THREE DIMENSIONAL

GEOMETRY

INTRODUCTION

TWO-DIMENSIONAL (2-D) COORDINATE

SYSTEMS

To locate a point in a plane,

two numbers are necessary.

We know that any point in the plane can be

represented as an ordered pair (a, b) of real

numberswhere a is the x-coordinate and b
is the y-coordinate.
For this reason, a plane is called two-

dimension

THREE-DIMENSIONAL (3-D)
COORDINATE SYSTEMS

To locate a point in space,

three numbers are required.

We represent any point in

space by
an ordered triple (a, b, c) of
real numbers

THREE-DIMENSIONAL (3-D)
COORDINATE SYSTEMS
In order to represent points in

space,
we first choose:
A fixed point O (the origin)
Three directed lines through O that are

perpendicular to each other

COORDINATE AXES

The three lines are called the

coordinate axes.
They are labeled:
x-axis
y-axis
z-axis

COORDINATE AXES
We draw the orientation of the
axes
as shown.

COORDINATE PLANES
The three coordinate axes

determine
the three coordinate planes.
The xy-plane contains
the x- and y-axes.
ii. The yz-plane contains
the y- and z-axes.
iii. The xz-plane contains
the x- and z-axes.
i.

OCTANTS
These three coordinate planes

divide space into eight parts,

called octants.

The first octant,

in the foreground,
is determined by
the positive axes

3-D CO O RD IN ATE SYSTEM S-EXAM PLE

1) Look at any bottom corner of a room

The wall on your left is in the xz-plane.

2) The wall on your right is in the yzplane.
3) The floor is in the xy-plane.
4) and call the corner the origin.

3-D CO O RD IN ATE SYSTEM S

Now, if P is any point in space
We represent the point P by the ordered

triple of real numbers (a, b, c).

We call a, b, and c the coordinates of P.
a is the x-coordinate.
b is the y-coordinate.
c is the z-coordinate.

DISTANCE FORMULA IN THREE DIMENSIONS

The distance |P1P2| between the

points P1(x1,y1, z1) and P2(x2, y2, z2) is:

P1 P2 ( x2 x1 ) ( y2 y1 ) ( z2 z1 )
2

PRO O F O F D ISTAN CE
FO RM U LA
To see why this formula is true, we

construct a rectangular box as

shown,
where:
P1 and P2 are

opposite vertices.
The faces of the box

are parallel to the

coordinate planes

PRO O F
If A(x2, y1, z1) and B(x2, y2, z1) are the

vertices of the box, then

|P1A| = |x2 x1|
|AB| = |y2 y1|
|BP2| = |z2 z1|

PRO O F
Triangles P1BP2 and P1AB are right-

angled.
So, two applications of the
Pythagorean Theorem give:
|P1P2|2 =

|P1B|2 + |BP2|2
|P1B|2 =

|P1A|2 + |AB|2

PRO O F
I.

II.
III.
IV.

Combining those equations,

we get:
|P1P2|2 = |P1A|2 + |AB|2 + |BP2|2
= |x2 x1|2 + |y2 y1|2 + |z2 z1|2
= (x2 x1)2 + (y2 y1)2 + (z2 z1)2

. Therefore,

P1 P2 ( x2 x1 ) ( y2 y1 ) ( z2 z1 )
2

EXAM PLE O F D ISTAN CE

FO RM U LA
The distance from the point P(2, 1,

7)
to the point Q(1, 3, 5) is:

PQ (1 2) (3 1) (5 7)
2

1 4 4
3

SECTIO N FO RM U LA
INTERNAL DIVISION

EXTERNAL DIVISION

M ID PO IN T FO RM U LA

SO LV ED EX A M P LE O F M ID
P O IN T FO R M U LA

CENTROID OF A
TRIANGLE

FORMULA FOR CENTROID OF A

TRIANGLE
The Centroid of a Triangle is usually
represented by G
Therefore
G=(x1+x2+x3/3, y1+y2+y3/3,z1+z2+z3/3)