History of Parallel Postulate Saccheri and Clairaut Module

Republic of the Philippines
CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

Impig, Sipocot, Camarines Sur 4408
Website: www.cbsua.edu.ph
Email Address: cbsua.sipocot@cbsua.edu.ph
ISO CERTIFIED Trunkline: (054) 881-6681
HISTORY OF PARALLEL POSTULATE

Week 16 ǀ Saccheri and Clairaut
I. INTRODUCTION
This chapter covers how Giovanni Girolamo Saccheri and Alexis Claude Clairaut became a part of
the history and development of the parallel postulate. This also reveals some details about Euclides ab omni
naevo vindicates and Éléments de Géométrie, the books which were worked on by the mentioned respective
mathematicians.
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this module, at least 75% of BSED 3 – Mathematics students are expected to
(chronological sequence based on Bloom’s Taxonomy):
a. Recite specific details as regard to the mathematicians namely Giovanni Girolamo Saccheri
and Alexis Claude Clairaut, as being mentioned in this module;
b. Paraphrase theorems from Euclides ab omni naevo vindicates and Éléments de Géométrie
which are presented in this learning material;
c. Organize their observations about the Saccheri quadrilateral as well as how Clairaut discussed
rectangles and parallels;
d. Break down concepts of parallel postulate based on the perspectives of Giovanni Girolamo
Saccheri and Alexis Claude Clairaut;
e. Compose a situational solution for fictitious problem of a reality of proving concepts of Non-
Euclidean Geometry; and
f. Justify how values can be integrated in the History of Parallel Postulate: Saccheri and Clairaut.
II. PRE-COMPETENCY CHECKLIST

As a start of studying this lesson, it is important to recognize some details about the mathematicians
who became a part of the history of the parallel postulates, namely, Giovanni Girolamo Saccheri and Alexis
Claude Clairaut. This may serve you to establish a little foundation before you go through the lesson. To
accomplish this activity, you are tasked to arrange the letters from the claw machine box; the arrangement
of the letters must form a word/s that best suit the pictures in every item. Write your answer beside every
picture.
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2
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III. LEARNING RESOURCES/MATERIALS

Refer to the instructional materials presented below for the discussion of the content of the History
of Parallel Postulate: Saccheri and Clairaut.
Learning Resource 1.1:
You will encounter theorems which will begin at 10.2.1; it can be inferred from this that the
outline from the reference has not been changed and transformed in this material to avoid confusion. Hence,
if you want to get directed to the reference, you may, through looking it up at the references mentioned
below.
O’Leary, M. (2010). Revolutions of Geometry. Pure and Applied Mathematics: A Wiley Series
of Texts, Monographs, and Tracts. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Publication.
GIOVANNI GIROLAMO SACCHERI [dʒoˈvanni dʒiˈrɔːlamo sakˈkɛːri]

(Italian Jesuit priest, scholastic philosopher, and mathematician)
Giovanni Girolamo Saccheri was born on September 5, 1667 in San Remo, Italy. He became a
member of the Society of Jesus in 1685, and five years later he left for Milan to study theology and
philosophy at the Jesuit College. While at the college he soon began teaching mathematics. It was at this
time that Saccheri met Tommaso Ceva. Although the Jesuit Ceva was a notable poet and loved spending
time writing, he was primarily a mathematician. He published a mathematical work on gravity called
Opuscula Mathematica, and one day Saccheri became his student. This relationship would prove fruitful
for Saccheri in that he would eventually meet some of the more notable mathematicians of his day. These
included Giovanni Ceva, the brother of Tommaso, who proved the geometric theorem that is now named
after him (Theorem 9.3.4), and Vincenzo Viviani, a one-time assistant to Galileo who later went on to study
geometry and to calculate a more accurate value for the speed of sound. Under the tutelage of Tommaso
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Ceva, Saccheri wrote his first work, titled Geometric Investigation, in 1693. In it Saccheri solved numerous
problems from elementary and analytic geometry.
Saccheri was ordained in 1694 and transferred to Turin, where he would teach philosophy and
theology for three years. Although he did not lose his interest in mathematics, during this time his focus
was on logic. These studies resulted in his Logica Demonstrativa of 1697. The work was significant in his
day but was lost and not rediscovered until around the turn of the twentieth century. In the Logica
Demonstrativa, Saccheri treated logic as Euclid treated geometry by viewing the subject as a system of
results based on definitions and postulates (Burton 1985,529; Saccheri 1986, xv, xvii).
More significant to his geometric work was his third important contribution. Its original source was
the Elements, where Euclid proved that a certain magnitude x measured y by assuming that it did not and
then concluding that it did (Euclid 1925, IX.12,397-399). This may seem odd at first, but it is a type of
reductio ad absurdum argument. Suppose that p is the desired proposition. We can prove it by proving if
not p then p, because these this conditional is logically equivalent to p.
Saccheri may not have been the first to use such reasoning, but he was the first to include it in a
systematic study of logic (Saccheri 1986, xxiv-xxvi). Saccheri’s interest in logic, and in particular this last
strategy, combined with his expertise in mathematics led him to a line of research that had been a concern
of many geometers since the time of Euclid.
THE THREE HYPOTHESES

