Geometry Print Version
Geometry Print Version
Geometry
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General geometry
Part I- Euclidean Geometry
Chapter 1: Points, Lines, Line Segments and Rays
Points and lines are two of the most fundamental concepts in Geometry, but they are also the most difficult to define. We can describe intuitively their
characteristics, but there is no set definition for them: they, along with the plane, are the undefined terms of geometry. All other geometric definitions
and concepts are built on the undefined ideas of the point, line and plane. Nevertheless, we shall try to define them.
Point
A point is an exact location in space. A point is denoted by a dot. A point has no size.
Line
As for a line segment, we specify a line with two endpoints. Starting with the corresponding line segment, we find other line segments that share at
least two points with the original line segment. In this way we extend the original line segment indefinitely. The set of all possible line segments
findable in this way constitutes a line. A line extends indefinitely in a single dimension. Its length, having no limit, is infinite. Like the line segments
that constitute it, it has no width or height. You may specify a line by specifying any two points within the line. For any two points, only one line
passes through both points. On the other hand, an unlimited number of lines pass through any single point.
Ray
We construct a ray similarly to the way we constructed a line, but we extend the line segment beyond only one of the original two points. A ray
extends indefinitely in one direction, but ends at a single point in the other direction. That point is called the end-point of the ray. Note that a line
segment has two end-points, a ray one, and a line none. An angle can be formed when two rays meet at a common point. The rays are the sides of the
angle. The point of the end of two rays is called the vertex.
Plane
A point exists in zero dimensions. A line exists in one dimension, and we specify a line with two points. A plane exists in two dimensions. We specify
a plane with three points. Any two of the points specify a line. All possible lines that pass through the third point and any point in the line make up a
plane. In more obvious language, a plane is a flat surface that extends indefinitely in its two dimensions, length and width. A plane has no height.
Space
Space exists in three dimensions. Space is made up of all possible planes, lines, and points. It extends indefinitely in all directions.
N-dimensional Space
Mathematics can extend space beyond the three dimensions of length, width, and height. We then refer to "normal" space as 3-dimensional space. A 4-
dimensional space consists of an infinite number of 3-dimensional spaces. Etc.
Further reading
Point
Chapter 2: Angles
An angle is the union of two rays with a common endpoint, called the vertex. The angles formed by vertical and horizontal lines are called right angles;
lines, segments, or rays that intersect in right angles are said to be perpendicular.
Angles, for our purposes, can be measured in either degrees (from 0 to 360) or radians (from 0 to ). Angles length can be determined by measuring
along the arc they map out on a circle. In radians we consider the length of the arc of the circle mapped out by the angle. Since the circumference of a
circle is , a right angle is radians. In degrees, the circle is 360 degrees, and so a right angle would be 90 degrees.
Naming Conventions
Angles are named in several ways.
By naming the vertex of the angle (only if there is only one angle formed at that vertex; the name must be non-ambiguous)
By naming a point on each side of the angle with the vertex in between.
By placing a small number on the interior of the angle near the vertex.
Right Angle
Obtuse Angle
complementary angles
complementary angles are two angles whose sum is 90 degrees.
complementary angles may or may not be adjacent.
if two complementary angles are adjacent, then their exterior sides are perpendicular.
supplementary angles
two angles are said to be supplementary if their sum is 180 degrees.
supplementary angles need not be adjacent.
if supplementary angles are adjacent, then the sides they do not share form a line.
linear pair
if a pair of angles is both adjacent and supplementary, they are said to form a linear pair.
vertical angles
angles with a common vertex whose sides form opposite rays are called vertical angles.
vertical angles are congruent.
Chapter 3: Properties
Triangle Properties
Side-Side-Side (SSS) (Postulate 12) If three sides of one triangle are congruent to three sides of a second
triangle, then the two triangles are congruent.
If two sides and the included angle of a second triangle, then the two triangles are congruent.
'Angle-Side-Angle' (ASA)
If two angles and the included side of one triangle are congruent to two angles and the included side of a
second triangle, then two triangles are congruent.
'Angle-Angle-Side' (AAS)
If two angles and a non-included side of one triangle are congruent to two angles and the corresponding non-
included side of a second triangle, then the two triangles are congruent.
Triangle congruency.
NO - Angle-Side-Side (ASS)
The "ASS" postulate does not work, unlike the other ones. A way that students can remember this is that "ass" is not a nice word, so we don't use it in
geometry (since it does not work).
Basic Terms
Before one can start to understand logic, and thereby begin to prove geometric theorems, one must first know a few vocabulary words and symbols.
Conditional: a conditional is something which states that one statement implies another. A conditional contains two parts: the condition and the
conclusion, where the former implies the latter. A conditional is always in the form "If statement 1, then statement 2." In most mathematical notation, a
conditional is often written in the form p ⇒ q, which is read as "If p, then q" where p and q are statements.
Converse: the converse of a logical statement is when the conclusion becomes the condition and vice versa; i.e., p ⇒ q becomes q ⇒ p. For example,
the converse of the statement "If someone is a woman, then they are a human" would be "If someone is a human, then they are a woman." The
converse of a conditional does not necessarily have the same truth value as the original, though it sometimes does, as will become apparent later.
