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Undefined Terms

There are four undefined terms in geometry: point, line, plane, and set. A point has no size and is represented by a dot. A line extends infinitely in both directions, is one-dimensional, and has no thickness. A plane is a flat, two-dimensional surface that extends infinitely in all directions. A set is a collection of objects that share common attributes. While these terms are undefined, they can be described intuitively to build an understanding of more complex geometric concepts that are defined using these basic terms.

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Aileen Lucañas Mandrique
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62K views3 pages

Undefined Terms

There are four undefined terms in geometry: point, line, plane, and set. A point has no size and is represented by a dot. A line extends infinitely in both directions, is one-dimensional, and has no thickness. A plane is a flat, two-dimensional surface that extends infinitely in all directions. A set is a collection of objects that share common attributes. While these terms are undefined, they can be described intuitively to build an understanding of more complex geometric concepts that are defined using these basic terms.

Uploaded by

Aileen Lucañas Mandrique
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A point is like a star in the night sky. It is a little spec in a large endless sky.

However, unlike starts, geometric points have no size. Think of them as being so
small that they take up zero amount of space.

A line is like the edge of a ruler, that never ends. Take a ruler and draw a line - now
imagine if that line kept going straight forever. The line you have is thick enough for
you to see, but you need to imagine that your line is so thin that you can't see it - it
has no thickness at all. That is a geometric line.

A plane is a flat piece of land (like a football field) that extends forever. Imagine
that you can pick that football field up, and put it anywhere in the air that you like.
You can even turn it side ways, or diagonally. A plane is just a flat edge (like a piece
of paper) that has no thickness (just like the line) and extends forever.

http://www.gradeamathhelp.com/undefined-terms-in-geometry.html

An undefined term is a term or word that doesnt require further explanation or


description. It already exists in its most basic form. These basic terms are used to
define or explain more complicated terms or concepts.
Geometry recognizes four undefined terms. While some books only recognize three
terms, all four will be included here. Even though they are undefined, I will attempt to
describe them for you below.
Set a group or collection with common characteristics
Example: A set of 10-year-old boys
A set of points on a line
A set of all even integers
Point a dot on a page. A point has no dimensions (length, width, height), it is usually
represent by a capital letter and a dot on a page. Think of it as an infinitely small place
or position on a map.
Line an unlimited number of points along the same path. The set of points may be
straight or form a curve. Normally, the term line means a straight line. The line has
no dimensions (length, width, height) and extends unlimited in both directions. (The
part of a line defined by two points, called endpoints, is call a line segment or
segment.) A line is represented by a drawn line with arrowheads on each end to
represent that it doesnt have endpoints. A line can be named in two ways: (1) use the
capital letters representing two points on the line and place a double-headed arrow
above the two letters (2) use a lowercase letter beside the line to represent it.

Plane a flat surface that extends indefinitely in all directions. It is usually represented
by a parallelogram (four sided figure) with a capital letter in one corner. Remember the
plane is not limited by the parallelogram, it extends infinitely. The plane can also be
represented by using three points that lie on the plane surface but not on the same line
(noncollinear).
http://www.examiner.com/article/undefined-terms-geometry

Undefined terms:
In geometry, definitions are formed using known words or terms to describe a new
word. There are three words in geometry that are not formally defined. These
three undefined terms are point, line and plane.

POINT (an undefined term)


In geometry, a point has no dimension (actual
size). Even though we represent a point with a
dot, the point has no length, width, or thickness.
Our dot can be very tiny or very large and it still
represents a point. A point is usually named
with a capital letter. In the coordinate plane, a
point is named by an ordered pair, (x,y).

LINE (an undefined term)


In geometry, a line has no thickness but its
length extends in one dimension and goes on
forever in both directions. Unless otherwise
stated a line is drawn as a straight line with two
arrowheads indicating that the line extends
without end in both directions. A line is named
by a single lowercase letter,
points on the line,
.

, or by any two

PLANE (an undefined term)


In geometry, a plane has no thickness but
extends indefinitely in all directions. Planes are
usually represented by a shape that looks like a
tabletop or a parallelogram. Even though the
diagram of a plane has edges, you must
remember that the plane has no boundaries. A
plane is named by a single letter (plane m) or by
three non-collinear points (plane ABC).

Intuitive Concepts:
There are a few basic concepts in geometry that need to be understood, but are seldom
used as reasons in a formal proof.

Collinear Points
Coplanar points
Opposite rays

points that lie on the same line.

Parallel lines
Skew lines

two coplanar lines that do not intersect

points that lie in the same plane.


2 rays that lie on the same line, with a common endpoint
and no other points in common. Opposite rays form a
straight line and/or a straight angle (180:).

two non-coplanar lines that do not intersect.

http://regentsprep.org/Regents/math/geometry/GG1/undefinedterms.htm

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