There were many other attempts to prove the Parallel Postulate. They included the Persians Umar
Khayysm and Nasir al-Din al-Tiisi, who lived during the Middle Ages, and the Englishman John Wallis,
who was a contemporary of Descartes. They followed the same general strategy as that of Proclus, but they
were more explicit in stating their assumptions. Saccheri, for his part, criticized both Wallis’ proof and the
proof attributed to al-Tiisi, but he was influenced by the solution given by Khayysm. It involved a
quadrilateral and three hypotheses that al-Tiisi had used. These would serve as the foundation for Saccheri’s
own attempt in his work entitled Euclides ab omni naevo vindicatus (Euclid Freed of All Blemish)
(Rosenfeld 1988,64-71,74-85,97-98).
Saccheri’s work (Saccheri 1986, 190 was completed shortly before his death on October 25, 1733
while he held the chair in mathematics at Pavia. His goal was to demonstrate that the Parallel Postulate
necessarily follows from Euclid’s other four postulates. Since Euclid did not appeal to the Parallel Postulate
in any of his proofs until Proposition 1.29 (Theorem 5.4.2), Saccheri allowed himself the use of the first 28
theorems found at the beginning of the Elements. The set of all propositions that can be proved from these
theorems that exclude the Parallel Postulate is called absolute geometry (Bblyai 1987, 18, 21).
Saccheri’s proof centered around one particular figure. Take 𝐴𝐵, and erect perpendiculars 𝐴𝐷
and 𝐵𝐶 such that 𝐴𝐵 ≅ 𝐵𝐶. Join 𝐷𝐶. The quadrilateral described is known as a Saccheri quadrilateral
(see the figure for Theorem 10.2.1). ⦜DAB and ⦜CBA are known as base angles, and 𝐴𝐵 is the base. The
side opposite the base is the summit, and ∢ADC and ∢BCD are called summit angles. When identifying a
Saccheri quadrilateral, the first two vertices will be those of the base angles and the second two those of the
summit angles.
Saccheri wanted to know if the summit angles are right angles. If so, he would be able to prove
the Parallel Postulate. He began with our first two propositions.
THEOREM 10.2.1 [Euclides Vindicatus 1.1]
The summit angles of a Saccheri quadrilateral are congruent.
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PROOF
In quadrilateral ABCD, let ∢A and ∢B be right angles and 𝐴𝐷 ≅ 𝐵𝐶. Since 𝐴𝐷 ≅ 𝐵𝐶, ∢A and ∢B,
and 𝐴𝐵 is congruent to itself, we may use SAS to conclude that △ABD ≅ △BAC. Therefore, 𝐴𝐶 ≅ 𝐷𝐵,
so △ACD ≅ △BDC by SSS. Hence, ∢D ≅ ∢C.