AND: And is a logical operator which is true only when both statements are true. For example, the statement "Diamond is the hardest substance
known to man AND a diamond is a metal" is false. While the former statement is true, the latter is not. However, the statement "Diamond is the hardest
substance known to man AND diamonds are made of carbon" would be true, because both parts are true.
OR: If two statements are joined together by "or," then the truth of the "or" statement is dependent upon whether one or both of the statements from
which it is composed is true. For example, the statement "Tuesday is the day after Monday OR Thursday is the day after Saturday" would have a truth
value of "true," because even though the latter statement is false, the former is true.
NOT: If a statement is preceded by "NOT," then it is evaluating the opposite truth value of that statement. The symbol for "NOT" is For example, if
the statement p is "Elvis is dead," then ¬p would be "Elvis is not dead." The concept of "NOT" can cause some confusion when it relates to statements
which contain the word "all." For example, if r is "¬". "All men have hair," then ¬r would be "All men do not have hair" or "No men have hair." Do
not confuse this with "Not all men have hair" or "Some men have hair." The "NOT" should apply to the verb in the statement: in this case, "have." ¬p
can also be written as NOT p or ~p. NOT p may also be referred to as the "negation of p."
Inverse: The inverse of a conditional says that the negation of the condition implies the negation of the conclusion. For example, the inverse of p ⇒ q
is ¬p ⇒ ¬q. Like a converse, an inverse does not necessarily have the same truth value as the original conditional.
Biconditional: A biconditional is conditional where the condition and the conclusion imply one another. A biconditional starts with the words "if and
only if." For example, "If and only if p, then q" means both that p implies q and that q implies p.
Premise: A premise is a statement whose truth value is known initially. For example, if one were to say "If today is Thursday, then the cafeteria will
serve burritos," and one knew that what day it was, then the premise would be "Today is Thursday" or "Today is not Thursday."
Iff: Iff is a shortened form of "if and only if." It is read as "if and only if."
⇔: The symbol which denotes a biconditonal. p ⇔ q is read as "If and only if p, then q."
∴: The symbol for "therefore." p ∴ q means that one knows that p is true (p is true is the premise), and has logically concluded that q must also be true.
Deductive Reasoning
There are a few forms of deductive logic. One of the most common deductive logical arguments is modus ponens, which states that:
p⇒q
p∴q
(If p, then q)
(p, therefore q)
Another form of deductive logic is modus tollens, which states the following.
p⇒q
¬q ∴ ¬p
(If p, then q)
(not q, therefore not p)
Modus tollens is just as valid a form of logic as modus ponens. The following is an example which uses modus tollens.
Another form of deductive logic is known as the If-Then Transitive Property. Simply put, it means that there can be chains of logic where one thing
implies another thing. The If-Then Transitive Property states:
p⇒q
(q ⇒ r) ∴ (p ⇒ r)
(If p, then q)
Inductive Reasoning
Inductive reasoning is a logical argument which does not definitely prove a statement, but rather assumes it. Inductive reasoning is used often in life.
Polling is an example of the use of inductive reasoning. If one were to poll one thousand people, and 300 of those people selected choice A, then one
would infer that 30% of any population might also select choice A. This would be using inductive logic, because it does not definitively prove that
30% of any population would select choice A.
Because of this factor of uncertainty, inductive reasoning should be avoided when possible when attempting to prove geometric properties.
Truth Tables
Truth tables are a way that one can display all the possibilities that a logical system may have when given certain premises. The following is a truth
table with two premises (p and q), which shows the truth value of some basic logical statements. (NOTE: T = true; F = false)
See also
Deductive reasoning (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deductive_reasoning)
Inductive reasoning (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductive_reasoning)
Chapter 5: Proof
Introduction
Unlike science which has theories, mathematics has a definite notion of proof. Mathematics applies deductive reasoning to create a series of logical
statements which show that one thing implies another.
Consider a triangle, which we define as a shape with three vertices joined by three lines. We know that we can arbitrarily pick some point on a page,
and make that into a vertex. We repeat that process and pick a second point. Using a ruler, we can connect these two points. We now make a third
point, not on the line through the first two points, and using the ruler connect it to each of the other points. We have constructed a triangle.
In mathematics we formalize this process into axioms, and carefully lay out the sequence of statements to show what follows. All definitions are clearly
defined. In modern mathematics, we are always working within some system where various axioms hold.
Two-Column Proof
The most common form of explicit proof in highschool geometry is a two column proof consists of five parts: the given, the proposition, the statement
column, the reason column, and the diagram (if one is given).
Now, suppose a problem tells you to solve for , showing all steps made to get to the answer. A proof shows how this is done:
Given:
Prove: x = 1
Statement Reason
Given
Property of subtraction
We use "Given" as the first reason, because it is "given" to us in the problem.
Written Proof
Written proofs (also known as informal proofs, paragraph proofs, or 'plans for proof') are written in paragraph form. Other than this formatting
difference, they are similar to two-column proofs.
Sometimes it is helpful to start with a written proof, before formalizing the proof in two-column form. If you're having trouble putting your proof into
two column form, try "talking it out" in a written proof first.
We are given that x + 1 = 2, so if we subtract one from each side of the equation (x + 1 - 1 = 2 - 1), then we can see that x = 1 by the definition of
subtraction.
