Construction of a Line Segment of a Given Length

Construction of a Line Segment of a Given Length:

1) Suppose we want to draw a line segment of length 4.7 cm.

Use of ruler and compasses:

A better method would be to use compasses to construct a line segment of a
given length.

The following are steps to construct a line segment of a given length.

Step 1: Draw a line l. Mark a point A on a line l.

Step 2: Place the compasses pointer on the zero mark of the ruler. Open it to place the pencil point up to the 4.7 cm mark.

Step 3: Taking caution that the opening of the compasses has not changed, place the pointer on A and swing an arc to cut l at B.

Step 4: `bar"AB"` is a line segment of the required length.