8/10/2018 Cross section (geometry) - Wikipedia

Cross section (geometry)

In geometry and science, a cross section is the non-empty intersection of a
solid body in three-dimensional space with a plane, or the analog in higher-
dimensional spaces. Cutting an object into slices creates many parallel cross
sections. The boundary of a cross section in three-dimensional space that is
parallel to two of the axes, that is, parallel to the plane determined by these
axes, is a sometimes referred to as a contour line; for example, if a plane cuts
through mountains of a raised-relief map parallel to the ground, the result is a
contour line in two-dimensional space showing points on the surface of the
mountains of equal elevation.
A cross-section view of a
compression seal
In technical drawing a cross-section, being a projection of an object onto a
plane that intersects it, is a common tool used to depict the internal
arrangement of a 3-dimensional object in two dimensions. It is traditionally crosshatched with the style of crosshatching
often indicating the types of materials being used.

With computed axial tomography, computers construct cross-sections from x-ray data.

Contents
Definition
Plane sections
Mathematical examples of cross sections and plane sections
In related subjects
Area and volume
In higher dimensions
Examples in science
See also
Notes
References

Definition
If a plane intersects a solid (a 3-dimensional object), then the region common to the plane and the solid is called a cross-
section of the solid.[1] A plane containing a cross-section of the solid may be referred to as a cutting plane.

The shape of the cross-section of a solid may depend upon the orientation of the cutting plane to the solid. For instance,
while all the cross-sections of a ball are disks,[2] the cross-sections of a cube depend on how the cutting plane is related to
the cube. If the cutting plane is perpendicular to a line joining the centers of two opposite faces of the cube, the cross-
section will be a square, however, if the cutting plane is perpendicular to a diagonal of the cube joining opposite vertices,
the cross-section can be either a point, a triangle or a hexagon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_section_(geometry) 1/5
8/10/2018 Cross section (geometry) - Wikipedia

Plane sections
A related concept is that of a plane section, which is the curve of intersection of a plane with a surface.[3] Thus, a plane
section is the boundary of a cross-section of a solid in a cutting plane.

If a surface in a three-dimensional space is defined by a function of two variables, i.e., z = f(x, y), the plane sections by
cutting planes that are parallel to a coordinate plane (a plane determined by two coordinate axes) are called level curves
or isolines.[4] More specifically, cutting planes with equations of the form z = k (planes parallel to the xy-plane) produce
plane sections that are often called contour lines in application areas.

Mathematical examples of cross sections and plane

sections
A cross section of a polyhedron is a polygon.

The conic sections – circles, ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas – are

plane sections of a cone with the cutting planes at various different
angles, as seen in the diagram at left.

Any cross-section passing through the center of an ellipsoid forms an

elliptic region, while the corresponding plane sections are ellipses on its
surface. These degenerate to disks and circles, respectively, when the
cutting planes are perpendicular to a symmetry axis. In more generality,
the plane sections of a quadric are conic sections.[5]

A cross-section of a solid right circular cylinder

extending between two bases is a disk if the
Colored regions are cross-sections of the
cross-section is parallel to the cylinder's base,
solid cone. Their boundaries (in black)
or an elliptic region (see diagram at right) if it is
are the named plane sections.
neither parallel nor perpendicular to the base.
If the cutting plane is perpendicular to the base
it consists of a rectangle (not shown) unless it is just tangent to the cylinder, in which case it is a
single line segment.
Cross-section of a
solid cylinder
The term cylinder can also mean the lateral surface of a solid cylinder (see Cylinder (geometry)).
If cylinder is used in this sense, the above paragraph would read as follows: A plane section of a
right circular cylinder of finite length[6] is a circle if the cutting plane is perpendicular to the
cylinder's axis of symmetry, or an ellipse if it is neither parallel nor perpendicular to that axis. If the cutting plane is
parallel to the axis the plane section consists of a pair of parallel line segments unless the cutting plane is tangent to the
cylinder, in which case, the plane section is a single line segment.

A plane section can be used to visualize the partial derivative of a function with respect to one of its arguments, as shown.
Suppose z = f(x, y). In taking the partial derivative of f(x, y) with respect to x, one can take a plane section of the function
f at a fixed value of y to plot the level curve of z solely against x; then the partial derivative with respect to x is the slope of
the resulting two-dimensional graph.

In related subjects

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_section_(geometry) 2/5
8/10/2018 Cross section (geometry) - Wikipedia

A plane section of a probability density function of two random variables

in which the cutting plane is at a fixed value of one of the variables is a
conditional density function of the other variable (conditional on the
fixed value defining the plane section). If instead the plane section is
taken for a fixed value of the density, the result is an iso-density contour.
For the normal distribution, these contours are ellipses.

