Roxana Tinoco

Formal Assignment 2
In the mathematics world there exits many postulates, definitions, properties, rules, etc.,
but in the axiomatic system world of mathematics there exists various types of geometries. At a
high school level one would think that there is only one type of geometry, which is the one that
high school students are exposed to. In reality there are a few more types of geometries, and each
one has different axioms to follow as well as different rules that apply to it. To name a few there
exists: Euclidean Geometry, Spherical or Elliptical Geometry, Incidence Geometry, Hyperbolic
Geometry, and Neutral Geometry. Now the question is how do they differ? Do the axiomatic
systems share any similarities, or do all of them have something in common? How does the
axiomatic system of each make each geometry unique? To be able to answer all of these
questions one must need to know what each geometry is and what is included in its axiomatic
system.
To begin Euclids geometry is basically the geometry that everyone knows, the one that
high school students are exposed to. However, in high school we are simply given the basic facts
and definitions; the word axiom is not discussed in high school. Therefore, Euclids abstract
definitions are not given nor are his five postulates, his common notions, or his prepositions from
Book I. More in detail in Euclids geometry everything that you can think of about geometry it's
related to Euclids axiomatic system. In class we discussed that in Euclids geometry all inner
angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees. Which in fact is something that is taught in high
school. Also as we discussed about other geometries some of Euclids properties were recalled. It
is possible that all geometries are a branch of Euclids. As a matter of fact that statement is true.
After reading an assigned reading, I learned that as mathematicians studied Euclids 5th postulate
some mathematicians discovered non-Euclidean geometry, in other words other axiomatic
systems were discovered.
Another type of axiomatic system is Spherical or Elliptical Geometry. This axiomatic
system has some properties similar to that of Euclids, but overall this type of geometry it's a
world of itself, just like any other type of geometry. In Elliptical geometry the definition of line
changes, the properties of triangles change, the measurement of arcs, and the circumference of a
sphere are also some of the things that differ in spherical geometry. In spherical geometry the

definition of a line is not a straight line in this axiomatic system a line is described as a great
circle on the sphere. In this geometry triangles do not add up to 180 degrees. Also, not all types
of triangles that are known in Euclidean geometry are possible in Spherical geometry. The class
agreed that equilateral right triangles, obtuse, and isosceles triangles were possible in spherical
geometry. The class also agreed that a scalene triangle could possibly exist in elliptical
geometry, but it would be too complex to create one. Therefore, properties of triangles change in
Spherical geometry compared to Euclidean triangles. In addition, in this axiomatic system two
formulas were derived using the formula to find the distance on a Euclidean sphere. These two
formulas are used to find the arc distance in spherical geometry , and to find the Circumference
of a circle in Spherical geometry. In this axiomatic system there doesn't exist any parallel lines;
there will be more about this and parallel lines on other geometries below.
Whereas, in Incidence Geometry the axiomatic system that is associated with this type of
geometry are Hilberts axioms in particular the three incidence axioms in the list. In this
geometry lines in particular play an important role. This axiomatic system focuses on
relationships between point and lines, and allows mathematicians to determine if certain models
and interpretations are examples of Incidence Geometry.
Next, in Hyperbolic Geometry there is one model that is associated with this axiomatic
system, which is the upper half model.The upper half model consists of working in the cartesian
plane above the x-axis on quadrants 1 and 4. In this model the definition of a line is different
than that of Euclids and Spherical geometry. A line is considered to be a semicircle with its
center lying on the x-axis, or a ray that starts at the x-axis. Also in of the uniques characteristics
that this axiomatic has is that the converse of the Alternate Interior Angles (AIA) is not true here.
Now, the last type of axiomatic geometry is basically a combination of all geometries
with unique properties as well. These axiomatic geometry is called Neutral Geometry and
Hilberts axioms apply to it as well as Euclid's geometry, and course a bit of all the others. In this
axiomatics system the converse of the AIA is not true either. The reason why is because it is not
true in Hyperbolic geometry, and since Neutral Geometry is the combination of the other
geometries.

Now, what is is the common thing that all axiomatic systems share besides the fact that
all are in Neutral Geometry? There is something that all may have in common, and that is the
parallel postulate. Do parallel lines exist in all axiomatic systems mentioned above? The answer
is no. In Euclidean Geometry, the parallel postulate is possible, but it is different than that of the
other axiomatic geometries. Euclidean parallel postulate states that EXACTLY ONE parallel line
can exist from line l to point p, point p not lying on line l. In spherical geometry there arent any
parallel lines. Parallel lines do not exist in Spherical Geometry because all great circles will
intersect at a point or two no matter what.. Whereas in Hyperbolic Geometry the parallel
postulate states that there exists AT LEAST 2 parallel lines form line l to point p, point p not
lying on l. In Hilberts axioms the parallel postulate states that there can be AT MOST 1 parallel
line to line l to point p, p not lying on line l. Now, since Hilberts axioms are included in
Incidence Geometry and in Neutral Geometry, then the parallel postulate must also apply to
them. Furthermore, in every geometry Neutral Geometry plus each geometrys parallel postulate
is what makes that geometry possible.Therefore, the parallel postulate plays an important role in
each axiomatic system. Like I mentioned before the discovery of other geometries was due to
mathematicians trying to prove Euclids 5th postulate. Mathematicians thought that Euclids 5th
could not be proven true, and as they started experimenting with it other geometries emerged.
Therefore, since Euclids 5th deal with parallel lines, parallel lines are the cause of why many
geometries exist today. Similarly when studying parallel worlds has created the discovery of
other things! Parallelism sure plays an important role in discovering new things!