The Median of a Trapezoid
- Author:
- Nicia Ramirez, Irena Štrausová
Trapezoid
A trapezoid is a 4-sided flat shape with straight sides that has a pair of opposite sides parallel that is also known as bases.
i.e. and
The other two sides are known as legs.
i.e. and
The distance (at right angles) from one base to the other is known as the altitude or height.
i.e. line segment h
Median
Recall: The median (also called a midline or midsegment) is a line segment half-way between the bases.
i.e. line segment m
Median Length
The median’s length is the average of the two base lengths: .
Fun Fact:
You can calculate the area when you know the median, it is just the median times the height:
Find the median of this trapezoid.
Play around with this trapezoid and observe how the area changes.