Examples

We present a few worked examples using Geometry Expressions. Corresponding example files are installed with Geometry Expressions in the Examples folder. Many more examples are available at the website: www.GeometryExpressions.com

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Example 1:

Circumcircle Radius

Measure the area of a triangle with sides length a,b,c, and measure the radius of the circumcircle.
circumcircle radius abc a+b+c a+b-c a-b+c -a+b+c B triangle area a+b+c a+b-c a-b+c -a+b+c 4

a C A

c D

What is their relationship? If a triangle is defined in terms of two sides and the included angle, what is its area? Hence you can derive a formula for the radius of the circumcircle which involves an angle:

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a +b -2abcos() 2sin() C

a2+b2-2abcos() D

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Example 2: segment

Radius of arc offset from line

Imagine a piece of drawing software where the user creates an arc by dragging the center of a line segment perpendicular to the segment. The software author might want a formula for the radius of the arc given the length of the segment and the distance the user has dragged the center away from the segment.
B

E h h 2 c
2

8h

D c

A C

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Example 3: triangle

Length of the Angle Bisector of a

Given a triangle with side lengths a,b,c, what is the length of a perpendicular bisector?
B

c D

A b a b a +2ab+ b -c a+b
2 2 2

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Example 4:

A Family of Circles

We look at the family generated by two circles of radius a and b inside a circle of radius a+b:
ab(a+b) a +ab+ b
2 2

ab(a+b) 4a +ab+ b
2 2

ab(a+b) 9a +ab+ b
2 2

ab(a+b) 16a +ab+ b

2 2

a+b

b a

Clearly the radius of the nth circle is:

ab(a b) n a 2 ab b 2
2

Can you prove this?

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Example 5:

Circle of Apollonius

The Circle of Apollonius is the locus of points the ratio of whose distance from a pair of fixed points is constant:
2Xa-a2+X2 -1+k 2 +Y2 -1+k 2 =0 B kt t

(0,0)

C (a,0)

How do we know this is a circle? What is the center and radius? You can always get Geometry Expressions to tell you: draw a circle and set its equation to be the same as the locus equation (copy and paste works fine). You can then read off the center and radius.
2Xa-a2+X2 -1+k 2 +Y2 -1+k 2 =0 F B kt a k -1+k
2

E -a -1+k ,0 2

(0,0)

C (a,0)

2Xa-a +X -1+k +Y -1+k =0

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Example 6:

Caustics in a cup of coffee

The Nephroid curve generated by reflecting a set of parallel rays in a circle, and then taking the envelope of the reflected rays. (An envelope is created in Geometry Expressions as the locus of a line or line segment).
X=t B

C r

(0,0)

64X6+192X4Y2+192X2Y4+64Y6-48X4r2-96X2Y2r2-48Y4r2-15X2r4+ 12Y2r4-r6=0

This curve is the caustic which youd observe if you shone a light obliquely into a cup of coffee.

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Example 7:

Two Quadratic Splines

In the diagram below, D and E are located at proportion t along AB and BC respectively. F is the intersection of AE and CD. G is the point proportion t along the line DE. We examine the loci of F and G as t varies from 0 to 1. Observing the parametric form of the curves we see that one is a parametric quadratic, while the other is a rational quadratic. Implicit forms are both conics (and almost, but not quite, identical).
(b,c) B X= 2bt+ t (a-2b) Y=2ct(1-t) 4Yabc+4X2c 2-4Xac 2+Y2 a2-4ab+4b2 +XY(4ac-8bc)=0
2

E t G t D t F Y= c t-t X= t(-b-at+bt) -1+t-t

2 2 2

1-t+t

Yabc+ X2c 2-Xac 2+Y2 a2-ab+ b2 +XY(ac-2bc)=0

A (0,0)

(a,0) C

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What types of conics are they? Extending the curves a little can give a clue:
(b,c) B

E t G D t F t

A (0,0)

(a,0) C

The upper curve looks like a parabola, the lower certainly does not. Can you show this is generally true from the algebraic equations of the curves?

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