As you have already explored, two triangles are considered to be congruent if they have corresponding sides and angles of equal measure. You have learned postulates and a theorem to help you determine if triangles are congruent. There is another theorem that can be used exclusively for right triangles; it is called the Hypotenuse-Leg (HL) Theorem. You will examine this new theorem throughout this topic.

Essential Question

• How can you use the HL Congruence Theorem to show that two right triangles are congruent?

 

Warm-Up

Before you continue your exploration of congruent triangles, take out a piece of paper and pencil and challenge yourself with this math problem. Given two equilateral triangles with side lengths of 6, explain the different postulates and theorems that you can use to prove that the two triangles are congruent.