Cliffs StudySolver Geometry
Chapter One
Basic Geometric Ideas
The word geometry comes from two ancient Greek words, ge, meaning earth, and metria,
meaning measure. So, literally, geometry means to measure the earth. It was the first branch
of math that began with certain assumptions and used them to draw more complicated conclusions.
Over time, geometry has become a body of knowledge that helps us to logically create
chains of conclusions that let us go from knowing certain things about a figure to predicting other
things about it with certainty. Although a little arithmetic and a little algebra are used in building an
understanding of geometry, this branch of math really can stand on its own, as a way of constructing
techniques and insights that may help you to better understand later mathematical ideas, and
that, believe it or not, may help you to live a more fulfilling life.
Naming Basic Forms
The bulk of this book deals with plane geometry-that is, geometry on a perfectly flat surface.
Many different types of plane figures exist, but all of them are made up of a few basic parts.
The most elementary of those parts are points, lines, and planes.
Points
A point is ... read full excerpt from CliffsStudySolver (TM) Geometry ebook
