Bisect

Pronunciation: /baɪˈsɛkt/ Explain

To bisect is to cut into two equal halves. In geometry, bisecting an angle means divide the angle into two equal angles. Bisecting a line segment means dividing the line segment into two equal line segments.

Bisecting a Line Segment Using Analytical Geometry

Click on the blue points and drag them to change the figure. Manipulative 1 - Bisecting a Line Segment Using Analytical Geometry Created with GeoGebra.

Using analytical geometry, a line segment can be bisected. If the endpoints of the line segment are (x1,y1) and (x2,y2), then the midpoint of the line segment is (see figure 2).

References

1. McAdams, David E.. All Math Words Dictionary, bisect. 2nd Classroom edition 20150108-4799968. pg 27. Life is a Story Problem LLC. January 8, 2015. Buy the book

More Information

• McAdams, David E.. How to Bisect an Angle. allmathwords.org. Life is a Story Problem LLC. 6/22/2018. http://www.allmathwords.org/en/h/howtobisectanangle.html.
• McAdams, David E.. Bisecting a Line Segment. allmathwords.org. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem LLC. 6/22/2018. http://www.allmathwords.org/en/b/bisectingalinesegment.html.

Cite this article as:

McAdams, David E. Bisect. 4/12/2019. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem LLC. http://www.allmathwords.org/en/b/bisect.html.

Image Credits

• All images and manipulatives are by David McAdams unless otherwise stated. All images by David McAdams are Copyright © Life is a Story Problem LLC and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Revision History

4/12/2019: Changed equations and expressions to new format. (McAdams, David E.)
2/15/2019: Changed expression to image for clarity. Changed image to manipulative. (McAdams, David E.)
12/21/2018: Reviewed and corrected IPA pronunication. (McAdams, David E.)
6/22/2018: Removed broken links, updated license, implemented new markup. (McAdams, David E.)
1/8/2010: Added "References" and "More Information". (McAdams, David E.)
10/24/2008: Changed images and manipulatives to geogebra. (McAdams, David E.)
5/7/2008: Corrected link errors. Corrected spelling (McAdams, David E.)
4/22/2008: Initial version. (McAdams, David E.)