Flowchart Proof
A flowchart proof or more simply a flow proof is a graphical representation of a two-column proof. Each set of statement and reasons are recorded in a
box and then arrows are drawn from one step to another. This method shows how different ideas come together to formulate the proof.
1. A straight line segment may be drawn from any given point to any other.
2. A straight line may be extended to any finite length.
3. A circle may be described with any given point as its center and any distance as its radius.
4. All right angles are congruent.
5. If a straight line intersects two other straight lines, and so makes the two interior angles on one side of it together less than two right
angles, then the other straight lines will meet at a point if extended far enough on the side on which the angles are less than two
right angles.
Postulate 5, the so-called Parallel Postulate was the source of much annoyance, probably even to Euclid, as it is not a simple, concise statement, as
are the other four. Mathematicians, and really most of us, value simplicity arising from simplicity, with the long complicated proofs, equations, and
calculations needed for rigorous certainty done behind the scenes, and to have such a long sentence amidst such other straightforward, intuitive
statements seems awkward. As a result, many mathematicians over the centuries have tried to prove the results of the Elements without using the
Parallel Postulate, but to no avail. However, in the past two centuries, assorted non-Euclidean geometries have been derived based on using the first
four Euclidean postulates together with various negations of the fifth.
Each of the above shapes is congruent to each other. The only difference is in their orientation, or the way they are rotated. If you traced them onto
paper and cut them out, you could see that they fit over each other exactly.
Having done this, right away we can see that, though the angles correspond in size and position, the sides do not. Therefore it is proved the triangles
are not congruent.
Similarity
Similar shapes are like congruent shapes in that they must be the same shape, but they don't have to be the same size. Their corresponding angles are
congruent and their corresponding sides are in proportion.
Rhombus
A rhombus is a quadrilateral of which all four sides are the same length.
Rectangle
A rectangle is a parallelogram of which all four angles are 90 degrees.
Square
A square is a quadrilateral of which all four sides are of the same length, and all four angles are 90 degrees.
Trapezoid
A trapezoid is a quadrilateral which has two parallel sides (U.S.)
Trapezium
U.S. usage: A trapezium is a quadrilateral which has no parallel sides.
U.K usage: A trapezium is a quadrilateral with two parallel sides (same as US trapezoid definition).
Kite
A kite is an quadrilateral with two pairs of congruent adjacent sides.
One of the most important properties used in proofs is that the sum of the angles of the quadrilateral is always 360 degrees. This can easily be proven
too:
If you draw a random quadrilateral, and one of its diagonals, you'll split it up into two triangles. Given that the sum of the angles of a triangle is 180
degrees, you can sum them up, and it'll give 360 degrees.
Chapter 13. Parallelograms
Parallelograms
A parallelogram is a geometric figure with two pairs of parallel sides. Parallelograms are a special type of quadrilateral. The opposite sides are equal
in length and the opposite angles are also equal. The area is equal to the product of any side and the distance between that side and the line containing
Properties of Parallelograms
The following properties are common to all parallelograms (parallelogram, rhombus, rectangle, square)
Special Parallelograms
Rhombus
A rhombus is a parallelogram with four congruent sides.
The diagonals of a rhombus are perpendicular.
Each diagonal of a rhombus bisects two angles the rhombus.
A rhombus may or may not be a square.
Square
A square is a parallelogram with four right angles and four congruent sides.
A square is both a rectangle and a rhombus and inherits all of their properties.
The area (A) of a trapezoid is equal to the product of an altitude and the median.
Recall though that the median is half of the sum of the bases.
http://en.wikipedia.org/upload/d/dd/Circle-2.png
Chord
a chord is an internal segment of a circle that has both of its endpoints on the circumference of the circle.
Secant
Tangent
a tangent to a circle is a line that intersects a circle in exactly one point, called the point of tangency.
at the point of tangency the tangent line and the radius of the circle are perpendicular
Radians:
As I mentioned before an arc can be measured in degrees or radians. A radian is merely a different method for measuring an angle. If we take a unit
circle (which has a radius of 1 unit), then if we take an arc with the length equal to 1 unit, and draw line from each endpoint to the center of the circle
the angle formed is equal to 1 radian. this concept is displayed below, in this circle an arc has been cut off by an angle of 1 radian, and therefore the
length of the arc is equal to because the radius is 1.
From this definition we can say that on the unit circle a single radian is equal to radians because the perimeter of a unit circle is equal to .
Another useful property of this definition that will be extremely useful to anyone who studies arcs is that the length of an arc is equal to its measure in
radians multiplied by the radius of the circle.
Converting to and from radians is a fairly simple process. 2 facts are required to do so, first a circle is equal to 360 degrees, and it is also equal to .
using these 2 facts we can form the following formula:
From here we can simply multiply by the number of degrees to convert to radians. for example if we have 20 degrees and want to convert to
radians then we proceed as follows:
radians.
The same sort of argument can be used to show the formula for getting 1 radian.
A common tangent is a line tangent to two circles in the same plane. If the tangent does not intersect the line
containing and connecting the centers of the circles, it is an external tangent. If it does, it is an internal
tangent.
Two circles are tangent to one another if in a plane they intersect the same tangent in the same point.
To find the area of a sector, find the area of the whole circle and then multiply by the angle of the sector over 360 degrees.
