l-5

introduction to Euclids geometry

* The word ‘geometry’ comes from Greek word ‘geo’ meaning to measure.

* Euclid’s Definition, Axions and Postulates: -

Euclid was a Greek mathematician, who introduced the method of proving a
geometrical result by using logical reasonings on previously proved and known
results.
A solid has a shape, size, position and can be moved from one place to another
place. Its boundary are called surface. They separate one part of the space
from another are said to have no thickness.
The boundary of the surfaces are curves or straight lines. These lines end in
point.
A solid has 3 dimensions, A surface has 2 dimensions while a line has 1
dimension and a point has no dimension.

Euclid summarized these statements as definitions

1. A point is that which has no path.
2. A line is breadthless length.
3. The end of a line is point.
4. A straight line is a line which lies evenly with the points on itself.
5. A surface is that which has length and breadth only.
6. The edges of a surface are lines.
7. A plane surface is a surface which lies evenly with the straight lines on
its.

* Note: -
Statement- Statement is a sentence which can be judged to be true or false
Theorem: - A theorem is a statement which requires a proof.
Note: - Proving a theorem means establishing the truth of that theorem.
Corollary: - Corollary is a statement whose truth can easily be deduced from a
theorem.
Axioms: - Axioms are the basic facts which are taken for granted specific to
geometry without proof.
Postulates: - Postulates are the basic facts which are taken for granted specific
to geometry without proof.

* Some of the Euclid’s axioms are: -

1. The whole is greater than the part
⟶ 𝑥 > 𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 > 𝑧 3>2 3>1
𝑥 =𝑦+𝑧 3=2+1
3=3
2. Things which are double of the same things are equal to one another.
⟶ 𝑎 = 2𝑏 & 𝑐 = 2𝑏
∴𝑎=𝑐
3. Things which are halves of the same thing are equal to one another.
𝑏 𝑏
⟶𝑎= 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐 =
2 2
∴𝑎=𝑐
4. Things which are equal to the same thing are equal to one another.
⟶𝑎=𝑐 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏 = 𝑐
∴𝑎=𝑏
5. Things which coincide with one another are equal to one another.
6. If equals are added to equals then the wholes are equal.
⟶𝑎=𝑏
∴𝑎+𝑐 =𝑏+𝑐
7.If equals are subtracted from equals, then the remainder are equals.
⟶𝑎=𝑏
⇒𝑎−𝑐 =𝑏−𝑐
𝑎 = 3 = 𝑏, 𝑐 = 2
⇒3−2=3−2
1=1
Note: -
(i) Euclidian geometry is the study of flat surface.
(ii) Now-a-days postulates and axioms are terms that are used
interchangeably and in the same sense.

* Euclid’s five postulates: -

• Postulate 1: - A straight line may be drawn from any point to any point.

Axiom 5.1- Given two distinct points, there is a unique line that posses
through them.

• Postulate 2: - A terminated line can be produced indefinitely

• Postulate 3: - A circle can be drawn with any Centre and any radius.

• Postulate 4: - All right angles are equal to one another.

• Postulate 5: - If a straight line falling on two straight lines makes an
interior angle on the same side of it taken together less than two right
 angles, then the two straight lines, if produced indefinitely, meet on that
side on which the sum of angles is les than two right angles.
Example:

The line PQ falls on the line AB and CD such that the sum of interior angles 1 &
2 is less than 180° on the left side of PQ. Therefore, the lines AB and CD will
intersect on left side of PQ.
* Not: -
Postulates 1 to 4 are so simple and obvious that these are taken as self-evident
rule.
The system of Axioms is called consistent.
Example 1: -If A, B and C are three points on a line and B lies between A and C,
the prove AB+BC=AC

AC coincides with AB+BC

For eg: -
AB=4, BC=3, AC=7
AB+BC=AC
4+3=7
7=7
From Euclid’s Axiom(5) we can say that things which coincide with one another
are equal to one another. So, it can be deduced as AB+BC=AC
 Exercise 5.1
Q.1 Which of the following statements are true and which are false? Give
reasons for your answers.
(i) Only one line can pass through a single point.
Ans- False because indefinite number of straight lines can pass through a single
point.
(ii)There are indifinite number of lines which pass through two distinct points.
Ans- Flase because there is one and only line which is passing through two
distint point.
(iii)A terminated line can be produced indifinetly on both sides.
Ans- True because postulate 2 says that ‘ A terminated line can be produced
indefinitely’.
(iv)If two circles are equal, then their radii are equal.
Ans- True because superimposing the region of one circle on the other, we
must find them coinciding. So their centres and boundaries coincide. Thus, the
radii will coincide.
(v)In Fig.5.9, if AB=PQ and PQ=XY, then AB=XY.

