there a relationship between the length of a side

of a triangle and the measure of the angle opposite it?
If your answer is YES, indicate its relationship.
In your activity in Measuring Angles and Sides you
found out that there is a relationship between the
measure of the angle and the length of the side of a
triangle. This theorem is referred to as Angle-Side
Relationship Theorem which states that: In a triangle,
the side opposite the larger angle is the longer side
and vice versa. To know more about this theorem,
examine the following examples:
Example 1: Compare the length of the sides of
the following triangle.
Step 1: Find the measure of the third angle. The sum
of all the angles in any triangle

∠𝐹 + ∠𝑈 + ∠𝑁 = 180° Sum of interior angles of a triangle

50° + 105° + ∠𝑁 = 180° By substitution
∠𝑁 + 155° = 180° Adding 50° and 105°
∠𝑁 + 155°+(−155°) = 180°+(−155°) Addition property of
equality
∠𝑁 + 0 = 180°−155° Identity property of addition
∠𝑁 = 25°
Step 2: Look at the relative sizes of the angles and
compare.
∠𝑁 < ∠𝐹 < ∠𝑈
Step 3: Following the angle-side relationship we can
order the sides accordingly.
Remember it is the side opposite the angle.
<<
Thus, is the longest side since it is the opposite side of
the largest angle, ∠U, while is the shortest side whose
opposite angle, ∠N measures 25°.
Example 2:
Compare the
measure of
the angles of
the
following
triangle.
Step 1: Since the length of the sides were given, we can easily
compare the lengths from shortest to longest.

<<
Step 2: Following the angle-side relationship we can
order the angles opposite to these sides accordingly.
∠𝐷 < ∠𝑌 < ∠𝐴
Therefore, ∠𝐴 is the largest angle whose is opposite to
side DY whose side is 6 units. It follows with the other
angles. Example 1 and Example 2 illustrate the
angle-side relationship theorem.
How can we form triangles?
Not any three lengths can form the sides of a triangle.
Let a, b, and c be the lengths of the sides of a triangle.
A triangle can only be formed under the following
conditions:

a+b>c
a+c>b
b+c>a
Example 3: In Δ FIT, find the range of the possible lengths of
𝐹𝑇̅̅̅.
Solution:

Let a = 5 and b = 8
Step 1: Using the triangle inequality theorem for the
above triangle gives us three statements:

a + b > c ⟹ 5 + 8 > c ⟹ c < 13

a + c > b ⟹5 + c > 8 ⟹c > 3
b + c > a ⟹ 8 + c > 5 ⟹ c > -3 (disregard
because lengths must be positive)
Step 2: Combining the two valid statements:
3 < c < 13

(The length of is greater than 3 and less than 13)

Example 4: Which length/s can form a triangle?

A.) 3, 4, 6
B.) 5, 6, 11
C.) 2, 3, 9
Solution: Check the lengths given if it will form a
triangle using Triangle Inequality Theorem.
Given lengths 𝑎=3,𝑏=4,𝑐=6
𝑎+𝑏>𝑐 3+4>6 True
𝑎+𝑐>𝑏 3+6>4 True
𝑏+𝑐>𝑎 4+6>3 True
Decision Triangle

Given lengths 𝑎=5,𝑏=6,𝑐=11 𝑎=2,𝑏=3,𝑐=9

𝑎+𝑏>𝑐 5+6>11 False 2+3>9 False
𝑎+𝑐>𝑏 5+11>6 True 2+9>3 True
𝑏+𝑐>𝑎 6+11>5 True 3+9>2 True
Decision Not a Triangle Not a Triangle
Based on the Triangle Inequality Theorem, only option A
satisfies the condition that will form a triangle.
Based on the figures, only option A formed a
triangle. Option B formed a straight line instead of a
triangle and option C is short of sides that it cannot
form a triangle. If we compare the sum of the two
sides of options A, B, and C, only option A satisfied
the conditions of Triangle Inequality Theorem.
Extending the triangle
Materials needed: protractor, ruler, paper and
pencil/pen

Directions: Using measuring tools extend side

1 of the triangles formed in the activity
Measuring Angles and Sides as illustrated
below. Supply the measurements of the angle 2
and angle 3 in each table. Write your answer on
a separate sheet
1. Given that Side 1 is 2 inches and Side 2 is 3
inches. Find measurement of angles 2 and 3
when the measurement of angle 1 is:
2. Given that both sides of the angle measures 2
inches. Find measurement of angles 2 and 3
when the measurement of angle 1 is:
Questions:
1. Is there a relationship between the measurement of
angle 1 and angle 2? How about between angle 1
and angle 3? Is the relationship also true between
angle 2 and angle 3?

2. What generalization can you draw from the

measurement of angle 3 to the measurement of angle
1 and measurement of angle 2?
The Exterior Angle Inequality Theorem
Note that BC is extended to form ∠4 which is adjacent to ∠3 of
Δ𝐴𝐵𝐶. The non-common sides of ∠3 and ∠4 are opposite rays so
the two angles are supplementary. An angle which forms a linear
pair with an angle of the triangle is called an exterior angle. In
the figure, ∠4 is the exterior angle of Δ𝐴𝐵𝐶 and∠1 and ∠2 are its
remote interior angles.
We say that ∠3 and ∠4 are supplementary angles, so we have
𝑚∠3 + 𝑚∠4=180° (Equation1)

Also, from the sum of the measure of the angles of a triangle, we

have 𝑚∠1 + 𝑚∠2 + 𝑚∠3=180° (Equation 2)

From the equations, we have, 𝑚∠3 + 𝑚∠4 = 𝑚∠1 + 𝑚∠2 + 𝑚∠3

(Equation 3)

By subtracting 𝑚∠3 to both sides, we have 𝑚∠4 = 𝑚∠1 + 𝑚∠2

(Equation 4)
For this, we can conclude that the measure of an exterior angle of a triangle is
equal to the sum of the measures of the remote interior angles. And this is the
proof of the Exterior Angle Theorem (EAT) “The measure of an exterior angle
of a triangle is equal to the sum of the measures of the remote interior
angles”.

From equation 4, we can thereof conclude that exterior ∠4 is greater than any
of the two remote interior angles ∠1 and ∠2.

Corollary The measure of an exterior angle of a triangle is greater

than the measure of any of the two remote interior angles. This
corollary is now the so called the Exterior Angle Inequality
Theorem.
Inequalities in Two Triangle
Example 6: Compare the lengths of the third side of Δ BLU and
Δ RED.
From this example, the corresponding two sides of two
triangles are congruent but the measure of their
included angles differ, it follows that the opposite side
of the greater angle is longer. Thus, the opposite side
of ∠L which is 𝐵𝑈̅̅̅ is greater than the opposite side of
̅
∠E which is 𝑅𝐷̅̅. This theorem is what we called the
Hinge Theorem or the SAS Inequality Theorem.
Answer: Obviously, the answer is Picture B since its angle is
greater than that of Picture A. Although, a pair of scissors
has the same length, its opening (dashed line) depends on the
angle of adjustment of the user.
Conversely, we can also tell which included angle is
greater based on the length of the third side given
that corresponding two sides of two triangles are
congruent. This theorem is the converse of Hinge
Theorem or the SSS Inequality Theorem.