A more intuitive approach can be used when the sector is half the circle. In this case the area of the sector would just be the area of the circle divided
by 2.
Acute Angle
See Angle
Angle
A figure is an angle if and only if it is composed of two rays which share a common endpoint. Each of these rays (or
segments, as the case may be) is known as a side of the angle (For example, in the illustration at right), and the
common point is known as the angle's vertex (point B in the illustration). Angles are measured by the difference of their
slopes. The units for angle measure are radians and degrees. Angles may be classified by their degree measure.
Acute Angle: an angle is an acute angle if and only if it has a measure of less than 90°
Angle ABC is acute.
Right Angle: an angle is an right angle if and only if it has a measure of exactly 90°
Obtuse Angle: an angle is an obtuse angle if and only if it has a measure of greater than 90°
Straight Angle: an angle is a straight angle if and only if it has a measure of exactly 180°
Using the Right Angle Congruence Theorem and the Straight Angle Congruence Theorem, all right angles and all straight angles are congruent
The arithmetic mean of 2 numbers a and b can be calculated as: arithmetic mean=(a+b)/2
Bisector
A figure bisects another figure if and only if it splits the figure it intersects into two equal parts
Center of a circle
Point P is the center of circle C if and only if all points in circle C are equidistant from point P and point P is contained in the same plane as circle C.
Circle
The set of all points in a plane that are equidistant from a given point (called the center of the circle).
Circumference
It is calculated as:
Complementary Angles
Two angles are complimentary if and only if the sum of their measures equals up to 90 degrees.
Concave
A polygon is said to be concave if and only if it contains at least one interior angle with a measure greater than 180° exclusively and less than 360°
exclusively.
Congruency
Two figures are congruent if and only if they have the same measure. It is designated by "≅".
Corresponding angles
Two angles formed by a transversal intersecting with two lines are corresponding angles
if and only if one is on the inside of the two lines, the other is on the outside of the two
lines, and both are on the same side of the transversal.
If two lines cut by a transversal are parallel, then their corresponding angles are
congruent.
If ∆ABC ≅ ∆XYZ, then all parts of ∆ABC are congruent to their corresponding parts in ∆XYZ. For example:
∠ABC ≅ ∠XYZ
∠BCA ≅ ∠YZX
∠CAB ≅ ∠ZXY
CPCTC also applies to all other parts of the triangles, such as a triangle's altitude, median, circumcenter, et al.
Cosine
cos(θ)=adjacent/hypotenuse
Diameter
A line segment is the diameter of a circle if and only if it is a chord of the circle which contains the circle's center.
See Circle
Distance
Distance between 2 points can be calculated as the absolute value of the difference of the coordinates of the points.
In a coordinate plane, distance for points A(x1,y1) and B(x2,y2) can be calculated as:
d(AB)=√((y2-y1)2+(x2-x1)2)
The distance between a point and a line is measured by the perpendicular segments connecting the 2 (using the Perpendicular postulate).
Geometric Mean
For 2 positive numbers a and b, the geometric mean of a and b is the positive number x that satisfies (a/x)=(x/b). So, x2=√(ab)
Height of a paralellogram
Hypotenuse
Using the Pythagorean Theorem, the measure of the hypotenuse can be calculated as:
c2=a2=b2 (where c is the hypotenuse and a and b are legs of the right triangle)
Line
A collection of points is a line if and only if the collection of points is perfectly straight (aligned), is infinitely long, and is infinitely thin. Between any
two points on a line, there exists an infinite number of points which are also contained by the line. Lines are usually written by two points in the line,
such as line AB, or
Line segment
A collection of points is a line segment if and only if it is perfectly straight, is infinitely thin, and has a finite length. A line segment is measured by the
shortest distance between the two extreme points on the line segment, known as endpoints. Between any two points on a line segment, there exists an
infinite number of points which are also contained by the line segment.
I
Line segment MN
Interior angle of a regular polygon
The interior angles of a regular polygon are all congruent. As such, the measure of one interior angle of a
regular polygon with n number of sides can be calculated as:
Isosceles Trapezoid
Isosceles Triangle
Using the Base Angles theorem, the angles opposite of the congruent sides are also congruent.
Linear pair
Using the Linear Pair Postulate, the angles in a linear pair are also supplementary.
If 2 angles forming a linear pair are congruent, then both the angles are right angles and the lines containing the angles are perpendicular.
Major arc
An arc whose measure is greater than 180 degrees. It must be named by 3 points.
Midsegment of a Trapezoid
It is parallel to the bases and the length of it is the arithmetic mean of the measures of the bases.
Minor arc
Parallel lines
Two lines or line segments are said to be parallel if and only if the lines are contained by the same plane and have no points in common if continued
infinitely.
In a coordinate plane, two lines are parallel if and only if they share the same slope.
Parallel planes
Two planes are said to be parallel if and only if the planes have no points in common when continued infinitely.
Perpendicular lines
In a coordinate plane, two lines are perpendicular if and only if their slopes' products are equal to -1 (or if the slopes are negative reciprocals).
Perpendicular Postulate
Given a line, and a point P not in line , then there is one and only one line that goes through point P perpendicular to
Plane
An object is a plane if and only if it is a two-dimensional object which has no thickness or curvature and continues infinitely. A plane can be defined
by three points. A plane may be considered to be analogous to a piece of paper[1] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/plane).