In economics, a production function f(x, y) specifies the output that can

be produced by various quantities x and y of inputs, typically labor and
physical capital. The production function of a firm or a society can be
A graph of z = x2 + xy + y2. For the
plotted in three-dimensional space. If a plane section is taken parallel to
partial derivative at (1, 1, 3) that leaves y
the xy-plane, the result is an isoquant showing the various combinations constant, the corresponding tangent line
of labor and capital usage that would result in the level of output given by is parallel to the xz-plane.
the height of the plane section. Alternatively, if a plane section of the
production function is taken at a fixed level of y—that is, parallel to the
xz-plane—then the result is a two-dimensional graph showing how much
output can be produced at each of various values of usage x of one input
combined with the fixed value of the other input y.

Also in economics, a cardinal or ordinal utility function u(w, v) gives the

degree of satisfaction of a consumer obtained by consuming quantities w
and v of two goods. If a plane section of the utility function is taken at a
given height (level of utility), the two-dimensional result is an
indifference curve showing various alternative combinations of consumed
amounts w and v of the two goods all of which give the specified level of
utility.
A plane section of the above graph
showing the level curve in the xz-plane at
Area and volume y= 1

Cavalieri's principle states that solids with corresponding cross sections

of equal areas have equal volumes.

The cross-sectional area ( ) of an object when viewed from a particular angle is the total area of the orthographic
projection of the object from that angle. For example, a cylinder of height h and radius r has when viewed along
its central axis, and when viewed from an orthogonal direction. A sphere of radius r has when viewed
from any angle. More generically, can be calculated by evaluating the following surface integral:

where is the unit vector pointing along the viewing direction toward the viewer, is a surface element with an
outward-pointing normal, and the integral is taken only over the top-most surface, that part of the surface that is "visible"
from the perspective of the viewer. For a convex body, each ray through the object from the viewer's perspective crosses
just two surfaces. For such objects, the integral may be taken over the entire surface ( ) by taking the absolute value of the
integrand (so that the "top" and "bottom" of the object do not subtract away, as would be required by the Divergence
Theorem applied to the constant vector field ) and dividing by two:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_section_(geometry) 3/5
8/10/2018 Cross section (geometry) - Wikipedia

In higher dimensions
In analogy with the cross-section of a solid, the cross-section of an n-dimensional body in an n-dimensional space is the
non-empty intersection of the body with a hyperplane (an (n − 1)-dimensional subspace). This concept has sometimes
been used to help visualize aspects of higher dimensional spaces.[7] For instance, if a four-dimensional object passed
through our three-dimensional space, we would see a three-dimensional cross-section of the four-dimensional object. In
particular, a 4-ball (hypersphere) passing through 3-space would appear as a 3-ball that increased to a maximum and then
decreased in size during the transition. This dynamic object (from the point of view of 3-space) is a sequence of cross-
sections of the 4-ball.

Examples in science
In geology, the structure of the
interior of a planet is often
illustrated using a diagram of a
cross section of the planet that
passes through the planet's center,
as in the cross section of Earth at
Cross-section of the midbrain at the right.
level of the superior colliculus.
Cross-sections are often used in
anatomy to illustrate the inner
structure of an organ, as shown
at left. Schematic cross-sectional view of
the interior of Earth
A cross-section of a tree trunk,
as shown at left, reveals growth
rings that can be used to find the age of the tree and the temporal
properties of its environment.

Pinus taeda cross-section showing

annual rings, Cheraw, South Carolina.

See also
Descriptive geometry
Exploded view drawing
Graphical projection
Plans (drawings)

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_section_(geometry) 4/5
8/10/2018 Cross section (geometry) - Wikipedia

1. Swokowski 1983, p. 296

2. in more technical language, the cross-sections of a 3-ball are 2-balls
3. Albert 2016, p. 38
4. Swokowski 1983, p. 716
5. Albert 2016, p. 117
6. these cylinders are open, they do not contain their bases
7. Stewart 2001, p. 59

References
Albert, Abraham Adrian (2016) [1949], Solid Analytic Geometry, Dover, ISBN 978-0-486-81026-3
Stewart, Ian (2001), Flatterland / like flatland, only more so, Persus Publishing, ISBN 0-7382-0675-X
Swokowski, Earl W. (1983), Calculus with analytic geometry (Alternate ed.), Prindle, Weber & Schmidt, ISBN 0-
87150-341-7

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cross_section_(geometry)&oldid=829499982"

This page was last edited on 9 March 2018, at 00:42 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_section_(geometry) 5/5