Geometry is the study of figures in a space of a given number of dimensions and of a given type.

The most common types

of geometry are plane geometry (dealing with objects like the point, line, circle, triangle, and polygon), solid
geometry (dealing with objects like the line, sphere, andpolyhedron), and spherical geometry (dealing with objects like
the spherical triangle and spherical polygon).
Geometry is the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties and relations of points, lines, surfaces, solids, and
higher dimensional analogs.
The first, and one of the greatest names, is Thales of Miletus, a mathematician living in the 6th century BCE. He is
regarded as the father of geometry and began the process of using deduction from first principles. It is believed that he
travelled to Egypt and Babylon, picking up geometric techniques from these cultures, and he certainly would have had
access to their work.
Thales strongly believed that reasoning should supersede experimentation and intuition, and began to look for solid
principles upon which he could build theorems. This introduced the idea of proof into geometry and he proposed some
axioms that he believed to be mathematical truths.

A circle is bisected by any of its diameters

The base angles of an isosceles triangle are equal

When two straight lines cross, the opposing angles are equal

An angle drawn in a semi-circle is a right angle

Two triangles with one equal side and two equal angles are congruent
Thales is credited with devising a method for finding the height of a ship at sea, a technique that he used to measure the
height of a pyramid, much to the delight of the Egyptians. For this, he had to understand proportion and possibly the rules
governing similar triangles, one of the staples of trigonometry and geometry.
It is unclear exactly how Thales decided that the above axioms were irrefutable proofs, but they were incorporated into the
body of Greek mathematics and the influence of Thales would influence countless generations of mathematicians.

Pythagoras

Probably the most famous name during the development of Greek geometry is Pythagoras, even if only for the famous
law concerning right angled triangles. This mathematician lived in a secret society which took on a semi-religious mission.
From this, the Pythagoreans developed a number of ideas and began to develop trigonometry. The Pythagoreans added a
few new axioms to the store of geometrical knowledge.

The sum of the internal angles of a triangle equals two right angles *(180o).

The sum of the external angles of a triangle equals four right angles (360o).

The sum of the interior angles of any polygon equals 2n-4 right angles, where n is the number of sides.

The sum of the exterior angles of a polygon equals four right angles, however many sides.

The three polygons, the triangle, hexagon, and square completely fill the space around a point on a plane - six
triangles, four squares and three hexagons. In other words, you can tile an area with these three shapes, without
leaving gaps or having overlaps.

For a right angled triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.

Most of these rules are instantly familiar to most students, as basic principles of geometry and trigonometry. One of his
pupils, Hippocrates, took the development of geometry further. He was the first to start using geometrical techniques in
other areas of maths, such as solving quadratic equations, and he even began to study the process of integration. He
studied the problem of Squaring the Circle (which we now know to be impossible, simply because Pi is an irrational
number). He solved the problem of Squaring a Lune and showed that the ratio of the areas of two circles equalled the
ratio between the squares of the radii of the circles.
Euclid
Alongside Pythagoras, Euclid is a very famous name in the history of Greek geometry. He gathered the work of all of the

earlier mathematicians and created his landmark work, 'The Elements,' surely one of the most published books of all time.
In this work, Euclid set out the approach for geometry and pure mathematics generally, proposing that all mathematical
statements should be proved through reasoning and that no empirical measurements were needed. This idea of proof still
dominates pure mathematics in the modern world.
Archimedes
Archimedes was a great mathematician and was a master at visualising and manipulating space. He perfected the
methods of integration and devised formulae to calculate the areas of many shapes and the volumes of many solids. He
often used the method of exhaustion to uncover formulae. For example, he found a way to mathematically calculate the
area underneath a parabolic curve; calculated a value for Pi more accurately than any previous mathematician; and
proved that the area of a circle is equal to Pi multiplied by the square of its radius. He also showed that the volume of a
sphere is two thirds the volume of a cylinder with the same height and radius. This last discovery was engraved into his
tombstone.
Apollonius of Perga (262 - 190 BCE)

Appolonius of Pergia (Public Domain)

Apollonius was a mathematician and astronomer, and he wrote a treatise called 'Conic Sections.' Apollonius is credited
with inventing the words ellipse, parabola, and hyperbola, and is often referred to as the Great Geometer. He also wrote

extensively on the ideas of tangents to curves, and his work on conics and parabolas would influence the later Islamic
scholars and their work on optics.

Geometry uses:
1)

Geometry is used in measuring for example length, area, volume etc

2)

Geometry is used in construction of buildings.

3)

It is used in ordinance survey for example creating maps.

4)

It is also helpful in surveying buildings and houses.

5)

It is used in designing.

Basic Geometric Figure

ist of Geometric Shapes TrianglesEquilateral Triangle
Equilateral triangles have all angles equal to 60, and all sides
equal length.
All equilateral triangles have 3 lines of symmetry.

Isoscles Triangle

Isosceles triangles have 2 angles equal and 2 sides of equal

length.
All isosceles triangles have a line of symmetry.

Scalene Triangle

Scalene triangles have no angles equal, and no sides of equal

length.

Right Triangle

Right triangles (or right angled triangles) have one right angle
(equal to 90).

Obtuse Triangle

Obtuse triangles have one obtuse angle (an angle greater than
90). The other two angles are acute (less than 90).

Acute Triangle

Acute triangles have all angles acute.

A quadrilateral is a polygon with 4 sides.

There are quite a few members of the quadrilateral family. There are also some members which are a subset of other
members of this family!
See below if this confuses you!
Square

Rectangle

Rhombus

Parallelogram

Trapezoid US
(Trapezium UK)

Squares have 4 equal sides and 4 right angles.