Ans- AB=PQ
PQ=XY
∴AB=XY
True because according to euclid’s axiom, things which are equal to the same
thing are equal to one another.
Q2. Give a difinition for each of the following term. Are there any other terms
that need to be defined first? What are they, and how might you define them?
Ans- Yes, we need to have an idea about the terms, point, lne, ray, angle,
plane, circle and quarilateral, etc. berfore defining the required terms.

Point: - A small dot made by a sharp pencil on the surface of a paper gives an
idea about a point. It has no dimensions. It ahs only a position.
Line: - A line is an idea that it should be straight and that it should extend
indefinitely in both the directions. It has no end and has no definite length.
Ray: - A part of line which has only one end point and extends indefinitely in
one direction. A ray has no definite length.
Angle: - Two rays having a common end-point form an angle.
Plane: - Plane is a surface such that every point of the line joining any two
points on it, lies on it.
Circle:- A circle is the set of all those points in a given plane which are
equdistant from a fixed point in the same plane. The fixed point is called the
centre of the circle.
Quadrilateral: - A closed figure made of four line segments is called a
quadrilateral.
Definitions of the required terms are given below: -
(i) Parallel line: - Two lines ‘l’ and ‘m’ in a plane are said to be parallel, if
they have no common point and we write them as 𝑙 ∥ 𝑚.

Note: - The distance between two parallel lines always reamins the same.
(ii) Perpendicular lines: - Two lines ‘p’ and ‘q’ lying in the same plane are
said to be perpendicular if they form a right angle and we write them
as 𝑝 ⊥ 𝑞.
 (iii) Line-segment: - A line-segment is a part of lne having definite length.
It has two end-points. In the figure a line segment is shown having
endpoints
‘A’ and ‘B’. It is written as ̅̅̅̅
𝐴𝐵 𝑜𝑟 ̅̅̅̅
𝐵𝐴.

(iv) Radius of a circle: - The distance from the centre to a point on the
circle is called the radius of the circle. In the firgure, Q is the centre
and R is a point on the circle, then QR is he radius.

(v) Square: - A quadrilateral in which all the four angles are right angles
and all the four sides are equal is called a square.In the figure PQRS is
a square.

Q3. Consider two postulates given below: -

 (i) Given two distinct points A and B, there exist a third point C which is
in between A and B.
(ii) There exist atleast three points that not on the same line.
DO these postulates cointain any undefined terms? Are these
postulates consistent? Do they follow from Euclid’s postulates?
Explain.
Ans- Yes, these postulates contain undefined terms such as point and line.
Also, these postulates are consistent because they deal with two different
situations such as (i) says that given two points A and B, there is a point C lying
on the line in between them. Whereas, (ii) Says that, given A and B you can
take C not lying on the line through A and B.
No, these postulate do not follow from Euclid’s postulate, however they follow
from the axiom. Given two distinct points, there is a unique line that passes
through them.

Q4. If a point Clies between two points A and B such that AC=BC, then prove
1
that 𝐴𝐶 = 𝐴𝐵. Exaplain by drawing the figure.
2

⟶∵ 𝐴𝐶 = 𝐵𝑐(𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛)
∴ 𝐴𝐶 + 𝐴𝐶 = 𝐵𝐴 + 𝐴𝐶
[𝐼𝑓 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙]
2𝐴𝐶 = 𝐴𝐵[∵ 𝐴𝐶 + 𝐵𝐶 + 𝐴𝐵]
1
𝐴𝐶 = 𝐴𝐵
2
Q5. In question 4, point C is called a mid-point of line segment AB. Prove that
every line segment has one and only one mid-point.

