5. You have studied in Class IX, (Chapter 9, Example 3), that a median of a triangle divides it into two triangles of equal areas. Verify this result for D ABC whose vertices are A(4, – 6), B(3, –2) and C(5, 2).
From the figure:
The coordinates of midpoint M of side BC is:
Now, calculating the areas of the triangle ABM and ACM :
Area of triangle, ABM:
Area of triangle, ACM:
However, the area cannot be negative, Therefore, area of is 3 square units.
Clearly, the median AM divided the in two equal areas.