They have 4 lines of symmetry.
All squares belong to the rectangle family.
All squares belong to the rhombus family.
All squares are also parallelograms.
Rectangles have 4 sides and 4 right angles.
They all have 2 lines of symmetry (4 lines if they are also a square!)
All rectangles belong to the parallelogram family.
Rhombuses (rhombii) have 4 equal sides.
Both pairs of opposite sides are parallel.
They all have 2 lines of symmetry (4 lines if they are a square!)
All rhombuses belong to the parallelogram family.
Parallelograms have 2 pairs of parallel sides.
Some parallelograms have lines of symmetry (depending on whether
they are also squares, rectangles or rhombuses), but most do not.
Trapezoids US (Trapeziums UK) have one pair of parallel sides.
Some trapezoids have a line of symmetry.
Please note the differences between the definitions for US and UK.

Kite
Kites have 2 pairs of equal sides which are adjacent to each other.
Trapezium US
(Trapezoid UK)

Trapeziums US (Trapezoids UK) are quadrilaterals with no parallel

sides.
Please note the differences between the definitions for US and UK.

Regular and Irregular Polygons

Here is a list of regular polygons from 3 to 10 sides.
For each polygon, a regular and an irregular example have been shown.
Any regular shape will be mathematically similar to the example shown (having the same angles).
There are an infinite number of examples of different irregular polygons that could be shown, and only one example is
given.
Equilateral Triangle

Irregular Triangle

Angle: 60
Interior angles add up to 180
Square

Irregular Quadrilateral

Angle: 90
Interior angles add up to 360

Pentagon

Irregular Pentagon

Angle: 108
Interior angles add up to 540
Hexagon

Irregular Hexagon

Angle: 120
Interior angles add up to 720
Heptagon

Irregular Heptagon

Angle: 128.6
Interior angles add up to 900
Octagon

Irregular Octagon

Angle: 135
Interior angles add up to 1080
Nonagon

Irregular Nonagon

Angle: 140
Interior angles add up to 1260
Decagon

Irregular Decagon

Angle: 144
Interior angles add up to 1440
The formulae for the interior angles of a polygon are as follows:
Total of interior angles = 180 x (number of sides - 2)
Angle = total of interior angles / number of sides

Here are some common 3D shapes that you should know.

Along with a picture of each shape, the number of faces, edges and vertices are also given.
Common properties of the 3D shapes are also given.
Please note that there is some disagreement over the definitions and properties of 3d shapes.

Some mathematicians allow a face to be curved and some do not.

Some mathematicians allow an edge to be curved and some do not.
Cube
Cubes have 6 faces, 12 edges and 8 vertices.
All sides on a cube are equal length.
All faces are square in shape.
A cube is a type of cuboid.

Cuboid
Cuboids have 6 faces, 12 edges and 8 vertices.
All the faces on a cuboid are rectangular.

Sphere

Spheres have either 0 or 1 faces, 0 edges and 0 vertices.

Cylinder

Cylinders have either 2 or 3 faces, 0 or 2 edges, and 0 vertices.

Cone

Cones have either 1 or 2 faces, 0 or 1 edges, and 1 apex (which is

described by some mathematicians as a vertex).

Triangular Prism

Triangular Prisms have 5 faces, 9 edges, and 6 vertices.

The two faces at either end are triangles, and the rest of the faces are
rectangular.

Hexagonal Prism
Hexagonal Prisms have 8 faces, 18 edges, and 12 vertices.
The two faces at either end are hexagons, and the rest of the faces are
rectangular.

Triangular-based Pyramid

Triangular-based pyramids have 4 faces, 6 edges and 4 vertices.

The base is a triangle. All of the faces are triangular.
If the triangular faces making up the prism are all equilateral, then the
shape is also called a Tetrahedron.

Square-based Pyramid

Square based pyramids have 5 faces, 8 edges and 5 vertices

The base is a square. All the other faces are triangular.

Hexagonal Pyramid

Hexagonal pyramids have 7 faces, 12 edges, and 7 vertices.

The base is a hexagon. All of the other faces are triangular.

The platonic solids form a set of 5 polyhedra with the following special properties:

the faces of the platonic solids have to be regular and congruent.

the same number of faces meet at each vertex.

They are named after the Greek philosopher Plato who wrote about them in his philosophical discussions.
There are only 5 platonic solids:

Regular tetrahedron

Cube or regular hexahedron

Regular octahedron

Regular dodecahedron

Regular icosahedron
Tetrahedron

A Tetrahedrons is the same as a triangular pyramid.

They have 4 triangular faces, 6 edges and 4 vertices.
A regular tetrahedron has equilateral triangles for its faces, and is one of
the 5 platonic solids.

Cube (regular hexahedron)

Cubes have 6 faces, 12 edges and 8 vertices.
All sides on a cube are equal length.
All faces are square in shape.
A cube is a type of cuboid and is one of the 5 platonic solids.

Octahedron

Octahedrons are a shape with 8 faces, 12 edges and 6 vertices.

A regular octahedron has equilateral triangles for its faces, and is one of
the 5 platonic solids.

Dodecahedron

Dodecahedrons are a shape with 12 faces, 30 edges and 20 vertices.

A regular dodecahedron has regular pentagons for its faces, and is one
of the 5 platonic solids.

Icosahedron

Icosahedron are a shape with 20 faces, 30 edges and 12 vertices.

All the faces are triangles.

A regular icosahedron is one of the 5 platonic solids with all faces being
equilateral triangles.