Physics Project 12

Geometry originated from the need for measuring land.
It was studied in various forms in

every ancient civilisation like Egypt, Babylonia, China, India, Greece, etc. The Egyptians
developed a number of techniques and rules for calculating simple areas. In the Indian sub
continent, the excavations at Harappa and Mohenjodaro, etc., show that the Indus valley
civilisation (about 3000 BC) made extensive use of geometry. In ancient India, the
Sulbasutras (800 BC to 500 BC) were the manuals of geometrical constructions. In the
above civilisations, geometry remained a practical oriented discipline. But in civilisations like,
Greece, the emphasis was on the reasoning. Thales, a Greek mathematician, gave the proof
for the first time. Pythagoras was a pupil of Thales. He discovered and developed the theory
of geometry extensively. This process continued till 300 BC. Euclid gave a famous treatise
called 'Elements' and divided it into thirteen chapters, each called a book.
EUCLID'S DEFINITIONS, AXIOMS AND POSTULATES IMPORTANT POINTS 1. A solid

has shape, size, position and can be moved from one place to another. Its boundaries are
called surfaces. The boundaries of surfaces are curves or straight lines. 2. A solid has three
dimensions, a surface has two, a line has one and a point has none. 3. Definitions given by
Euclid (i) A point is that which has no part. (ii) A line is breadthless length. (iii) The ends of a
line are points. (iv) A straight line is a line which lies evenly with the points on itself. (v) A
surface is that which has length and breadth only. (vi) The edges of a surface are lines. (vii)
A plane surface is a surface which lies evenly with the straight lines on itself. 4. A point, a
line and a plane (surface) are undefined terms. 5. Axioms or postulates are the assumptions
which are obvious universal truths'. They need not be proved. 6. Euclid's Axioms (i) Things
which are equal to the same thing are equal to one another.
(ii) If equals are added to equals, the wholes are equal. (iii) If equals are subtracted from
equals, the remainders are equal. (iv) Things which coincide with one another are equal to
one another. (v) The whole is greater than the part. (vi) Things which are double of the same
things are equal to one another. (vii) Things which are halves of the same things are equal to
one another. Euclid's five postulates (i) A straight line can be drawn from only one point to
any other point. (ii) A terminated line can be produced indefinitely. (iii) A circle can be drawn
with any centre and any radius. (iv) All right angles are equal to one another. (v) If a straight
line falling on two straight lines makes the interior angles on the same side of it taken
together less than two right angles, then the two straight lines, if produced indefinitely, meet
on that side on which the sum of angles is less than two right angles.
The word geometry' is derived from the greek words "geo" meaning "earth" and "metron"" ,
meaning "measuring". Thus, the word 'geometry' means 'earth measurement'. Ancient
Egyptians were the first people to study geometry. They were mainly concerned with
problems of finding the areas of plane figures such as triangles, rectangles etc. Later, the
Babylonians discovered formulae for finding the areas of various rectilinear figures. The
knowledge of geometry passed from the Egyptians to the Greeks and many Greek
mathematicians worked on geometry. Thale and his pupil Pythagoras were among them.
Euclid was the first Greek mathematician who initiated a new way of thinking the study of
geometry. He introduced the method of proving a geometrical result by deductive reasoning
based upon previously proved results and some self-evident specific assump-tions called
axioms. The gemoetry of plane figures, which we shall be studying in the next six chapters,
is also based upon the approach of deductive logic. That is why, it is popularly known as
Euclid's geometry.
This postulate can be rewritten in reference to the above diagram as under: Let
us consider a straight line PQ which falls on two straight lines AB and CD in such
a way that the total sum of the interior angles ∠1 and ∠2 is less than 180
degrees on the left side of the straight line PQ.
This postulates simple says that if you have any two points--A and B, say--then you can
always connect them with a straight line. It is tempting to think that there is no real content in
this assertion. That is not so. This postulate is telling us a lot of important material about
space.

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Geometry originated from the need for measuring land.

It was studied in various forms in

EUCLID'S DEFINITIONS, AXIOMS AND POSTULATES IMPORTANT POINTS 1. A solid

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