From Equilateral Triangle and Square to Golden Ratio

In a 2011 article, M. Bataille, offered an elegant way of constructing the Golden Ratio via an equlateral triangle and a square.

Given an equilateral triangle ABC, erect a square BCDE externally on the side BC. Construct the circle, center C, passing through E, to intersect the line AB at F. Then, B divides AF in the golden ratio.

For a proof, drop a perpendicular CH from C to AB.

Assume for convenience that AB = 2, then CH = 3 and CF = CE = 22. By the Pythagorean theorem, in the right triangle CFH,

FH² = CF² - CH² = 8 - 3,

so that FH = 5, making AF = 1 + 5. Thus AF/AB = (1 + 5)/2 = φ, the golden ratio.


  1. M. Bataille, Another Simple Construction of the Golden Section, Forum Geometricorum,Volume 11 (2011) 55

Fibonacci Numbers

  1. Ceva's Theorem: A Matter of Appreciation
  3. I. Sharygin's Problem of Criminal Ministers
  4. Single Pile Games
  5. Take-Away Games
  6. Number 8 Is Interesting
  7. Curry's Paradox
  8. A Problem in Checker-Jumping
  9. Fibonacci's Quickies
  10. Fibonacci Numbers in Equilateral Triangle
  11. Binet's Formula by Inducion
  12. Binet's Formula via Generating Functions
  13. Generating Functions from Recurrences
  14. Cassini's Identity
  15. Fibonacci Idendtities with Matrices
  16. GCD of Fibonacci Numbers
  17. Binet's Formula with Cosines
  18. Lame's Theorem - First Application of Fibonacci Numbers


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