CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 2

HISTORY 3

BIODATA 4

GEOMETRY AND MEASUREMENT 5-18

REFERENCES 19

1
INTRODUCTION
Geometry (Ancient Greek geo- "earth", -metria "measurement") "Earth-Measuring" is a
part of mathematics concerned with questions of size, shape, relative position of figures,
and the properties of space. Geometry is one of the oldest sciences. Initially a body of
practical knowledge concerning lengths, areas, and volumes, in the 3rd century BC
geometry was put into an axiomatic form by Euclid, whose treatment—Euclidean
geometry—set a standard for many centuries to follow. The field of astronomy,
especially mapping the positions of the stars and planets on the celestial sphere, served as
an important source of geometric problems during the next one and a half millennia. A
mathematician who works in the field of geometry is called a geometer.

Introduction of coordinates by René Descartes and the concurrent development of algebra

marked a new stage for geometry, since geometric figures, such as plane curves, could
now be represented analytically, i.e., with functions and equations. This played a key role
in the emergence of calculus in the 17th century. Furthermore, the theory of perspective
showed that there is more to geometry than just the metric properties of figures. The
subject of geometry was further enriched by the study of intrinsic structure of geometric
objects that originated with Euler and Gauss and led to the creation of topology and
differential geometry.

Since the 19th-century discovery of non-Euclidean geometry, the concept of space has
undergone a radical transformation. Contemporary geometry considers manifolds, spaces
that are considerably more abstract than the familiar Euclidean space, which they only
approximately resemble at small scales. These spaces may be endowed with additional
structure, allowing one to speak about length. Modern geometry has multiple strong
bonds with physics, exemplified by the ties between Riemannian geometry and general
relativity. One of the youngest physical theories, string theory, is also very geometric in
flavor.

The visual nature of geometry makes it initially more accessible than other parts of
mathematics, such as algebra or number theory. However, the geometric language is also
used in contexts that are far removed from its traditional, Euclidean provenance, for
example, in fractal geometry, and especially in algebraic geometry.

2
HISTORY
The earliest recorded beginnings of geometry can be traced to ancient Mesopotamia,
Egypt, and the Indus Valley from around 3000 BCE. Early geometry was a collection of
empirically discovered principles concerning lengths, angles, areas, and volumes, which
were developed to meet some practical need in surveying, construction, astronomy, and
various crafts. The earliest known texts on geometry are the Egyptian Rhind Papyrus and
Moscow Papyrus, the Babylonian clay tablets, and the Indian Shulba Sutras, while the
Chinese had the work of Mozi, Zhang Heng, and the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical
Art, edited by Liu Hui.

Euclid's Elements (c. 300 BCE) was one of the most important early texts on geometry,
in which he presented geometry in an ideal axiomatic form, which came to be known as
Euclidean geometry. The treatise is not, as is sometimes thought, a compendium of all
that Hellenistic mathematicians knew about geometry at that time; rather, it is an
elementary introduction to it; Euclid himself wrote eight more advanced books on
geometry

In the Middle Ages, mathematics in medieval Islam contributed to the development of

geometry, especially algebraic geometry and geometric algebra Al-Mahani (b. 853)
conceived the idea of reducing geometrical problems such as duplicating the cube to
problems in algebra Thābit ibn Qurra (known as Thebit in Latin) (836-901) dealt with
arithmetical operations applied to ratios of geometrical quantities, and contributed to the
development of analytic geometry. Omar Khayyám (1048-1131) found geometric
solutions to cubic equations, and his extensive studies of the parallel postulate
contributed to the development of non-Euclidian geometry. The theorems of Ibn al-
Haytham (Alhazen), Omar Khayyam and Nasir al-Din al-Tusi on quadrilaterals,
including the Lambert quadrilateral and Saccheri quadrilateral, were the first theorems on
elliptical geometry and hyperbolic geometry, and along with their alternative postulates,
such as Playfair's axiom, these works had a considerable influence on the development of
non-Euclidean geometry among later European geometers, including Witelo, Levi ben
Gerson, Alfonso, John Wallis, and Giovanni Girolamo Saccheri.

