Math 8

Terms and concepts

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4 Components of a Mathematical System

1) Undefined terms
● Point, line and plane
> point - only has location, no dimension, illustrated as a dot, named using a
capital letter
> line - a set of points in a straight row, with infinite length but no thickness,
named by a single lowercase script letter or by any two points on the line. Subsets of a
line include line segment and ray.
> plane - a flat, infinite, with length and width, named by a single script capital
letter or by any three noncollinear points
● Do not fit into any set or category that has been previously determined
● Building blocks of geometry
2) Defined terms
● Have a good definition
> It names the term being defined.
> It places the term into a set or category.
> It distinguishes itself from other terms in that category.
> It is reversible.
Examples:
1. Collinear points - lie on the same line.
2. Coplanar points - lie on the same plane
3. Parallel lines - coplanar and do not intersect.
4. Perpendicular lines - two lines that intersect to form right angles
5. Midpoint - a point on a line segment that divides it into two equal parts. It is the
halfway point of a line segment.
6. Angle - a figure formed by two rays with a common endpoint
> types of angles according to measure
a) Acute
b) Right
c) Obtuse
d) Straight
e) Reflex
> types of angle pairs or angle groupings
a) Adjacent
b) Linear
c) Vertical
d) Supplementary
e) Complimentary
7. Angle bisector - a ray that divides an angle into two congruent angles.
8. Segment bisector - a point, a line, a ray or another segment that divides a
segment into two congruent parts.
9. Perpendicular bisector - a line, a ray, or a segment that is perpendicular to a
segment and divides it into two congruent parts.
3) Postulates and axioms - mathematical statements or conjectures that are accepted without
proof. Postulates are statements which are geometry-related while Axioms are from other
branches in Mathematics aside from Geometry.
Examples of postulates:
1. Points-existence postulates
a) Every line contains at least two points.
b) Every plane contains at least three non-collinear points.
c) Space contains at least four noncoplanar points.
2. Line Postulate - For every two points, there is exactly one line that contains both
points.
3. Plane postulates
a) Any three non-collinear points lie in at least one plane.
b) Any three points are always coplanar.
4. Flat-plane postulate - If two points are in a plane, then the line containing the points is
in the same plane.
5. Line-Intersection postulate - If two lines intersect, then their intersection is a point.
6. Plane-intersection postulate - If two planes intersect, then their intersection is a line.
7. Segment addition postulate - If points P, Q, and R are collinear and Q is between
points P and R, then segments PQ + QR = segment PR
8. Angle addition postulate - If point S lies in the interior of ∠𝑃𝑄𝑅,
then m∠𝑃𝑄𝑆 + m∠𝑆𝑄𝑅 = ∠𝑃𝑄𝑅
9. Right angle postulate - All right angles are congruent

Examples of axioms:
1. Properties of equality by equivalence relation
a) Reflexive Property of Equality - A number equals itself.
b) Symmetric Property of Equality - Order of equality does not matter.
c) Transitive Property of Equality - Two numbers equal to the same number are
equal to each other.
2. Properties of equality by operation
a) Addition PoE - If two expressions are equal, and you add the same value to both
sides of the equation, the equation will remain equal.
b) Subtraction PoE - If two expressions are equal, and you subtract the same
value to both sides of the equation, the equation will remain equal.
c) Multiplication PoE - If two expressions are equal, and you multiply the same
value to both sides of the equation, the equation will remain equal.
d) Division PoE - If two expressions are equal, and you divide the same value to
both sides of the equation, the equation will remain equal.
e) Substitution PoE - For all real numbers a and b, if a = b, then b can be
substituted for a in any expression.
f) Distributive PoE - For all real numbers a, b, and c, c (a + b) = ac + bc.
g) Zero Product Property - If the product of two expressions is zero, then one or
both expressions is equal to zero.
3. Properties of congruence
a) Reflexive PoC - Any shape is congruent to itself.
b) Symmetric PoC - If a figure is congruent to another figure, then they are
congruent in vice versa.
c) Transitive PoC - If two shapes are congruent to a third, then they are also
congruent to each other.
Axioms
Axioms Description

Commutative Axiom a+b=b+a

ab = ba

Associative Axiom (a + b) + c = a + (b + c)
ab x c = a x bc

Distributive Axiom a(b + c) = ab + ac

Reflexive Axiom a=a

Symmetric Axiom If a = b, then b = a

Transitive axiom If a < b, and b < c, then a < c

Addition Axiom If a = b, then a + c = b + c

Multiplication Axiom If a = b, then ac = bc

Existence of Additive Inverse a + (-a) = 0, for a≠0

Existence of Multiplicative Inverse a x a⁻¹ = 1

a x 1/a = 1, for a≠0

Existence of Additive Identity a+0=a

Existence of Multiplicative Identity ax1=a

Trichotomy Axiom a < b, or a > b or a = b

Axiomatic system - a logical system that possesses a set of axioms from which theorems can be
derived

Properties of an axiomatic system:

1) Consistency - axioms or theorems do not contradict each other
2) Independence - an axiom does not need other axioms in the system to be proven; an axiom is
called independent if it cannot be proven or disproven from other axioms in the system
3) Completeness - every statement, either itself or its negation is derivable from the system's
axioms

Example of an axiomatic system:

1) A straight line may be drawn between any two points.
2) Any terminated straight line may be extended indefinitely.
3) A circle may be drawn with any given point as center and any given radius.
4) All right angles are equal
5) If two straight lines in a plane are met by another line, and if the sum of the internal angles on
one side is less than two right angles, then the straight lines will meet if extended sufficiently on
the side on which the sum of the angles is less than two right angles.
 4) Theorems - a statement that flows logically from previous definitions and principles. It is a
statement that needs proof which is based on definitions, axioms or postulates, other theorems,
and a set of logical connectives.
Examples:
1. Pythagorean Theorem - The square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the
sum of the squares of the other two sides.
2. Linear Pair Theorem - If two angles form a linear pair, then they are supplementary.
3. Vertical Angles Theorem - Vertical angles are congruent

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Congruent triangles - triangles with the same three sides and the same three angles
Examples:

*corresponding sides are congruent

*corresponding angles are congruent

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4 triangle congruence postulates:

1) SAS (Side – Angle – Side) Congruence Postulate
2) ASA (Angle – Included Side – Angle) Congruence Postulate
3) AAS (Angle – Angle – Not Included Side) Congruence Postulate
4) SSS (Side – Side – Side) Congruence Postulate