⟶ 𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝐴𝐵 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑚𝑖𝑑 − 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 ′𝐶′𝑎𝑛𝑑 ′𝐷′
1
∴ 𝐴𝐶 = 𝐴𝐵 − − − (1)
2
1
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴𝐷 = 𝐴𝐵 − − − (2)
2
𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 (1)𝑎𝑛𝑑 (2)𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒
1 1
𝐴𝐷 − 𝐴𝐶 = 𝐴𝐵 − 𝐴𝐵
2 2
𝐴𝐷 − 𝐴𝐶 = 0
𝐶𝐷 = 0
∴ 𝐶 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐷 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒
Thus, every line segment has one and only one mid-point.

Q6. In Fig.5.10, if AC=BD, then prove that AB=CD.

𝑊𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒
𝐴𝐶 = 𝐵𝐷 − − − (𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛) − (1)
𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝐵 𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶,
∴ 𝐴𝐶 = 𝐴𝐵 + 𝐵𝐶 − − − (2)
𝑆𝑖𝑚𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝐶 𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝐵 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐷,
∴ 𝐵𝐷 = 𝐶𝐷 + 𝐵𝐶 − − − (3)
𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 (1), (2)𝑎𝑛𝑑 (3)
∴ 𝐴𝐶 = 𝐵𝐶
∴ 𝐴𝐵 + 𝐵𝐶 = 𝐶𝐷 + 𝐵𝐶
[If equals are subtracted from equals, the reaminders are equal]
⇒ 𝐴𝐵 = 𝐶𝐷

Q7. Why is axiom 5, in the list of Euclid’s axioms, considered a ‘universal

truth’?( n=Note that the question is not about the fifth postulate.)
⟶ 𝐼𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝐸𝑢𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑑 ′ 𝑠 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑜𝑚𝑠, 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒
The whole is greater than the part
𝑥>𝑦 𝑥>𝑧
𝑥 =𝑦+𝑧
This statement is true for all things and in all parts of universe.
So, its is a “Universal truth”.

* Equivalent versions of Euclid’s fifth postulate: -

In the history of mathematics, the Euclid’s fifth postulate is very significant.
There are several equivalent versions of this postulate.

Playfair’s postulate: - “For every line’l’ and for every point ‘p’ not lying ol l,
there exists a unique line m passing through P and parallel to l”.

Two distinct intersecting lines cannot be parallel to the same line.

 Exercise 5.2
Q1. How would you rewrite Euclid’s fifth postulate so that it would be easier
to understand?
⟶Yes, we can have: “Two distinct intersecting lines cannot be parralel to the
same line”.
Q2. Does Euclid’s fifth postulate imply the existance of parallel lines? Explain.
⟶Yes, if a straight line ‘l’ falls on two lines ‘m’ and ‘n’ such that the sum of the
interior angles on one sie of l is two right angles, then by Euclid’s fifth
postulate, the lines will not meet on this side of l. Also we know that um of the
interior angles on the other side of line l will be two right angles too. Thus, they
will not meet on the other side also.

∴The lines ‘m’ and ‘n’ never meet.

∴They are parallel.

Extra questions
1. The axioms are universal truths in all branches of mathematics.
⟶Yes
2. If a straight line falling on two straight lines makes the interior angles on
the same side of it, whose sum is 120°, then on which side the two
straight lines meet, if produced indefinitely?
⟶They meet on the side on which the sum of angles is less than 120°.
3. How many dimensions does a solid has?
⟶A solid has 3 dimensions.
4. How many dimnesions does a surface has?
⟶A surface has 2 dimensions.
5. Write True or False: -
(i) A ray has two end points. False
(ii) A line has indefinite length. True
(iii)Three lines are concurrent if they have a common point. True
(iv) A line separates a plane into three parts, namely the two half planes
and the line itself. True
(v) Two distinct lines in a plane cannot have more than one point in
common. True
6. How many lines can pass through one point?
⟶ Infinite.
7. How many lines can pass through two distinct points?
⟶One only.
8. What is a theorem?
⟶ HOMEWORK.