In a Saccheri quadrilateral, the segment joining the midpoints of the summit and the base is
perpendicular to both the summit and the base.
PROOF
Let ABCD be a Saccheri quadrilateral, M be the midpoint of 𝐴𝐵, and N be the midpoint of 𝐷𝐶. Then
𝐴𝐷 ≅ 𝐵𝐶 and ∢A and ∢B are both right. Since M is the midpoint of 𝐴𝐵, we have 𝐴𝑀 ≅ 𝐴𝐵, Therefore,
△AMD ≅ △BMC by SAS, and we see that 𝐷𝑀 ≅ 𝐶𝑀. Hence, △DMN ≅ △CMN by SSS because N is
the midpoint of 𝐷𝐶. These yields ∢DNM ≅ ∢CNM, which means that these are right angles. Similarly,
we can show that ∢AMN and ∢BMN are right angles.
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There are three possibilities for the measures of the summit angles of any given Saccheri
quadrilateral. It was Saccheri’s strategy to eliminate two of them, leaving the one that will yield the Parallel
Postulate.
DEFINITION 10.2.3
• HR (ABCD) is the sentence
the summit angles of Saccheri quadrilateral ABCD are both right.
• HO (ABCD) is the sentence
the summit angles of Saccheri quadrilateral ABCD are both obtuse.
• HA (ABCD) is the sentence
the summit angles of Saccheri quadrilateral ABCD are both acute.
We should note that the Parallel Postulate suffices to prove proposition HR (ABCD) (Exercise 9).
The resulting polygons that these three propositions describe are in Figure 10.1. Three of the sides in the
cases when the summit angles are not right are represented by curved lines even though the lines themselves
are “straight” and not curves. The length of the summit relative to the base is as indicated in the figure and
is dependent upon which of the three hypotheses is true.
• HR (ABCD) if and only if the length of the summit of ABCD is equal to the length of its base.
• HO (ABCD) if and only if the length of the summit of ABCD is less than the length of its base.
• HA (ABCD) if and only if the length of the summit A BC D is greater than the length of its base.
PROOF
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We begin by proving sufficiency. Let ABCD be a Saccheri quadrilateral with base 𝐴𝐵. Let M be the
midpoint of 𝐴𝐵 and N the midpoint of 𝐷𝐶. Join 𝑁𝑀. We know that 𝐴𝑀 and 𝐷𝑁are perpendicular to 𝑁𝑀
by Theorem 10.2.2. Now check the three cases depending on the hypothesis. We begin by proving
sufficiency.
• When the summit angles are right is left for Exercise 10.
• Assume HO (ABCD). First suppose that 𝐴𝑀 ≅ 𝐷𝑁. Then MNDA is a Saccheri quadrilateral with
∢A and ∢D being its summit angles. Therefore, ∢A and ∢D by Theorem 10.2.1, which means that
∢D is a right angle, a contradiction. Next assume that DN > AM, and find K on 𝐷𝑁 such that 𝐾𝑁
≅ 𝐴𝑀. We have Saccheri quadrilateral MNKA, so ∢AKN ≅ ∢KAM. However, ∢KAM is acute
and m∢AKN is greater than m∢NDA because the latter angle is interior and opposite to ∢AKN in
△KDA (Theorem 5.3.9). This is impossible because ∢NKA is obtuse. We may then conclude that
DN < AM, and since CD = 2DN and AB = 2AM, we have CD < AB.
• When HA (ABCD) is true, we argue as in the preceding case. We see that AM ≠ DN, so suppose
that DN < AM. This means that we may extend 𝐷𝑁 to 𝐿𝑁 such that 𝐿𝑁 ≅ 𝐴𝑀. Join 𝐿𝐴 to form
Saccheri quadrilateral MNLA. Since ∢LAM is obtuse and internal in △DLA with respect to
∢NDA. Therefore, m∢DLA is less than m∢NDA, which is impossible since ∢NDA is acute. We
conclude that CD > AB.
For necessity, if CD = AB but not HR (ABCD), then either HO (ABCD) or HA (ABCD) must hold.
In either case, by the previous arguments, 𝐶𝐷, is not congruent to 𝐴𝐵, which is a contradiction. Similarly,
CD < AB implies HO (ABCD), and CD > AB implies HA (ABCD).
Saccheri now shows that the three hypotheses are incompatible with each other in the sense that if
one of them is satisfied by a Saccheri quadrilateral, that same hypothesis is satisfied by them all. We start
with the right-angle hypothesis and prove that if there exists Saccheri quadrilateral ABCD such that HR
(ABCD), we can construct a Saccheri quadrilateral of any given dimension. We do this in stages by proving
three propositions.

If there exists Saccheri quadrilateral ABCD such that HO (ABCD), every Saccheri quadrilateral has
obtuse summit angles.
If there is Saccheri quadrilateral ABCD that satisfies either HR (ABCD) or HO (ABCD), no Saccheri
quadrilateral will have acute summit angles. Hence, if there exists Saccheri quadrilateral ABCD that
satisfies HA (ABCD), none can have right or obtuse summit angles. Since these are the only alternatives to
an angle being acute, we conclude the next result.
If there exists Saccheri quadrilateral ABCD such that HA(ABCD), every Saccheri quadrilateral has
acute summit angles.
Because Theorems 10.2.7, 10.2.8, and 10.2.9 state that all Saccheri quadrilaterals will share the same
property regarding their summit angles, we should restate the three hypotheses. Therefore, we make the
following definition and summarize the results with an obvious theorem.
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DEFINITION 10.2.10
• HR is the sentence
the summit angles of every Saccheri quadrilateral are both right.
• HO is the sentence
the summit angles of every Saccheri quadrilateral are both obtuse.
• HA is the sentence
the summit angles of every Saccheri quadrilateral are both acute.
We call HR the Hypothesis of the Right Angle, HO the Hypothesis of the Obtuse Angle, and HA the
Hypothesis of the Acute Angle. ≅ 𝐵𝐶 and ∢A and ∢B are both right. Since M is the midpoint of 𝐴𝐵, we
have 𝐴𝑀 ≅ 𝐴𝐵, Therefore, △AMD ≅ △BMC
Alexis Claude Clairaut [alɛksi klod klɛʁo]

