Geometry 1.1 - Undefined Terms for Geometry Formulas

Geometry 1.1 - Undefined Terms

What does geometry mean? It means "to measure the Earth" or "Earthmeasure." However, we can simply look at geometry in a more simple way asthe study of figures or shapes.Some basic terms in geometry can be described and others cannot.Undefined Terms:

Point:

A point shows location and has no size or dimension. A point isrepresented by a dot and is usually named with a letter of choice. In thegraphic below, the points are labelled by a nearby letter.

Line:

A line is a set of points extends in two opposite directions without end. Aline is one-dimensional and has no width. It is identified by naming two pointson the line or by writing a lowercase letter of choice after the line.The notation, for example, AB (written with a line symbol <---> over theletters), is read as "line AB" and refers to the line that has points A and B.

Plane:

A plane is a flat surface that has no thickness and extends withoutending in ALL directions. It is a two-dimensional object. A plane is representedby a parallelogram and may be named by writing an uppercase letter of choicein one of its corners. I will go into detail about what a parallelogram is in futurelessons. For now, think of a parallelogram as a "window pane."For simplicity,you might want to think of a plane as an infinitely large sheet of paper.The diagram below shows three points, a line, and a plane.End of lesson one. Look for my next lesson titled Defined Terms.

Geometry 1.2 - Defined Terms

In lesson 1.1, I talked about terms in geometry that cannot be defined by usingsimple definitions. In this section, I will discuss geometric terms that can bedefined by using terms that have been previously defined (terms anddefinitions that you learned in algebra) and believe or not, undefined terms willalso serve a purpose here. Ready?

Line Segment:

A line line segment is part of a line having two points, calledendpoints. It also has points between the endpoints. A line segment does nothave a set of CONTINUOUS points like a line does. Endpoint means that aline has a beginning and an end. The notation for a line segment in a bar over any letter of choice. Say AB has a bar over it, you would read it as "linesegment AB."

Ray:

A ray is part of a line having one endpoint and a set of all points on oneside of the endpoint. A ray is always named by using two letters of choice. Thefirst letter must be the endpoint. We draw an arrow with an endpoint over theletters.

Angle:

An angle is the union of two rays having the same endpoint. Theendpoint of an angle is called the vertex; the rays are called the sides of theangle.There are a few basic ideas in geometry that need to be understood, but areseldom used as reasons in a formal proof.

Here they are:1-Collinear Points: points that lie on the same line.2-Coplanar Points: points that lie in the same plane.3-Opposite rays: 2 rays that lie on the same line, with a common endpoint andno other points in common. Opposite rays form a straight line and/or a straightangle that equals 180º.4-Parallel lines: two coplanar lines that do not intersect

Geometry 1.3 - Geometry Vocabulary

Many students work with angles in math courses but they have no clue how toname angles. As a math tutor, I face many students who are totally lost interms of angles. What is an angle? Two rays that share the same endpointform an angle.The symbol for angle is . How do we name angles in geometry?We name angles in three different ways:(1) We can name angles by using THREE capital letters like: ABC or DEF.The middle letter is called the VERTEX of the angle. The above angles areread "angle ABC" and "angle DEF." This leads us to the second way we canname angles.(2) We can name angles by using the vertex. For example, ABC, can also becalled angle B; the same applies to DEF (we can call angle DEF angle E). Of course, if there's more than one angle sharing the same vertex this would beconfusing!(3) We can also name an angle by placing any number or symbol at the vertexin the INTERIOR of the angle. So, angles can also be called angle 1 or angle2 or angle 4, etc.Sample:

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