How can you divide an angle into 3 equal angles? You may only use a straightedge and a compass to achieve this.

(This means : You have an angle A, you divide Angle A into 3 Angles B,C,D. And B=C=D=A/3)

Note: vohonam clarified that the problem actually only gives you a straightedge, not a ruler.

(In reply to Is it true... by Dulanjana)

It is one of the three "Holy Grails" of classic Euclidean geometry. All three have been proven impossible as long as you use only a compass and straightedge. (The other two are "Squaring the Circle" [Given a circle cnstruct a square with the same area which means taking the radius (R) of the circle and constructing a line segment of length #960;r/2] and Doubling the Cube [constructing a second cube with double the volume -- in essence looking for ³√2])

Posted by TomM on 2002-06-19 15:48:57