Picks Theorem

Is it a fair representation of Lattice Polygons?

William Biersack
MTH 4040: Coordinating Seminar
Mount Saint Mary College

Lattice Polygons. What are they?

Well, we know what a polygon is.
polygon:(noun) a plane figure with at least
three straight sides and angles

Lattice Polygons. What are they?

Definition: A lattice polygon is a
polygon where the vertices are
elements of Zd for some d 2
(Z, meaning
the set of
integers)

Example: an element of
Z2 would look like (x,y),
but x and y can only be
integers

Think
d = dimensions

Some Examples
Some lattice polygons in the square lattice Z2

Some Examples

A regular triangle and regular hexagon in Z3

Note: Well focus on lattice polygons in 2 dimensions

moment does not mean 5 minutes

Now, take a moment and

have some fun with making
lattice polygons.
Challenge:
Who can make the most complex polygon?

Picks Theorem
Assuming were in 2 dimensions...

Let A be the area of a closed lattice polygon.

Let b be the number of lattice points on the polygon
edges and i the number of points in the interior.
A=i+b-1
Lets put it to use.

Picks Theorem
Lets take a regular square on a lattice.

A=i+b-1
b = 24
There are 24 points
on the border.

i = 25
There are 25
interior points.

A = 25 + (24/2) - 1
A = 25 + 12 - 1
A = 36 units2

How can we check

to see if it works?

Now lets do it again with a more complicated polygon.

The Proof
Consider some polygon P and a triangle T, and together they have one edge in
common. Lets show that the area for P and T combined using Picks Theorem
is equal to the individual areas added together.
Since P and T share an edge, all the common boundary points become interior
points, with the exception of the two on the end. The number of common
boundary points will be c. So...

iPT = (iP + iT) + (c - 2)

(iP + iT) = iPT - (c - 2)

bPT = (bP + bT) - 2(c - 2) - 2

(bP + bT) = bPT + 2(c - 2) + 2

The Proof
Since we are looking at the areas of P and T separately
APT = AP + AT
= (iP + (bP/2) - 1) + (iT + (bT/2) - 1)
= (iP + iT) + (bP + bT)/2 - 2
= (iPT - (c - 2)) + (bPT + 2(c - 2) + 2)/2 - 2
= iPT + bPT /2 - 1
Q.E.D.