In the early 17th century, there were two important developments in geometry. The first,
and most important, was the creation of analytic geometry, or geometry with coordinates
and equations, by René Descartes (1596–1650) and Pierre de Fermat (1601–1665). This
was a necessary precursor to the development of calculus and a precise quantitative
science of physics. The second geometric development of this period was the systematic
study of projective geometry by Girard Desargues (1591–1661). Projective geometry is
the study of geometry without measurement, just the study of how points align with each
other.

3
BIODATA

Omar Khayyám (Persian: ‫)عمر خیام‬, (born 1048 AD, Neyshapur, Iran—1131 AD,
Neyshapur, Iran), was a Persian polymath, mathematician, philosopher, astronomer,
physician, and poet. He also wrote treatises on mechanics, geography, and music.

He has also become established as one of the major mathematicians and astronomers of
the medieval period. Recognized as the author of the most important treatise on algebra
before modern times as reflected in his Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of
Algebra giving a geometric method for solving cubic equations by intersecting a
hyperbola with a circle. He also contributed to the calendar reform and may have
proposed a heliocentric theory well before Copernicus.

His significance as a philosopher and teacher, and his few remaining philosophical
works, have not received the same attention as his scientific and poetic writings.
Zamakhshari referred to him as “the philosopher of the world”. Many sources have also
testified that he taught for decades the philosophy of Ibn Sina in Nishapur where
Khayyám lived most of his life, died, and was buried and where his mausoleum remains
today a masterpiece of Iranian architecture visited by many people every year.

Outside Iran and Persian speaking countries, Khayyám has had impact on literature and
societies through translation and works of scholars. The greatest such impact was in
English-speaking countries; the English scholar Thomas Hyde (1636–1703) was the first
non-Persian to study him. However the most influential of all was Edward FitzGerald
(1809–83) who made Khayyám the most famous poet of the East in the West through his
celebrated translation and adaptations of Khayyám's rather small number of quatrains
(rubaiyaas) in Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.

Khayyám's full name was Ghiyath al-Din Abu'l-Fath Umar ibn Ibrahim Al-Nishapuri al-
Khayyami (Persian: ‫ )غیاث الدین ابو الفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشاپوری‬and was born in Nishapur,
Iran, then a Seljuk capital in Khorasan (present Northeast Iran), rivaling Cairo or
Baghdad.

He is thought to have been born into a family of tent makers (literally, al-khayyami in
Arabic means "tent-maker"); later in life he would make this into a play on words:

Khayyám, who stitched the tents of science,

Has fallen in grief's furnace and been suddenly burned,
The shears of Fate have cut the tent ropes of his life,
And the broker of Hope has sold him for nothing!

– Omar Khayyám

4
GEOMETRY AND MEASUREMENT
Measuring angles

The angle θ is the quotient of s and r.

In order to measure an angle θ, a circular arc centered at the vertex of the angle is drawn,
e.g. with a pair of compasses. The length of the arc s is then divided by the radius of the
circle r, and possibly multiplied by a scaling constant k (which depends on the units of
measurement that are chosen):

The value of θ thus defined is independent of the size of the circle: if the length of the
radius is changed then the arc length changes in the same proportion, so the ratio s/r is
unaltered.

In many geometrical situations, angles that differ by an exact multiple of a full circle are
effectively equivalent (it makes no difference how many times a line is rotated through a
full circle because it always ends up in the same place). However, this is not always the
case. For example, when tracing a curve such as a spiral using polar coordinates, an extra
full turn gives rise to a quite different point on the curve.

Units

Angles are considered dimensionless, since they are defined as the ratio of lengths. There
are, however, several units used to measure angles, depending on the choice of the
constant k in the formula above. Of these units, treated in more detail below, the degree
and the radian are by far the most common.