(French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist)
He was born on 13 May 1713 in Paris, France, to Jean-Baptiste and Catherine Petit Clairaut. The
couple had 20 children, however only a few of them survived childbirth. His father taught him mathematics.
Alexis was a prodigy – at the age of ten he began studying calculus. At the age of twelve he wrote a memoir
on four geometrical curves and under his father's tutelage he made such rapid progress in the subject that
in his thirteenth year he read before the Académie française an account of the properties of four curves
which he had discovered. When only sixteen he finished a treatise on Tortuous Curves, Recherches sur les
courbes a double courbure, which, on its publication in 1731, procured his admission into the Royal
Academy of Sciences, although he was below the legal age as he was only eighteen.
He was a prominent Newtonian whose work helped to establish the validity of the principles and
results that Sir Isaac Newton had outlined in the Principia of 1687. Clairaut was one of the key figures in
the expedition to Lapland that helped to confirm Newton's theory for the figure of the Earth. In that context,
Clairaut worked out a mathematical result now known as "Clairaut's theorem". He also tackled the
gravitational three-body problem, being the first to obtain a satisfactory result for the apsidal precession of
the Moon's orbit. In mathematics he is also credited with Clairaut's equation and Clairaut's relation.
Clairaut was unmarried, and known for leading an active social life. His growing popularity in society
hindered his scientific work: "He was focused," says Bossut, "with dining and with evenings, coupled with
a lively taste for women, and seeking to make his pleasures into his day to day work, he lost rest, health,
and finally life at the age of fifty-two." Though he led a fulfilling social life, he was very prominent in the
advancement of learning in young mathematicians.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London on 27 October 1737. Clairaut died in Paris
on 17 May 1765.
In 1741, Clairaut wrote a book called Éléments de Géométrie. The book outlines the basic concepts
of geometry. Geometry in the 1700s was complex to the average learner. It was considered to be a dry
subject. Clairaut saw this trend, and wrote the book in an attempt to make the subject more interesting for
the average learner. He believed that instead of having students repeatedly work problems that they did not
fully understand, it was imperative for them to make discoveries themselves in a form of active, experiential
learning. He begins the book by comparing geometric shapes to measurements of land, as it was a subject
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that most anyone could relate to. He covers topics from lines, shapes, and even some three-dimensional
objects. Throughout the book, he continuously relates different concepts such as physics, astrology, and
other branches of mathematics to geometry. Some of the theories and learning methods outlined in the book
are still used by teachers today, in geometry and other topics.
FIRST PART (Éléments de Géométrie ) – OF THE MEANS THAT IT WAS MOST NATURAL TO
EMPLOY FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF LAND
1. In measuring a length, it is compared to a known length.
2. The straight line is the shortest line from one point to another, and consequently measures the
distance between two points.
3. A line which stands upon another line without inclining towards either side, is perpendicular to
that line.
4. The rectangle is a figure of four sides alternately perpendicular to each other; and the square is a
rectangle of which the four sides are equal.
5. Method of drawing a perpendicular
6. Circle and properties
7. Method of letting fall a perpendicular
8. To bisect a straight line
9. To make a square – its side being given
10. To make a rectangle of which the length and breadth are given
11. Parallels are straight lines always equally distant from each other. To draw a parallel line through
a given point
IV. EXPLORE
This part contains the specific instructions on what are you going to do with the learning resources.
It contains as well the learning activities and tasks anchored on the learning resources that you have read
and studied.
The reading material is attached on pp 4-9. Make sure to comprehend it; then, accomplish the tasks
given on the Post Competency page.
The reading material is attached on pp 9-10. Make sure to comprehend it; then, accomplish the
tasks given on the Post Competency page.
V. DISCUSSION BOARD
Get directed to accomplish this part as it will serve as your recitation/participation.
For the online learners:
The topic will be discussed via google meeting. Join the virtual discussion with the meeting code to
be disseminated (in any mean, preferably through your Facebook messenger group chat) by a representative
of your class. Prepare yourself for an oral recitation in regard to the topic.
For the offline learners.
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You may share your insights in a form of a short paragraph through reaching the pre-service teacher
via his institutional email.
VI. POST COMPETENCY CHECKLIST

