Similar Triangles Flashcard

Front

What are similar triangles?

Back

Triangles that have the same shape but may differ in size. Their corresponding angles are equal, and their corresponding sides are in proportion.

Front

What is a dilation in geometry?

Back

A transformation that alters the size of a figure but not its shape, using a center point and a scale factor.

Front

What is the scale factor in a dilation?

Back

The ratio of the lengths of corresponding sides of the original figure to the dilated figure.

Front

How do you determine if two triangles are similar?

Back

Two triangles are similar if their corresponding angles are equal and the lengths of their corresponding sides are proportional.

Front

What is the relationship between parallel lines and similar triangles?

Back

If a line is drawn parallel to one side of a triangle, it divides the other two sides proportionally, creating similar triangles.

Front

What is the effect of a scale factor greater than 1 in dilation?

Back

The figure enlarges, making it larger than the original.

Front

What is the effect of a scale factor less than 1 in dilation?

Back

The figure shrinks, making it smaller than the original.

Front

What does it mean for triangles to be dilated from a point?

Back

It means that all points of the triangle are moved away from or towards a specific point (the center of dilation) by a certain scale factor.

Front

If triangle ABC is dilated to triangle A'B'C' with a scale factor of 2, what happens to the lengths of the sides?

Back

The lengths of the sides of triangle A'B'C' will be twice the lengths of the corresponding sides of triangle ABC.

Front

What is the formula for finding the scale factor between two similar triangles?

Back

Scale factor = Length of a side in the image triangle / Length of the corresponding side in the original triangle.