Point
A point is a zero-dimensional mathematical object representing a location in one or more dimensions[2] (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/point). A point
has no size; it has only location.
Polygon
A polygon is a closed plane figure composed of at least 3 straight lines. Each side has to intersect another side at their respective endpoints, and that the
lines intersecting are not collinear.
Radius
The radius of a circle is the distance between any given point on the circle and the circle's center.
All radii in the same circle (or congruent circles) have the same measure.
See Circle
Ray
A ray is a straight collection of points which continues infinitely in one direction. The point at which the ray stops is known as the ray's endpoint.
Between any two points on a ray, there exists an infinite number of points which are also contained by the ray.
Regular Polygon
Ruler Postulate
The points on a line can be matched one to one with the real numbers. The real number that corresponds to a point is the point's coordinate. The
distance between two points is the absolute value of the difference between the two coordinates of the two points.
Semicircle
The sum of the interior angles of a polygon with n number of sides is calculated as:
Supplementary Angles
Two angles are supplementary if and only if the sum of their measures equal up to 180 degrees.
Perimeter of Polygons
The perimeter of a polygon with number of sides abbreviated can be calculated using the following formula
Arclength of Circles
The arclength of a given circle with radius can be calculated using
Arclength of Curves
If a curve in has the parametric form for , then the arclength can be calculated using the following fomula
Derivation of formula can be found using differential geometry on infinitely small triangles.
Area
Area of Circles
The method for finding the area of a circle is
Where is the radius of the circle; a line drawn from any point on the circle to its center.
Area of Triangles
Three ways of calculating the area inside of a triangle are mentioned here.
First method
If one of the sides of the triangle is chosen as a base, then a height for the triangle and that particular base can be defined. The height is a line segment
perpendicular to the base or the line formed by extending the base and the endpoints of the height are the corner point not on the base and a point on
the base or line extending the base. Let B = the length of the side chosen as the base. Let
h = the distance between the endpoints of the height segment which is perpendicular to the base. Then the area of the triangle is given by:
This method of calculating the area is good if the value of a base and its corresponding height in the triangle is easily determined. This is particularly
true if the triangle is a right triangle, and the lengths of the two sides sharing the angle can be determined.
Second method
, also known as Heron's Formula
If the lengths of all three sides of a triangle are known, Hero's formula may be used to calculate the area of the triangle. First, the semiperimeter, s,
must be calculated by dividing the sum of the lengths of all three sides by 2. For a triangle having side lengths :
If the triangle is needle shaped, that is, one of the sides is very much shorter than the other two then it can be difficult to compute the area because the
precision needed is greater than that available in the calculator or computer that is used. In otherwords Heron's formula is numerically unstable.
Another formula that is much more stable is:
See also Heron's Formula at MathWorld (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/HeronsFormula.html) and How JAVA's Floating-Point Hurts Everyone
Everywhere (http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~wkahan/JAVAhurt.pdf)
Third method
This formula is true because in the formula . It is useful because you don't need to find the height from an angle in a separate
step, and is also used to prove the law of sines (divide all terms in the above equation by and you'll get it directly!)
Area of Rectangles
The area calculation of a rectangle is simple and easy to understand. One of the sides is chosen as the base, with a length . An adjacent side is then
the height, with a length , because in a rectangle the adjacent sides are perpendicular to the side chosen as the base. The rectangle's area is given by:
Sometimes, the baselength may be referred to as the length of the rectangle, l, and the height as the width of the rectangle, w. Then the area formula
becomes:
Regardless of the labels used for the sides, it is apparent that the two formulas are equivalent.
Of course, the area of a square with sides having length would be:
Area of Parallelograms
The area of a parallelogram can be determined using the equation for the area of a rectangle. The formula is:
The height is a perpendicular line segment that connects one of the vertices to its opposite side (the base).
Area of Rhombus
Remember in a rombus all sides are equal in length.
where represent the diagonals.
Area of Trapezoids
The area of a trapezoid is derived from taking the arithmetic mean of its two parallel sides to form a rectangle of equal area.
Where are the lengths of the two parallel bases.
Alternatively, the kite may be divided into two halves, each of which is a triangle, by the longer of its diagonals, . The area of each triangle is thus
And the total area of the kite (which is composed of two identical such triangles) is
or
Volume
Volume
Volume is like area expanded out into 3 dimensions. Area deals with only 2 dimensions. For volume we have to consider another dimension. Area can
be thought of as how much space some drawing takes up on a flat piece of paper. Volume can be thought of as how much space an object takes up.
Volume formulae
Common equations for volume:
Shape Equation Variables
A cube: s = length of a side
Any prism that has a constant cross sectional area along the height: A = area of the base, h = height
r = radius of sphere
A sphere:
which is the integral of the Surface Area of a sphere
(The units of volume depend on the units of length - if the lengths are in meters, the volume will be in cubic meters, etc.)
Pappus' Theorem
The volume of any solid whose cross sectional areas are all the same is equal to that cross sectional area times the distance the centroid(the center of
gravity in a physical object) would travel through the solid.
Cavalieri's Principle
If two solids are contained between two parallel planes and every plane parallel to these two plane has equal cross sections through these two solids,
then their volumes are equal.