This assessment is composed of 3 parts: Identification, Prove a Theorem, and Values Integration.
Accomplish the tasks and do not forget to read the instructions carefully.
A. IDENTIFICATION: Provide on every blank the word/s as to which is described by the sentence
given in the respective item.
__________ 1. It is the religious order/group which Giovanni Girolamo Saccheri belonged.
__________ 2. He is the mathematician who wrote Opuscula Mathematica, and was a teacher of
Giovanni Saccheri.
__________ 3. It is the book that Saccheri wrote in Turin.
__________ 4. It is the title of the Saccheri’s book which is translated to “Euclid’s Freed of All
Blemishes”.
__________ 5. It is the part of Saccheri quadrilateral that is always right 90 degrees.
__________ 6. It is the age of Alexis Claude Clairaut when he began studying mathematics.
__________ 7. It is the book which Clairaut wrote in 1741; it outlines the basic concepts of Geometry.
__________ 8. It is what Clairaut used in comparing geometric shapes, in his book (which we translate
as) Elements of Geometry.
__________ 9. It is the main branch of science which Clairaut got different concepts to relate into
geometry.
__________ 10. By Clairaut’s definition, it is the shortest line from one point to another.
B. PROVE A THEOREM: Choose any of the statement below and prove it.
1. The summit angles of a Saccheri quadrilateral are congruent.
2. In a Saccheri quadrilateral, the segment joining the midpoints of the summit and the base is
perpendicular to both the summit and the base.
3. (In Sacheri quadrilateral,) HO (ABCD) if and only if the length of the summit of ABCD is less
than the length of its base.
C. VALUES INTEGRATION: Answer the questions below presented inside the box and meet the
minimum-number-of-words requirement of 100 words.
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When was the last time you prove something to

people? What are the right actions did you take to
convince them with your points? Was it easy? Was it
successful? Tell more about it.
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VII. REFERENCES:
O’Leary, M. (2010). Revolutions of Geometry. Pure and Applied Mathematics: A Wiley Series of Texts,
Monographs, and Tracts. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Publication.
Knight, J. (2000). "Alexis Claude Clairaut". In Schlager, Neil; Lauer, Josh (eds.). Science and Its Times.
Vol. 4 1700-1799. pp. 247–248. Retrived from https://archive.org/details/B-001-002-
830/page/n261/mode/2up?view=theater on November 3, 2021.
Kiral, T., Murdock, J., & McKinney, C.. "The Four Curves of Alexis Clairaut". MAA publications.
Retrieved from https://www.maa.org/press/periodicals/convergence/the-four-curves-of-alexis-
clairaut on November 3, 2021.
"Fellow Details: Clairaut; Alexis Claude (1713 - 1765)". Royal Society. Retrieved from
https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Sh
ow.tcl&dsqDb=Persons&dsqPos=0&dsqSearch=%28%28text%29%3D%27clairaut%27%29 on
November 3, 2021.
Clairaut, A. C. (1881). Elements of geometry, tr. by J. Kaines. Retrieved from
https://archive.org/details/elementsgeometr00claigoog on November 3, 2021.
Smith, D. (1921). "Review of Èléments de Géométrie. 2 vols". The Mathematics Teacher.
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History of Parallel Postulate Saccheri and Clairaut Module

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Republic of the Philippines

CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

HISTORY OF PARALLEL POSTULATE

II. PRE-COMPETENCY CHECKLIST

III. LEARNING RESOURCES/MATERIALS

Learning Resource 1.1:

GIOVANNI GIROLAMO SACCHERI [dʒoˈvanni dʒiˈrɔːlamo sakˈkɛːri]

THE THREE HYPOTHESES

THEOREM 10.2.2 [Euclides Vindicatus 1.2]

THEOREM 10.2.8 [Euclides Vindicatus 1.6]

Learning Resource 1.2:

Alexis Claude Clairaut [alɛksi klod klɛʁo]

VI. POST COMPETENCY CHECKLIST

When was the last time you prove something to

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