What is the difference between a bisector and a perpendicular bisector?

1 Answer
Jan 9, 2016

A (segment) bisector is any segment, line, or ray that splits another segment into two congruent parts.

For example, in the picture, if #bar(DE)congbar(EB)#, then #bar(AC)# is the bisector of #bar(DC)# since it split it into two equal sections.

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A perpendicular bisector is a special, more specific form of a segment bisector. In addition to splitting another segment into two equal parts, it also forms a right angle (90˚) with said segment.

Here, #bar(DE)# is the perpendicular bisector of #bar(AC)# since #bar(AC)# is split into two congruent segments—#bar(AE)# and #bar(EC)#.

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