Teacher Notes for History of Geometry Lesson The McDougal textbook does not cover the history of geometry

in any thorough way; history is referred to in some introductions to sections, some examples, and occasional problems, but that is not enough to ensure TEK G.1(B) is met. In the curriculum document we have history in the first week, but you can, of course, incorporate it through out the year as it relates to what you are doing. At the end of this document there is a brief summary of some of the historical facts leading to Eulidean geometry. Because it is not a significant part of our textbook, a lesson on history will require some extra planning on the part of the individual teacher, planning team, and/or department. What you do with the topic is up to you. You may just want to incorporate some discussion of the history of geometry into a general introduction of what geometry is; for instance, you may want to discuss Euclids Elements as you introduce the idea of the deductive axiomatic system of postulates and theorems that is the Euclidean geometry. You might assign your students independent research (individuals or groups) on various topics in the history of geometry and have them present their findings to the class in an oral, written, or electronic presentation. Possible topics include: the history of Pi, Early number/counting systems, calendars, Pascals triangle, Irrational numbers, conic sections, Thales, Euclids Elements, Pythagoras, Rhinds Papyrus, and the paradoxes of Zeno. The website http://mathforum.org/geometry/wwweuclid/index.html has a fourunit lesson on the history of geometry. Those units include a basic introduction to geometry and its definitions, a series of 17 short articles on the history of geometry, some notes on Euclids Elements, and a fill in the blank quiz. It was developed by a Classics and Latin teacher, so be aware that the instructions and activities may need modifications for our regular geometry students. Another place to get in some history is as you discuss the Pythagorean Theorem. Math Forum has some brief notes on the history of the Pythagorean Theorem and a proof at http://mathforum.org/isaac/problems/pythagthm.html. The website
http://www.regentsprep.org/Regents/math/math-topic.cfm?TopicCode=fpyth

has basic lesson on the Pythagorean Theorem, including a discovery activity similar to Activity 7.1 in our book on p. 432 (Geom a, week 2 in the curriculum).

Some notes on the early history of Euclidean Geometry: The concept of space began as a concept of place. Egyptians and Babylonians developed earth measurement. The Greek word for that is geometry. Formerly nomadic people settled down by the Nile River c.3500 BCE. Egyptian government assessed taxes based in part on the surface area of holdings of landowners. They developed fairly reliable ways to calculate the area of a square, rectangle, trapezoid, and a circle. Early Egyptians seem to have been limited to applied geometry but their achievements are quite impressive (see the pyramids). Another early urbanization occurred with the Babylonians (2000-1700 BCE) who are credited with a more sophisticated system of mathematics. Both the Egyptians and the Babylonians were familiar with the idea of the Pythagorean Theorem. The Greeks eventually moved mathematics into a more abstract realm. Thales of Miletus born in 640 BCE is most often named the worlds first scientist or mathematician. Thales asserted that via observation and reasoning we should be able to explain all that happens in nature(p. 14). As an old man, Thales met the young Pythagoras. Pythagoras went to Egypt and eventually became a priest. When the Persians invaded he was captured and ended up in Babylon. By the time he returned to Greece he had synthesized the Egyptian and Babylonian math and created his own philosophy. Euclid lived around 300 BCE. Euclids Elements is a series of 13 rolls of parchment. It is probable that none of the theorems are Euclids own; rather, he systematized Greek understanding of geometry. The most important contribution of Euclids Elements was its innovative logical method: first, make terms explicit by forming precise definitions and so ensure mutual understanding of all words and symbols. Next, make concepts explicit by stating explicit axioms or postulates (these terms are interchangeable) so that no unstated understandings or assumptions may be used. Finally, derive the logical consequences of the system employing only accepted rules of logic, applied to the axioms and to previously proved theorems. (p. 30) The Elements contain 5 common notions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Two things which are both equal to a third thing are also equal to each other. If equals are added to equals, the wholes are equal. If equals be subtracted from equals, the remainders are equal. Things which coincide with one another are equal to one another. The whole is greater than the part.

The geometric foundation of all the theorems in the Elements are in his five postulates:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Given any two points, a line segment can be drawn with those points as its endpoints. Any line segment can be extended indefinitely in either direction. Given any point, a circle with any radius can be drawn with that point as its center. All right angles are equal. Given a line and an external point (a point not on the line), there is exactly one other line (in the same plane) that passes through the external point and is parallel to the given line (pp. 35-38)

The fifth postulate, or parallel postulate, is not as intuitive as the other. Euclid seemed to avoid its use if he could and later mathematicians were troubled by it. For the next 2000 years after the Elements, the fact that there was one and only one parallel line through an external point was universally accepted. In the early 1800s, however, the question of whether there might be no such thing as parallel lines or whether there might exist more than one parallel line through a given point would eventually lead to the development of non-Euclidean geometries. many parallel linesHyperbolic space no parallel linesElliptical space

Information taken from Eulcids Window by Leonard Mlodinow, Simon and Schuster, 2001