How do we know the difference between equality and congruence

numbers are equal to each other, and shapes are congruent to each other (same size and shape). Generally, if two angles, as examples, are congruent, then their measures are equal. If two quadrilaterals are congruent, the matching angles and matching sides would all have to be the same measure. Thus, shapes are congruent (because they usually on not directly on top of eache other) just means that matching pairs of sides and angles are all congruent.

Why wont the voices stop

"We've been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty."

How do you know if the proof is true for EVERY triangle or just one specific triangle?

any triangle has 3 sides and 3 angles if those are congruent then the triangle is congruent doesn't matter what kind of triangle they are

what is difference between equality and congruence in proofs

Equality is when two things like varibles or measurements are the same numerically: 21 / 3 = 9 - 2 because when you evaluate it they're the same number (7). Congruence is when to geometric figures like lines, angles, and polygons are the same geometrically: Triangle ABC is congruent to triangle XYZ because they have all the same side lengths and angle measures, which basically means they're the same shape.

this is just a joke chat

This is a newer video, so vote up the one question you think is the best and get it to the top. So far, there is not a lot of substance to the chats.

What is the difference between equality and congruency?

"Equal" means "these 'two' things are actually one thing with two names". We say 1+4=3+2 because '1+4' is a description of a certain number, and '3+2' is a description of the same exact number. Equality is a broad concept used across, and outside, all of math. Congruency is a concept specific to geometry. We say two figures are congruent if you can set one perfectly on top of the other without distorting either of them. More rigorously, if you can translate, rotate, and/or reflect one figure so that it lands perfectly on the other figure, then the two figures are congruent. If we say two triangles are congruent, it means they have the same side lengths, angles, and area, but they may be in different locations, tilted with respect to each other, or oriented differently. If we say triangle ABC is equal to triangle DEF, it means the triangles already fully coincide; maybe there is a single point that is named both A and D, a single point named both B and E, and a single point named both C and F.

Main content

Course: High school geometry > Unit 3

Lesson 4: Theorems concerning triangle properties

Properties of congruence and equality

Google Classroom

Learn when to apply the reflexive property, transitive, and symmetric properties in geometric proofs. Learn the relationship between equal measures and congruent figures.

There are lots of ways to write proofs, and some are more formal than others. In very formal proofs, we justify statements that may feel obvious to you. The reason we justify them is that those claims only work with certain types of relations. What's true with the equality relation isn't necessarily true with the inequality relation, for example.

Let's look at some of these properties. We'll use the symbol

★

to represent an unknown relation.

Reflexive property

When a relation

★

has a reflexive property, it means that the relation is always true between a thing and itself. So

A ★ A

What are some relations that use it?

Relation	Symbols	Example
Equality	$=$ ‍	$- 5 \frac{3}{8} = - 5 \frac{3}{8}$ ‍
Congruence	$≅$ ‍	$∠ M N P ≅ ∠ M N P$ ‍
Similarity	$\sim$ ‍	$△ M N P \sim △ M N P$ ‍

We use the reflexive property a lot when we're looking at shapes that share sides or angles.

If we were talking about how

△ M N Q

and

△ P N Q

relate, we might state that

\overset{―}{N Q} ≅ \overset{―}{N Q}

because of the reflexive property.

What are some relations that don't?

Strict inequalities don't have a reflexive property. For example,

3 ≮ 3

Being somebody's mother isn't a reflexive relationship. I am not my own mother.

Symmetric property

When a relation

★

has a symmetric property, it means that the if relation is true between two things, it is true in either order. If

A ★ B

, then

B ★ A

What are some relations that use it?

Relation	Symbols	Example
Equality	$=$ ‍	If $8 = 11 - 3$ ‍, then $11 - 3 = 8$ ‍.
Congruence	$≅$ ‍	If $\overset{―}{V W} ≅ \overset{―}{X Y}$ ‍, then $\overset{―}{X Y} ≅ \overset{―}{V W}$ ‍.
Similarity	$\sim$ ‍	If $A B C D \sim L M N P$ ‍, then $L M N P \sim A B C D$ ‍.
Parallelism	$∥$ ‍	If line $m ∥$ ‍ line $n$ ‍, then line $n ∥$ ‍ line $m$ ‍.
Perpendicularity	$⊥$ ‍	If $\vec{S T} ⊥ \overset{\leftrightarrow}{U V}$ ‍, then $\overset{\leftrightarrow}{U V} ⊥ \vec{S T}$ ‍.

By most people's definitions, friendship is a symmetric relationship. If Alaia is friends with Kolton, then Kolton is friends with Alaia.

What are some relations that don't?

Strict inequalities don't have a symmetric property. For example,

10 < 100

, but

100 ≮ 10

Being somebody's mother also isn't a symmetric relationship. If Karin is Santino's mother, then Santino cannot be Karin's mother.

Transitive property

When a relation

★

has a transitive property, then two things that relate to a common middle thing also relate to each other. If

A ★ B

and

B ★ C

, then

A ★ C

What are some relations that use it?