Polygons
A Polygon is a two-dimensional figure, meaning all of the lines in the figure are contained within one plane. They are classified by the number of
angles, which is also the number of sides.
One key point to note is that a polygon must have at least three sides. Normally, three to ten sided figures are referred to by their names (below), while
figures with eleven or more sides is an n-gon, where n is the number of sides. Hence a forty-sided polygon is called a 40-gon.
Triangle
Quadrilateral
Pentagon
Hexagon
Heptagon
Octogon
Decagon
For a list of n-gon names, go to [3] (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Polygon.html) and scroll to the bottom of the page.
Polygons are also classified as convex or concave. A convex polygon has interior angles less than 180 degrees, thus all triangles are convex. If a
polygon has at least one internal angle greater than 180 degrees, then it is concave. An easy way to tell if a polygon is concave is if one side can be
extended and crosses the interior of the polygon. Concave polygons can be divided into several convex polygons by drawing diagonals. Regular
polygons are polygons in which all sides and angles are congruent.
Triangles
A triangle is a type of polygon having three sides and three angles. The triangle is a closed figure formed from three straightline segments joined at
their ends. The Line Segments at the ends can be called the corners, angles, or vertices of the triangle. Since any given triangle lies completely within a
plane, triangles are often treated as two-dimensional geometric figures. As such, a triangle has no volume and, because it is a two-dimensionally closed
figure, the flat part of the plane inside the triangle has an area, typically referred to as the area of the triangle. A triangle must have at least some area, so
all three corner points of a triangle cannot lie in the same line. The sum of the lengths of any two sides of a triangle is always greater than the length of
the third side. The preceding statement is sometimes called the Triangle Inequality.
Categorized by angle
The sum of the interior angles in a triangle always equals 180o. This means that no more than one of the angles can be 90o or more. All three angles
can all be less than 90oin the triangle; then it is called an acute triangle. One of the angles can be 90o and the other two less than 90o; then the triangle
is called a right triangle. Finally, one of the angles can be more than 90o and the other two less; then the triangle is called an obtuse triangle.
Categorized by sides
If all three of the sides of a triangle are of different length, then the triangle is called a scalene triangle. If two of the sides of a triangle are of equal
length, then it is called an isosceles triangle. In an isosceles triangle, the angle between the two equal sides can be more than, equal to, or less than
90o. The other two angles are both less than 90o. If all three sides of a triangle are of equal length, then it is called an equilateral triangle and all three
of the interior angles must be 60o, making it equiangular. Because the interior angles are all equal, all equilateral triangles are also the three-sided
variety of a regular polygon and they are all similar, but might not be congruent. However, polygons having four or more equal sides might not have
equal interior angles, might not be regular polygons, and might not be similar or congruent. Of course, pairs of triangles which are not equilateral might
be similar or congruent. Further discussion of Congruent Triangles and Similar Triangles may be found in those corresponding sections.
Area of Triangles
If base and height of a triangle are known, then the area of the triangle can be calculated by the formula: ( is the
symbol for area) Ways of calculating the area inside of a triangle are further discussed under Area.
Centres
The centroid is constructed by drawing all the medians of the triangle. All three medians intersect at the same point: this crossing point is the centroid.
Centroids are always inside a triangle. They are also the centre of gravity of the triangle. The three angle bisectors of the triangle intersect at a single
point, called the incentre. Incentres are always inside the triangle. The three sides are equidistant from the incentre. The incentre is also the centre of the
inscribed circle (incircle) of a triangle, or the interior circle which touches all three sides of the triangle. The circumcentre is the intersection of all three
perpendicular bisectors. Unlike the incentre, it is outside the triangle if the triangle is obtuse. Acute triangles always have circumcentres inside, while
the circumcentre of a right triangle is the midpoint of the hypotenuse. The vertices of the triangle are equidistant from the circumcentre. The
circumcentre is so called because it is the centre of the circumcircle, or the exterior circle which touches all three vertices of the triangle. The
orthocentre is the crossing point of the three altitudes. It is always inside acute triangles, outside obtuse triangles, and on the right vertex of the right-
angled triangle. Please note that the centres of an equilateral triangle are always the same point.
The side opposite of the right angle is called the hypotenuse. The sides adjacent to the right angle are the legs. When using the Pythagorean Theorem,
the hypotenuse or its length is often labeled with a lower case c. The legs (or their lengths) are often labeled a and b.
Either of the legs can be considered a base and the other leg would be considered the height (or altitude), because the right angle automatically makes
them perpendicular. If the lengths of both the legs are known, then by setting one of these sides as the base ( b ) and the other as the height ( h ), the
area of the right triangle is very easy to calculate using this formula:
(1/2)
This is intuitively logical because another congruent right triangle can be placed against it so that the hypotenuses are the same line segment, forming a
rectangle with sides having length b and width h. The area of the rectangle is b × h, so either one of the congruent right triangles forming it has an area
equal to half of that rectangle.
Right triangles can be neither equilateral, acute, nor obtuse triangles. Isosceles right triangles have two 45° angles as well as the 90° angle. All isosceles
right triangles are similar since corresponding angles in isosceles right triangles are equal. If another triangle can be divided into two right triangles (see
Triangle), then the area of the triangle may be able to be determined from the sum of the two constituent right triangles. Also the Pythagorean theorem
can be used for non right triangles. a2+b2=c2-2c
Pythagorean Theorem
For history regarding the Pythagorean Theorem, see Pythagorean theorem. The Pythagorean Theorem states that:
In a right triangle, the square of the length of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the lengths of the other two sides.
