Geometry Definitions Flashcards
Point
That which has no part.
Line
Limitless, breathless length.
Collinear
A set of points are collinear if they all lie on the same line.
Intersect or Intersection
Two or more figures intersect if at least one point is on them all. The intersection of two or more figures is the set of points on them all.
Segment
A segment is two points on a line and all points on that line between them.
Ray
Choose a point on a line. Add to it all points on that line on one of the two sides of the point you choose. The result is a ray.
Between
Point B is between points A and C when B lies in the interior of segment AC.
Midpoint
The midpoint of a line segment is the point in its interior that divides it into a pair of equal sub-segments. In symbols: if C is the midpoint of segment AB, then C lies between A and B and AC=BC.
Angle
An angle is a pair of rays that share an endpoint in common.
Angle Side
An angle is composed of a pair of coterminal rays. Each of those two rays is a side of the angle.
Angle Vertex
The vertex of an angle is the point of intersection of its two sides.
Degree
When a ray completes one complete rotation about its endpoint, it sweeps out 360 degrees. A degree is thus 1/360th of one complete rotation of a ray about its endpoint.
Angle Measure
The measure of an angle is the number of degrees through which one side must rotate to coincide with the other. Two measures are possible for all angles that don’t measure 180 degrees. We choose the smaller unless otherwise instructed.
Angle Bisector
An angle bisector is a ray from an angle’s vertex through its interior that divides it into a pair of equal sub-angles. In symbols: if ray BP is the bisector of angle ABC, then BP passes through the interior of angles ABC, and the measure of angle ABP = the measure of angle CBP.
Right Angle
An angle is right when it measures 90 degrees.
Straight Angle
An angle is straight when its two sides form a line. (Note that the definition does not say what straight angles measure. Yes, they measure 180 degrees. But that’s a postulate not a definition).
Opposite Rays
Two rays are opposite when they are coterminal and together they from a line.
Acute Angle
An angle is acute when it measures less than 90 degrees.
Obtuse Angle
An angle is obtuse when its measure is greater than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees.
Reflex Angle
An angle is reflex when it measures greater than 180 degrees.
Adjacent Angles
Two angles are adjacent if they have a common side and that common side passes through the interior of the angle formed by the non-common sides.
Vertical Angles
Opposite angle pairs formed when two lines intersect. Equivalently, when four coterminal rays form two lines, opposite pairs are vertical.
Linear Pair
Two angles form a linear pair when they are adjacent and their non-common sides form a line.
Complementary
Two angles are complementary when the sum of their measures is 90 degrees.
Supplementary
Two angles are supplementary when the sum of their measures in 180 degrees.
Perpendicular
Two lines are perpendicular when they from a right angle. (Note: the definition does not say that perpendicular lines form four right angles. That’s true but it’s not part of the definitions. It is a theorem!)
Polygon
A polygon is composed of sides. Each side is a line segment. Each side intersects precisely two others, one at one of its endpoints and a second at its other endpoint.
Polygon Side
The sides of a polygon are the line segments of which it is composed.
Polygon Vertex
The vertices of a polygon are the points at which its sides intersect.
Diagonal
A diagonal is a segment that joins a pair of non-adjacent vertices in a polygon.
Concave
A polygon is concave if at least one segment that joins points in its interior passes outside the polygon.
Convex
A polygon is convex if it is not concave (no segments that join points in its interior pass outside the polygon).
Equilateral
A polygon is equilateral if all its sides have the same length.
Equiangular
A polygon is equiangular if all its angles have the same measure.
Regular
A polygon is regular if it is both equilateral and equiangular.
Irregular
A polygon is irregular if it is not regular (the sides and angles do not measure the same)
Postulate
An unproven self-evident assumption.
Greater Than and Less Than
We say that p>q when there exists a positive quantity t such that p=q+t. We say that p<q when there exists a positive quantity t such that p=q-t.
Inference
An inference links a pair of statements together in such a way that if the first is true, then the second must be true as well.
Theorem
A statement that has been proven true. (Not “can be” but “has been”)
Proof
A sequence of statements that begins with the given and ends with the conclusion. If we place all givens at the start, each statement after the given follows from a prior statement or statements and is justified by some definition, postulate or previous Theron.
Lemma
A helper theorem, that is, a theorem whose purpose is to simplify the proof of a later, typically more significant theorem,
Corollary
A quick and easy consequence of a theorem already proven.
Counterexample
A counterexample is a specific example that contradicts a universal statement.
Conditional Statement
A conditional statement is one that can be written in “if…,then…” form.
Given and Conclusion
In a conditional statement, the sub-statement that follows the ‘if’ is the given and the statement that follows the ‘then’ is the conclusion.