With the notable exception of the radian, most units of angular measurement are defined
such that one full circle (i.e. one revolution) is equal to n units, for some whole number n.
For example, in the case of degrees, n = 360. A full circle of n units is obtained by setting
k = n/(2π) in the formula above. (Proof. The formula above can be rewritten as k = θr/s.
One full circle, for which θ = n units, corresponds to an arc equal in length to the circle's
circumference, which is 2πr, so s = 2πr. Substituting n for θ and 2πr for s in the formula,
results in k = nr/(2πr) = n/(2π).)

5
 • The degree, denoted by a small superscript circle (°) is 1/360 of a full circle, so
one full circle is 360°. One advantage of this old sexagesimal subunit is that many
angles common in simple geometry are measured as a whole number of degrees.
Fractions of a degree may be written in normal decimal notation (e.g. 3.5° for
three and a half degrees), but the following sexagesimal subunits of the "degree-
minute-second" system are also in use, especially for geographical coordinates
and in astronomy and ballistics:
o The minute of arc (or MOA, arcminute, or just minute) is 1/60 of a
degree. It is denoted by a single prime ( ′ ). For example, 3° 30′ is equal to
3 + 30/60 degrees, or 3.5 degrees. A mixed format with decimal fractions
is also sometimes used, e.g. 3° 5.72′ = 3 + 5.72/60 degrees. A nautical
mile was historically defined as a minute of arc along a great circle of the
Earth.
o The second of arc (or arcsecond, or just second) is 1/60 of a minute of
arc and 1/3600 of a degree. It is denoted by a double prime ( ″ ). For
example, 3° 7′ 30″ is equal to 3 + 7/60 + 30/3600 degrees, or
3.125 degrees.

θ = s/r rad = 1 rad.

• The radian is the angle subtended by an arc of a circle that has the same length as
the circle's radius (k = 1 in the formula given earlier). One full circle is 2π radians,
and one radian is 180/π degrees, or about 57.2958 degrees. The radian is
abbreviated rad, though this symbol is often omitted in mathematical texts, where
radians are assumed unless specified otherwise. The radian is used in virtually all
mathematical work beyond simple practical geometry, due, for example, to the
pleasing and "natural" properties that the trigonometric functions display when
their arguments are in radians. The radian is the (derived) unit of angular
measurement in the SI system.
• The mil is approximately equal to a milliradian. There are several definitions.
• The full circle (or revolution, rotation, full turn or cycle) is one complete
revolution. The revolution and rotation are abbreviated rev and rot, respectively,
but just r in rpm (revolutions per minute). 1 full circle = 360° = 2π rad = 400 gon
= 4 right angles.
• The right angle is 1/4 of a full circle. It is the unit used in Euclid's Elements. 1
right angle = 90° = π/2 rad = 100 gon.

6
 • The angle of the equilateral triangle is 1/6 of a full circle. It was the unit used
by the Babylonians, and is especially easy to construct with ruler and compasses.
The degree, minute of arc and second of arc are sexagesimal subunits of the
Babylonian unit. 1 Babylonian unit = 60° = π/3 rad ≈ 1.047197551 rad.
• The grad, also called grade, gradian, or gon is 1/400 of a full circle, so one full
circle is 400 grads and a right angle is 100 grads. It is a decimal subunit of the
right angle. A kilometre was historically defined as a centi-gon of arc along a
great circle of the Earth, so the kilometre is the decimal analog to the sexagesimal
nautical mile. The gon is used mostly in triangulation.
• The point, used in navigation, is 1/32 of a full circle. It is a binary subunit of the
full circle. Naming all 32 points on a compass rose is called "boxing the
compass". 1 point = 1/8 of a right angle = 11.25° = 12.5 gon.
• The astronomical hour angle is 1/24 of a full circle. Since this system is
amenable to measuring objects that cycle once per day (such as the relative
position of stars), the sexagesimal subunits are called minute of time and second
of time. Note that these are distinct from, and 15 times larger than, minutes and
seconds of arc. 1 hour = 15° = π/12 rad = 1/6 right angle ≈ 16.667 gon.
• The binary degree, also known as the binary radian (or brad), is 1/256 of a full
circle. The binary degree is used in computing so that an angle can be efficiently
represented in a single byte (albeit to limited precision unless the angle happens to
be an exact multiple of 1/256 of a circle).
• The grade of a slope, or gradient, is not truly an angle measure (unless it is
explicitly given in degrees, as is occasionally the case). Instead it is equal to the
tangent of the angle, or sometimes the sine. Gradients are often expressed as a
percentage. For the usual small values encountered (less than 5%), the grade of a