Let's take a right triangle as shown here and set c equal to the length of the hypotenuse and set a and b each equal to the lengths of the other two sides.
Then the Pythagorean Theorem can be stated as this equation:
Using the Pythagorean Theorem, if the lengths of any two of the sides of a right triangle are known and it is known which side is the hypotenuse, then
the length of the third side can be determined from the formula.
These three functions are related to right triangles in the following ways:
In a right triangle,
the sine of a non-right angle equals the length of the leg opposite that angle divided by the length of the hypotenuse.
the cosine of a non-right angle equals the length of the leg adjacent to it divided by the length of the hypotenuse.
the tangent of a non-right angle equals the length of the leg opposite that angle divided by the length of the leg adjacent to it.
If one considers the diagram representing a right triangle with the two non-right angles θ1and θ2, and the side lengths a,b,c as shown here:
Domino
A domino is the shape made from attaching unit squares so that they share one full edge. The term polyomino is based on the
word domino. There is only one possible domino.
Tromino
A polymino made from three squares is called a tromino. There are only two possible trominoes.
A Domino
Tetromino
A polymino made from four squares is called a tetromino. There are five possible combinations and two reflections:
Pentominoes
A polymino made from five squares is called a pentomino. There are twelve possible pentominoes, excluding mirror images and rotations.
Ellipses
Ellipses
Ellipses are sometimes called ovals. Ellipses contain two foci. The sum of the distance from a point on the ellipse to one focus and that same point to
the other focus is constant
2-Dimensional Functions
Geometry/2-Dimensional Functions
3-Dimensional Functions
Geometry/3-Dimensional Functions
Polyhedras
Geometry/Polyhedras
Coordinate Systems
Suppose you are an astronomer in America. You observe an exciting event (say, a supernova) in the sky and would like to tell your colleagues in
Europe about it. Suppose the supernova appeared at your zenith. You can't tell astronomers in Europe to look at their zenith because their zenith points
in a different direction. You might tell them which constellation to look in. This might not work, though, because it might be too hard to find the
supernova by searching an entire constellation. The best solution would be to give them an exact position by using a coordinate system.
On Earth, you can specify a location using latitude and longitude. This system works by measuring the angles separating the location from two great
circles on Earth (namely, the equator and the prime meridian). Coordinate systems in the sky work in the same way.
The equatorial coordinate system is the most commonly used. The equatorial system defines two coordinates: right ascension and declination, based
on the axis of the Earth's rotation. The declination is the angle of an object north or south of the celestial equator. Declination on the celestial sphere
corresponds to latitude on the Earth. The right ascension of an object is defined by the position of a point on the celestial sphere called the vernal
equinox. The further an object is east of the vernal equinox, the greater its right ascension.
A coordinate system is a system designed to establish positions with respect to given reference points. The coordinate system consists of one or more
reference points, the styles of measurement (linear measurement or angular measurement) from those reference points, and the directions (or axes) in
which those measurements will be taken. In astronomy, various coordinate systems are used to precisely define the locations of astronomical objects.
Latitude and longitude are used to locate a certain position on the Earth's surface. The lines of latitude (horizontal) and the lines of longitude (vertical)
make up an invisible grid over the earth. Lines of latitude are called parallels. Lines of longitude aren't completely straight (they run from the exact
point of the north pole to the exact point of the south pole) so they are called meridians. 0 degrees latitude is the Earth's middle, called the equator. 0
degrees longitude was tricky because there really is no middle of the earth vertically. It was finally agreed that the observatory in Greenwich, U.K.
would be 0 degrees longitude due to its significant role in scientific discoveries and creating latitude and longitude. 0 degrees longitude is called the
prime meridian.
Latitude and longitude are measured in degrees. One degree is about 69 miles. There are 60 minutes (') in a degree and 60 seconds (") in a minute.
These tiny units make GPS's (Global Positioning Systems) much more exact.
There are a few main lines of latitude:the Arctic Circle, the Antarctic Circle, the Tropic of Cancer, and the Tropic of Capricorn. The Antarctic Circle is
66.5 degrees south of the equator and it marks the temperate zone from the Antarctic zone. The Arctic Circle is an exact mirror in the north. The Tropic
of Cancer separates the tropics from the temperate zone. It is 23.5 degrees north of the equator. It is mirrored in the south by the Tropic of Capricorn.
In simplest terms, the altitude is the angle made from the position of the celestial object (e.g. star) to the point nearest it on the horizon. The azimuth is
the angle from the northernmost point of the horizon (which is also its intersection with the celestial meridian) to the point on the horizon nearest the
celestial object. Usually azimuth is measured eastwards from due north. So east has az=90°, south has az=180°, west has az=270° and north has
az=360° (or 0°). An object's altitude and azimuth change as the earth rotates.