Relation	Symbols	Example
Equality	$=$ ‍	If $m ∠ F = m ∠ G$ ‍ and $m ∠ G = m ∠ H$ ‍, then $m ∠ F = m ∠ H$ ‍.
Congruence	$≅$ ‍	If $△ R S T ≅ △ W X Y$ ‍ and $△ W X Y ≅ △ F G H$ ‍, then $△ R S T ≅ △ F G H$ ‍.
Similarity	$\sim$ ‍	If circle $A \sim$ ‍ circle $B$ ‍ and circle $B \sim$ ‍ circle $D$ ‍, then circle $A \sim$ ‍ circle $D$ ‍.
Parallelism	$∥$ ‍	If $\overset{―}{J K} ∥ \overset{―}{L M}$ ‍ and $\overset{―}{L M} ∥ \overset{―}{N O}$ ‍, then $\overset{―}{J K} ∥ \overset{―}{N O}$ ‍.

What are some relations that don't?

Perpendicularity is not transitive.

In the figure,

\overset{―}{A B} ⊥ \overset{―}{A C}

and

\overset{―}{A C} ⊥ \overset{―}{C D}

, but

\overset{―}{A B}

is parallel to, not perpendicular to,

\overset{―}{C D}

Friendship is also not transitive. If Ezekiel is friends with Romina, and Romina is friends with Nash, we don't know whether or not Ezekiel is friends with Nash.

Equality versus congruence

Equality and congruence are closely connected, but different. We use equality relations for anything we can express with numbers, including measurements, scale factors, and ratios.

Value	Example
Angle measurements	$m ∠ A + m ∠ B = 90 °$ ‍
Segment lengths	$M N = P Q = 5$ ‍
Area	Area $D E F G = 81 {cm}^{2}$ ‍
Ratio	$\frac{3}{4} = \frac{J K}{K L}$ ‍

We use congruence and similarity relations for geometric figures. We can't perform arithmetic operations like addition and multiplication on geometric figures.

Figure	Example
Angle	$∠ A ≅ ∠ C$ ‍
Line segment	$\overset{―}{M N} ≅ \overset{―}{P Q}$ ‍
Polygon	$△ D E F \sim △ G H I$ ‍
Circle	All circles are similar to all other circles.

There are three very useful theorems that connect equality and congruence.

Two angles are congruent if and only if they have equal measures.
Two segments are congruent if and only if they have equal measures.
Two triangles are congruent if and only if all corresponding angles and sides are congruent.

So in the following figure, we're given that

A B = C D = 3.2

In a very formal proof, we would need a separate line to claim

\overset{―}{A B} ≅ \overset{―}{C D}

. More casual proofs use equal measures and congruent parts interchangeably. Check with your class to see which you need!

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How do we know the difference between equality and congruence
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- David Severin
  Posted 2 years ago. Direct link to David Severin's post “numbers are equal to each...”
  numbers are equal to each other, and shapes are congruent to each other (same size and shape). Generally, if two angles, as examples, are congruent, then their measures are equal. If two quadrilaterals are congruent, the matching angles and matching sides would all have to be the same measure. Thus, shapes are congruent (because they usually on not directly on top of eache other) just means that matching pairs of sides and angles are all congruent.
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what is difference between equality and congruence in proofs
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- WRaven
  Posted a year ago. Direct link to WRaven's post “Equality is when two thin...”
  Equality is when two things like varibles or measurements are the same numerically:
  21 / 3 = 9 - 2 because when you evaluate it they're the same number (7).
  
  Congruence is when to geometric figures like lines, angles, and polygons are the same geometrically:
  Triangle ABC is congruent to triangle XYZ because they have all the same side lengths and angle measures, which basically means they're the same shape.
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How do you know if the proof is true for EVERY triangle or just one specific triangle?
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- baralul01
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  any triangle has 3 sides and 3 angles if those are congruent then the triangle is congruent doesn't matter what kind of triangle they are
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  This is a newer video, so vote up the one question you think is the best and get it to the top. So far, there is not a lot of substance to the chats.
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What is the difference between equality and congruency?
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- kubleeka
  Posted 5 months ago. Direct link to kubleeka's post “"Equal" means "these 'two...”
  "Equal" means "these 'two' things are actually one thing with two names". We say 1+4=3+2 because '1+4' is a description of a certain number, and '3+2' is a description of the same exact number. Equality is a broad concept used across, and outside, all of math.
  
  Congruency is a concept specific to geometry. We say two figures are congruent if you can set one perfectly on top of the other without distorting either of them. More rigorously, if you can translate, rotate, and/or reflect one figure so that it lands perfectly on the other figure, then the two figures are congruent.
  
  If we say two triangles are congruent, it means they have the same side lengths, angles, and area, but they may be in different locations, tilted with respect to each other, or oriented differently. If we say triangle ABC is equal to triangle DEF, it means the triangles already fully coincide; maybe there is a single point that is named both A and D, a single point named both B and E, and a single point named both C and F.
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