Types of angles

Right angle. Reflex angle. The Acute (a), obtuse (b), and straight
complementary (c) angles. Here, a and b are
angles a and b (b is supplementary angles.
the complement of
a, and a is the
complement of b).

7
• An angle of 90° (π/2 radians, or one-quarter of the full circle) is called a right
angle.

Two lines that form a right angle are said to be perpendicular or orthogonal.

• Angles that are not right angles or a multiple of a right angle are called oblique
angles.
• Angles smaller than a right angle (less than 90°) are called acute angles ("acute"
meaning "sharp").
• Angles larger than a right angle and smaller than two right angles (between 90°
and 180°) are called obtuse angles ("obtuse" meaning "blunt").
• Angles equal to two right angles (180°) are called straight angles.
• Angles larger than two right angles but less than a full circle (between 180° and
360°) are called reflex angles.
• Angles that have the same measure (i.e. the same magnitude) are sometimes said
to be congruent. Following this definition for congruent angles, an angle is
defined by its measure and is not dependent upon the lengths of the sides of the
angle (e.g. all right angles are congruent).
• Two angles opposite each other, formed by two intersecting straight lines that
form an "X"-like shape, are called vertical angles or opposite angles. These
angles are equal in size.
• Angles that share a common vertex and edge but do not share any interior points
are called adjacent angles.
• Two angles that sum to one right angle (90°) are called complementary angles.

The difference between an angle and a right angle is termed the complement of
the angle.

• Two angles that sum to a straight angle (180°) are called supplementary angles.

The difference between an angle and a straight angle is termed the supplement of
the angle.

• Two angles that sum to one full circle (360°) are called explementary angles or
conjugate angles.
• An angle that is part of a simple polygon is called an interior angle if it lies on
the inside of that simple polygon. A concave simple polygon has at least one
interior angle that exceeds 180°.

In Euclidean geometry, the measures of the interior angles of a triangle add up to

π radians, or 180°; the measures of the interior angles of a simple quadrilateral
add up to 2π radians, or 360°. In general, the measures of the interior angles of a
simple polygon with n sides add up to [(n − 2) × π] radians, or [(n − 2) × 180]°.

• The angle supplementary to the interior angle is called the exterior angle. It
measures the amount of "turn" one has to make at this vertex to trace out the

8
 polygon. If the corresponding interior angle exceeds 180°, the exterior angle
should be considered negative. Even in a non-simple polygon it may be possible
to define the exterior angle, but one will have to pick an orientation of the plane
(or surface) to decide the sign of the exterior angle measure.

In Euclidean geometry, the sum of the exterior angles of a simple polygon will be
360°, one full turn.

• Some authors use the name exterior angle of a simple polygon to simply mean
the explementary (not supplementary!) of the interior angle.[1] This conflicts with
the above usage.
• The angle between two planes (such as two adjacent faces of a polyhedron) is
called a dihedral angle. It may be defined as the acute angle between two lines
normal to the planes.
• The angle between a plane and an intersecting straight line is equal to ninety
degrees minus the angle between the intersecting line and the line that goes
through the point of intersection and is normal to the plane.
• If a straight transversal line intersects two parallel lines, corresponding (alternate)
angles at the two points of intersection are equal in size; adjacent angles are
supplementary (that is, their measures add to π radians, or 180°).

