A piece of paper has the precise shape of an equilateral triangle ABC which is creased along a line XY, with X on AB and Y on AC. so that A falls on some point D on BC.

(i) Are the triangles XBD and DCY always similar?
If so, prove it. If not, give a counterexample.

(ii) If AB = 15 and BD = 3, what is the length of the crease XY?

Geometers' Sketchpad indicates XY ~= 9.26012.

Posted by Charlie on 2014-03-05 14:50:55