# Dad, would youhelp me with my math homework in the morning **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 14, 2005, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-would-youhelp-me-with-my-math-homework-in-the-morning/321553 "2005-09-14T04:28:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-would-youhelp-me-with-my-math-homework-in-the-morning/321553/1 "2005-09-14T04:28:01Z")
Shudder shudder gulp Well maybe it won’t be so tough. > [@](#): > > Decide weather you can deduce by the SSS, SAS, or ASA Postulate that another triangle is congruent to ABC. If so ,write the congruence and name the postulate used. Oh Oh Now I’m just pretty sure this is Geometry. Congruent triangles…Yeah I remember hearing about them in class about 40 years ago. But this postulate thing. Didn’t Dave get sent to the principals office for saying that outloud in biology class? Yeah I think that was it. So OK where can I get some quick help remembering WTF this stuff is? ---
**Author:** ![Pixisis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@Pixisis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixisis)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-would-youhelp-me-with-my-math-homework-in-the-morning/321553/2 "2005-09-14T06:02:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Decide weather you can deduce by the SSS, SAS, or ASA Postulate that another triangle is congruent to ABC. If so ,write the congruence and name the postulate used. Postulate is just math geekspeak for a rule. > [@](#): > > **Congruent** : Mathematics. > > 1. Coinciding exactly when superimposed: congruent triangles. Congruence of triangles … SSS - If all 3 sides are congruent, then the triangles are congruent. SAS - If **adjacent** side, angle, and side are congruent, then the triangles are congruent. ASA - If **adjacent** angle, side, and angle are congruent, then the triangles are congruent. IIRC, for these types of problems the will give you measures on the 2 triangles. The idea is to know which are significant in determining congruency. hope that helped 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-would-youhelp-me-with-my-math-homework-in-the-morning/321553/3 "2005-09-14T06:36:10Z")
G-o-o-g-l-e searches will provide assloads of pedagogical support for desperate parents and students from k-8, 9-12 and college. Of course, the brat’s wee _textbook_ may render an actual clue or two. ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-would-youhelp-me-with-my-math-homework-in-the-morning/321553/4 "2005-09-14T10:19:42Z")
> [@cerberus](#): > > G-o-o-g-l-e searches will provide assloads of pedagogical support for desperate parents and students from k-8, 9-12 and college. > > Of course, the brat’s wee _textbook_ may render an actual clue or two. I shelled out bux for a copy of my son’s math text (in use for grades 6-8) to keep at home. I can’t make hide nor hair of the silly thing. Of course, math had me in tears daily from about 5th grade on (straight As everywhere else, but I flunked the hell out of some math classes) so this is probably just a personal problem. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-would-youhelp-me-with-my-math-homework-in-the-morning/321553/5 "2005-09-14T12:12:00Z")
> [@Pixisis](#): > > Postulate is just math geekspeak for a rule. > > Congruence of triangles … > > SSS - If all 3 sides are congruent, then the triangles are congruent. > SAS - If **adjacent** side, angle, and side are congruent, then the triangles are congruent. > ASA - If **adjacent** angle, side, and angle are congruent, then the triangles are congruent. > > IIRC, for these types of problems the will give you measures on the 2 triangles. The idea is to know which are significant in determining congruency. > hope that helped 🙂 Translating further: 1. Do you know all three sides of both triangles? If so, you can tell whether the triangles are congruent (i.e. could be superimposed) by the SSS rule. 2. Do you know two sides and the _intervening_ angle (i.e. the angle between the known sides) of both triangles? If so, bingo, SAS rule to the rescue. 3. Do you know two angles and the _intervening_ sides of both triangles? Paydirt if yes, thanks to ASA. Any of those three metrics will exactly define a triangle, e.g. a triangle with one unique set of three sides must have three unique angles. Other metrics don’t, f’rinstance knowing all three angles tells you nothing about how big the SOB is. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-would-youhelp-me-with-my-math-homework-in-the-morning/321553/6 "2005-09-14T15:18:43Z")
It sounds like really bad weather to me. Mayhaps the OP meant whether? And so ends my contribution to this thread. Being essentially math illiterate, my work here is done. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-would-youhelp-me-with-my-math-homework-in-the-morning/321553/7 "2005-09-14T15:31:08Z")
Remember, angle/ side /side is NOT valid ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-would-youhelp-me-with-my-math-homework-in-the-morning/321553/8 "2005-09-14T15:41:55Z")
> [@Pixisis](#): > > Postulate is just math geekspeak for a rule. Actually, a “postulate” is an assumption or axiom, as opposed to something that’s been proved or deduced. I think maybe the quoted homework is misusing the word. ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-would-youhelp-me-with-my-math-homework-in-the-morning/321553/9 "2005-09-14T17:25:09Z")
You know, I did some volunteer tutoring awhile ago. They used to try to stick me with the math stuff, which was difficult because they do everything differently now! Even if I know how to do a problem, I have to try to figure out how to do it their way. Math is hard. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-would-youhelp-me-with-my-math-homework-in-the-morning/321553/10 "2005-09-14T17:28:45Z")
It sounds like I am going to have to get my daughter a doctor’s note to get out of math when she gets to be that age. ---
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-would-youhelp-me-with-my-math-homework-in-the-morning/321553/11 "2005-09-15T05:10:51Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > It sounds like I am going to have to get my daughter a doctor’s note to get out of math when she gets to be that age. Hey I never thought of that. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-would-youhelp-me-with-my-math-homework-in-the-morning/321553/12 "2005-09-15T05:18:21Z")
Due to a previous early morning appointment Sarah had to fend for herself on her homework assignment. We’ll discuss triangles before she goes to school this morn. thanks again just ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-would-youhelp-me-with-my-math-homework-in-the-morning/321553/13 "2005-09-15T10:17:07Z")
> [@justwannano](#): > > Due to a previous early morning appointment Sarah had to fend for herself on her homework assignment. > We’ll discuss triangles before she goes to school this morn. > thanks again > just I had trouble with math since the 3rd grade. My solution: join the military. But I doubt that will help you. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dad-would-youhelp-me-with-my-math-homework-in-the-morning/321553/14 "2005-09-15T10:28:44Z")
> [@The Vorlon](#): > > Remember, angle/ side /side is NOT valid Not _necessarily_ valid. Given angle A, side b (adjacent to A) and side a (adjacent to b; opposite A), the triangle is unique if a \> b, and ambiguous if a \< b.