A formal definition

Using trigonometric functions

A Euclidean angle is completely determined by the corresponding right triangle. In

particular, if θ is a Euclidean angle, it is true that

and

for two numbers x and y. So an angle in the Euclidean plane can be legitimately given by
two numbers x and y.

To the ratio y/x there correspond two angles in the geometric range 0 < θ < 2π, since

9
Using rotations

Suppose we have two unit vectors and in the euclidean plane . Then there exists
one positive isometry (a rotation), and one only, from to that maps u onto v. Let r
be such a rotation. Then the relation defined by is an equivalence relation
and we call angle of the rotation r the equivalence class , where denotes the unit
circle of . The angle between two vectors will simply be the angle of the rotation that
maps one onto the other. We have no numerical way of determining an angle yet. To do
this, we choose the vector (1,0), then for any point M on at distance θ from (1,0) (on
the circle), let . If we call rθ the rotation that transforms (1,0) into , then
is a bijection, which means we can identify any angle with a number between 0
and .

Angles between curves

The angle between the two curves is defined as the angle between the tangents A and B at
P

The angle between a line and a curve (mixed angle) or between two intersecting curves
(curvilinear angle) is defined to be the angle between the tangents at the point of
intersection.

The dot product and generalisation

In the Euclidean plane, the angle θ between two vectors u and v is related to their dot
product and their lengths by the formula

This allows one to define angles in any real inner product space, replacing the Euclidean
dot product · by the Hilbert space inner product .

10
Angles in Riemannian geometry

In Riemannian geometry, the metric tensor is used to define the angle between two
tangents. Where U and V are tangent vectors and gij are the components of the metric
tensor G,

Angles in geography and astronomy

In geometry a polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path or

circuit, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments (i.e., by a closed
polygonal chain). These segments are called its edges or sides, and the points where two
edges meet are the polygon's vertices or corners. The interior of the polygon is sometimes
called its body. A polygon is a 2-dimensional example of the more general polytope in
any number of dimensions.

Usually two edges meeting at a corner are required to form an angle that is not straight
(180°); otherwise, the line segments will be considered parts of a single edge.

The basic geometrical notion has been adapted in various ways to suit particular
purposes. For example in the computer graphics (image generation) field, the term
polygon has taken on a slightly altered meaning, more related to the way the shape is
stored and manipulated within the computer.

Classification

Number of sides

Polygons are primarily classified by the number of sides, see naming polygons below.

Convexity

Polygons may be characterised by their degree of convexity:

• Convex: any line drawn through the polygon (and not tangent to an edge or
corner) meets its boundary exactly twice.
• Non-convex: a line may be found which meets its boundary more than twice.
• Simple: the boundary of the polygon does not cross itself. All convex polygons
are simple.
• Concave: Non-convex and simple.

11
 • Star-shaped: the whole interior is visible from a single point, without crossing
any edge. The polygon must be simple, and may be convex or concave.
• Self-intersecting: the boundary of the polygon crosses itself. Branko Grünbaum
calls these coptic, though this term does not seem to be widely used. The term
complex is sometimes used in contrast to simple, but this risks confusion with the
idea of a complex polygon as one which exists in the complex Hilbert plane
consisting of two complex dimensions.
• Star polygon: a polygon which self-intersects in a regular way.

Symmetry

• Equiangular: all its corner angles are equal.

• Cyclic: all corners lie on a single circle.
• Isogonal or vertex-transitive: all corners lie within the same symmetry orbit. The
polygon is also cyclic and equiangular.
• Equilateral: all edges are of the same length. (A polygon with 5 or more sides
can be equilateral without being convex.) (Williams 1979, pp. 31-32)
• Isotoxal or edge-transitive: all sides lie within the same symmetry orbit. The
polygon is also equilateral.
• Regular. A polygon is regular if it is both cyclic and equilateral. A non-convex
regular polygon is called a regular star polygon.

