The three medians concur at the centroid
Statement
In any triangle with medians , , , all three medians pass through the single point , which divides each median in the ratio from the vertex ().
Why is it true?
Three random lines in a plane almost never pass through the same point — they form a small triangle instead. Seeing that the formula for the point of the way along comes out completely symmetric in , , explains in one stroke why all three medians must hit the exact same spot.
Proof sketch
Step 1 (midpoint coordinates). Place in a coordinate plane with vertices , , . The midpoint of side is the average of and : .
Step 2 (point two-thirds along ). Move from toward by of the segment : the resulting point is , giving coordinates .
Step 3 (symmetry forces concurrency). Notice that the final formula is completely symmetric in , , — swapping the roles of and (to find the point of the way along median ) or of and (along ) produces the exact same point . Therefore all three medians pass through , and lies of the way from each vertex to the opposite midpoint ().
Topics that use this theorem
Step-by-step proofs
No step-by-step proof yet for this theorem.
References
- H. S. M. Coxeter, S. L. Greitzer (1967). Geometry Revisited
- Euclid (trans. Thomas L. Heath) (1956). Euclid's Elements (Books I–XIII)