Our galaxy defines another useful coordinate system — the galactic coordinate system. This system works just like the others we've discussed. It also
uses two coordinates to specify the position of an object on the celestial sphere. The galactic coordinate system first defines a galactic latitude, the angle
an object makes with the galactic equator. The galactic equator has been selected to run through the center of the Milky Way's band. The second
coordinate is galactic longitude, which is the angular separation of the object from the galaxy's "prime meridian," the great circle that passes through
the Galactic center and the galactic poles. The galactic coordinate system is useful for describing an object's position with respect to the galaxy's center.
For example, if an object has high galactic latitude, you might expect it to be less obstructed by interstellar dust.
To transform from horizontal to equatorial coordinates, the relevant formulas are as follows:
where is the right ascension, is the declination, is the local sidereal time, is the altitude,
is the azimuth, and is the observer's latitude. Using the same symbols and formulas, one can also derive formulas to transform from equatorial
to horizontal coordinates:
Transformation from equatorial to ecliptic coordinate systems can similarly be accomplished using the following formulae:
where is the right ascension, is the declination, is the ecliptic latitude, is the ecliptic longitude, and is the tilt of Earth's axis relative to
the ecliptic plane. Again, using the same formulas and symbols, new formulas for transforming ecliptic to equatorial coordinate systems can be found:
Traditional Geometry:
Topology
A topological space is a set X, and a collection of subsets of X, C such that both the empty set and X are contained in C and the union of any
subcollection of sets in C and the intersection of any finite subcollection of sets in C are also contained within C. The sets in C are called open sets.
Their complements relative to X are called closed sets.
Given two topological spaces, X and Y, a map f from X to Y is continuous if for every open set U of Y, f−1(U) is an open set of X.
Erlanger Program
Geometry/Erlanger Program
Euclidean geometry: Playfair's version: "Given a line l and a point P not on l, there exists a
unique line m through P that is parallel to l." Euclid's version: "Suppose that a line l meets two
other lines m and n so that the sum of the interior angles on one side of l is less than 180°. Then m Parallelism in the three geometries
and n intersect in a point on that side of l." These two versions are equivalent; though Playfair's
may be easier to conceive, Euclid's is often useful for proofs.
Hyperbolic geometry: Given an arbitrary infinite line l and any point P not on l, there exist two or more distinct lines which pass through P and are
parallel to l.
Elliptic geometry: Given an arbitrary infinite line l and any point P not on l, there does not exist a line which passes through P and is parallel to l.
Hyperbolic Geometry
Hyperbolic geometry is also known as saddle geometry or Lobachevskian geometry. It differs in many ways to Euclidean geometry, often leading to
quite counter-intuitive results. Some of these remarkable consequences of this geometry's unique fifth postulate include:
1. The sum of the three interior angles in a triangle is strictly less than 180°. Moreover, the angle sums of two distinct triangles are not necessarily the
same.
2. Two triangles with the same interior angles have the same area.
The following are four of the most common models used to describe hyperbolic space.
1. The Poincaré Disc Model. Also known as the conformal disc model. In it, the hyperbolic plane is represented by the interior of a circle, and lines
are represented by arcs of circles that are orthogonal to the boundary circle and by diameters of the boundary circle.
2. The Klein Model. Also known as the Beltrami-Klein model or projective disc model. In it, the hyperbolic plane is represented by the interior of a
circle, and lines are represented by chords of the circle. This model gives a misleading visual representation of the magnitude of angles.
3. The Poincaré Half-Plane Model. The hyperbolic plane is represented by one-half of the Euclidean plane, as defined by a given Euclidean line l,
where l is not considered part of the hyperbolic space. Lines are represented by half-circles orthogonal to l or rays perpendicular to l.
4. The Hyperboloid Model. The hyperbolic plane is represented on one of the sheets of a 2-sheeted hyperboloid. This model is used in modern
physics to represent velocity space.
Defining Parallel
Based on this geometry's definition of the fifth axiom, what does parallel mean? The following definitions are made for this geometry. If a line l and a
line m do not intersect in the hyperbolic plane, but intersect at the plane's boundary of infinity, then l and m are said to be parallel. If a line p and a line
q neither intersect in the hyperbolic plane nor at the boundary at infinity, then p and q are said to be ultraparallel.
For any two lines m and n in the hyperbolic plane such that m and n are ultraparallel, there exists a unique line l that is perpendicular to both m and n.
Elliptic Geometry
Spherical geometry gives us perhaps the simplest model of elliptic geometry. Points are represented by points on the sphere. Lines are represented by
circles through the points.
Affine Geometry
Geometry/Affine Geometry
Projective Geometry
Geometry/Projective Geometry
Neutral Geometry
Topics
Euclid's First Four Postulates
Euclid's Fifth Postulate
Incidence Geometry
Projective and Affine Planes (necessary?)
Axioms of Betweenness
Pasch and Crossbar
Axioms of Congruence
Continuity (necessary?)
Hilbert Planes
Neutral Geometry
Requests
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Inversive Geometry
Geometry/Inversive Geometry
Modern geometry
Algebraic Geometry
Geometry/Algebraic Geometry
Differential Geometry
Introduction
Basic Curves
Algebraic Topology
Geometry/Algebraic Topology
Noncommutative Geometry
Geometry/Noncommutative Geometry
An Alternative Way and Alternative Geometric Means of Calculating the Area of a Circle =
Geometry/An Alternative Way and Alternative Geometric Means of Calculating the Area of a Circle
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