Miscellaneous

• Rectilinear: a polygon whose sides meet at right angles, i.e., all its interior angles
are 90 or 270 degrees.
• Monotone with respect to a given line L, if every line orthogonal to L intersects
the polygon not more than twice.

Angles

Any polygon, regular or irregular, self-intersecting or simple, has as many corners as it

has sides. Each corner has several angles. The two most important ones are:

• Interior angle – The sum of the interior angles of a simple n-gon is (n − 2)π
radians or (n − 2)180 degrees. This is because any simple n-gon can be considered
to be made up of (n − 2) triangles, each of which has an angle sum of π radians or
180 degrees. The measure of any interior angle of a convex regular n-gon is
(n − 2)π/n radians or (n − 2)180/n degrees. The interior angles of regular star
polygons were first studied by Poinsot, in the same paper in which he describes
the four regular star polyhedra.
• Exterior angle – Imagine walking around a simple n-gon marked on the floor.
The amount you "turn" at a corner is the exterior or external angle. Walking all
the way round the polygon, you make one full turn, so the sum of the exterior
angles must be 360°. Moving around an n-gon in general, the sum of the exterior
angles (the total amount one "turns" at the vertices) can be any integer multiple d

12
 of 360°, e.g. 720° for a pentagram and 0° for an angular "eight", where d is the
density or starriness of the polygon. See also orbit (dynamics).

The exterior angle is the supplementary angle to the interior angle. From this the sum of
the interior angles can be easily confirmed, even if some interior angles are more than
180°: going clockwise around, it means that one sometime turns left instead of right,
which is counted as turning a negative amount. (Thus we consider something like the
winding number of the orientation of the sides, where at every vertex the contribution is
between −½ and ½ winding.)

Area and centroid

Nomenclature of a 2D polygon.

The area of a polygon is the measurement of the 2-dimensional region enclosed by the
polygon. For a non-self-intersecting (simple) polygon with n vertices, the area and
centroid are given by:

To close the polygon, the first and last vertices are the same, i.e., xn,yn = x0,y0. The
vertices must be ordered clockwise or counterclockwise; if they are ordered clockwise,
the area will be negative but correct in absolute value. This is commonly called the
Surveyor's Formula.

The formula was described by Meister in 1769 and by Gauss in 1795. It can be verified
by dividing the polygon into triangles, but it can also be seen as a special case of Green's
theorem.

The area A of a simple polygon can also be computed if the lengths of the sides, a1,a2, ...,
an and the exterior angles, are known. The formula is

13
The formula was described by Lopshits in 1963.

If the polygon can be drawn on an equally-spaced grid such that all its vertices are grid
points, Pick's theorem gives a simple formula for the polygon's area based on the
numbers of interior and boundary grid points.

If any two simple polygons of equal area are given, then the first can be cut into
polygonal pieces which can be reassembled to form the second polygon. This is the
Bolyai-Gerwien theorem.

For a regular polygon with n sides of length s, the area is given by:

Self-intersecting polygons

The area of a self-intersecting polygon can be defined in two different ways, each of
which gives a different answer:

• Using the above methods for simple polygons, we discover that particular regions
within the polygon may have their area multiplied by a factor which we call the
density of the region. For example the central convex pentagon in the centre of a
pentagram has density 2. The two triangular regions of a cross-quadrilateral (like
a figure 8) have opposite-signed densities, and adding their areas together can
give a total area of zero for the whole figure.
• Considering the enclosed regions as point sets, we can find the area of the
enclosed point set. This corresponds to the area of the plane covered by the
polygon, or to the area of a simple polygon having the same outline as the self-
intersecting one (or, in the case of the cross-quadrilateral, the two simple
triangles).

Degrees of freedom

An n-gon has 2n degrees of freedom, including 2 for position, 1 for rotational orientation,
and 1 for over-all size, so 2n − 4 for shape. In the case of a line of symmetry the latter
reduces to n − 2.

14
Let k ≥ 2. For an nk-gon with k-fold rotational symmetry (Ck), there are 2n − 2 degrees of
freedom for the shape. With additional mirror-image symmetry (Dk) there are n − 1
degrees of freedom.

A geometric polygon is understood to be a "realization" of the associated abstract

polygon; this involves some "mapping" of elements from the abstract to the geometric.
Such a polygon does not have to lie in a plane, or have straight sides, or enclose an area,
and individual elements can overlap or even coincide. For example a spherical polygon is
drawn on the surface of a sphere, and its sides are arcs of great circles. So when we talk
about "polygons" we must be careful to explain what kind we are talking about.

Further

Chord, secant, tangent, and diameter.Arc, sector, and segment

terminology
The diameter of a circle is the length of a line segment whose endpoints lie on the circle
and which passes through the centre of the circle. This is the largest distance between any
two points on the circle. The diameter of a circle is twice its radius.

The term " radius" can also refer to a line segment from the centre of a circle to its
perimeter, and similarly the term "diameter" can refer to a line segment between two
points on the perimeter which passes through the centre. In this sense, the midpoint of a
diameter is the centre and so it is composed of two radii.

A chord of a circle is a line segment whose two endpoints lie on the circle. The diameter,
passing through the circle's centre, is the largest chord in a circle. A tangent to a circle is
a straight line that touches the circle at a single point. A secant is an extended chord: a
straight line cutting the circle at two points.

An arc of a circle is any connected part of the circle's circumference. A sector is a region
bounded by two radii and an arc lying between the radii, and a segment is a region
bounded by a chord and an arc lying between the chord's endpoints.

Length of circumference
For more details on this topic, see Pi.

15
The ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter is π (pi), a constant that takes the
same value (approximately 3.141592654) for all circles. Thus the length of the
circumference (c) is related to the radius (r) by

or equivalently to the diameter (d) by

Area enclosed

Area of the circle = π × area of the shaded square

Main article: Area of a disk

The area enclosed by a circle is π multiplied by the radius squared:

Equivalently, denoting diameter by d,

that is, approximately 79% of the circumscribing square (whose side is of length d).

The circle is the plane curve enclosing the maximum area for a given arc length. This
relates the circle to a problem in the calculus of variations, namely the isoperimetric
inequality.

16
Equations

Cartesian coordinates

Circle of radius r = 1, center (a, b) = (1.2, -0.5)

In an x-y Cartesian coordinate system, the circle with center (h, k) and radius r is the set
of all points (x, y) such that

This equation of the circle follows from the Pythagorean theorem applied to any point on
the circle: as shown in the diagram to the right, the radius is the hypotenuse of a right-
angled triangle whose other sides are of length x − a and y − b. If the circle is centered at
the origin (0, 0), then the equation simplifies to

The equation can be written in parametric form using the trigonometric functions sine
and cosine as

where t is a parametric variable, interpreted geometrically as the angle that the ray from
the origin to (x, y) makes with the x-axis. Alternatively, a rational parametrization of the
circle is:

In homogeneous coordinates each conic section with equation of a circle is of the form

17
It can be proven that a conic section is a circle if and only if the point I(1: i: 0) and J(1:
−i: 0) lie on the conic section. These points are called the circular points at infinity.

(x1 − a)x + (y1 − b)y = (x1 − a)x1 + (y1 − b)y1

or

(x1 − a)(x − a) + (y1 − b)(y − b) = r2.

If y1≠b then slope of this line is

This can also be found using implicit differentiation.

When the center of the circle is at the origin then the equation of the tangent line becomes

x1x + y1y = r2,

and its slope is

18
REFERENCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circle 01/02/10

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometry 01/02/10

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle 01/02/10

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygon 01/02/10

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