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Geometry
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The DeMYSTiFieD series helps students master complex and difficult subjects.
Each book is filled with chapter quizzes, final exams, and user friendly content.
Whether you want to master Spanish or get an A in Chemistry, DeMYSTiFieD will
untangle confusing subjects, and make the hard stuff understandable.
chapter 2 Triangles 23
Triangle Definitions 24
Criteria for Congruence and Similarity 30
Types of Triangles 34
Special Facts 39
Quiz 41
chapter 3 Quadrilaterals 45
Types of Quadrilaterals 46
Facts about Quadrilaterals 51
Perimeters and Interior Areas 59
Quiz 66
ix
x G eometr y De MYS TiFie D
xiii
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How to Use This Book
This book can help you learn basic geometry without taking a formal course. It
can also serve as a supplemental text in a classroom, tutored, or homeschooling
environment.
None of the mathematics in this book goes beyond the high-school level. If
you need a “refresher,” you can select from several Demystified books dedicated
to mathematics topics. If you want to build yourself a “rock-solid” mathematics
foundation before you start this course, I recommend that you go through
Pre-Algebra Demystified, Algebra Demystified, and Algebra Know-It-All.
This book contains abundant multiple-choice questions written in stan-
dardized test format. You’ll find an “open-book” quiz at the end of every
chapter. You may (and should) refer to the chapter texts when taking these
quizzes. Write down your answers, and then give your list of answers to a friend.
Have your friend tell you your score, but not which questions you missed.
The correct answers appear in the back of the book. Stick with a chapter until
you get most of the quiz answers correct.
Two major sections constitute this course. Each section ends with a multiple-
choice test. Take these tests when you’re done with the respective sections and
have taken all the chapter quizzes. Don’t look back at the text when taking the
section tests. They’re easier than the chapter-ending quizzes, and they don’t
require you to memorize trivial things. A satisfactory score is three-quarters
correct. Answers appear in the back of the book.
The course concludes with a 100-question final exam. Take it when you’ve
finished all the sections, all the section tests, and all of the chapter quizzes. A
satisfactory score is at least 75 percent correct answers.
xv
xvi G eometr y De MYS TiFie D
With the section tests and the final exam, as with the quizzes, have a friend
divulge your score without letting you know which questions you missed. That
way, you won’t subconsciously memorize the answers. You might want to take
each test, and the final exam, two or three times. When you get a score that
makes you happy, you can (and should) check to see where your strengths and
weaknesses lie.
You won’t find any proofs here. Instead of taking up a lot of space with
theorem demonstrations, this course concentrates on fundamental facts and a
diversity of topics found in few, if any, other introductory geometry texts. If
you’re interested in learning how to do proofs, I recommend Math Proofs
Demystified. If you want to delve further into analytic geometry and vectors,
I recommend Pre-Calculus Know-It All.
Strive to complete one chapter of this book every 10 days or 2 weeks. Don’t
rush, but don’t go too slowly either. Proceed at a steady pace and keep it up.
That way, you’ll complete the course in a few months. (As much as we all wish
otherwise, nothing can substitute for “good study habits.”) When you’re done
with the course, you can use this book as a permanent reference.
I welcome your ideas and suggestions for future editions.
Stan Gibilisco
Geometry
DeMYSTiFieD®
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Part I
Two Dimensions
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chapte r
1
Rules of the Game
The fundamental rules of geometry date back to the time of the ancient Egyp-
tians and Greeks, who used geometry to calculate the diameter of the earth and
the distance to the moon. These mathematicians employed the laws of Euclidean
geometry (named after Euclid of Alexandria, a Greek mathematician who lived
around the third century B.C.). Two-dimensional Euclidean geometry, also called
plane geometry, involves points, lines, and shapes confined to flat surfaces.
CHAPTer OBJeCTiVeS
In this chapter, you will
• envision “mathematically perfect” points and straight lines.
• Break lines up into rays and segments.
• Define angles and distances.
• measure and compare angles.
• add and subtract angles.
• learn how lines and angles relate.
3
4 g e o m e t r y D emys tified
Two-Point Principle
Suppose that P and Q represent different geometric points. These points define
one and only one line L (i.e., a unique line L). The following two statements
always hold true in a situation like this, as shown in Fig. 1-1:
Distance Notation
We can symbolize the distance between any two points P and Q, as we express
it going from P toward Q along the straight line connecting them, by writing
P Q
L
Figure 1-1 • The two-point principle.
Chapter 1 R u l e s o f t h e G a m e 5
Line Segments
The portion of a line between two different points P and Q constitutes a line
segment. We call the points P and Q the end points. A line segment can theo-
retically include both of the end points, only one of them, or neither of them.
Therefore, three possibilities exist, as follows:
• If a line segment contains both end points, we call it a closed line segment.
We indicate the fact that the end points are included by drawing them
both as solid black dots.
• If a line segment contains one of the end points but not the other, we call
it a half-open line segment. We draw the included end point as a solid black
dot and the excluded end point as a small open circle.
• If a line segment contains neither end point, we call it an open line segment.
We draw both end points as small open circles.
TIP Any particular line segment has the same length, regardless of whether it’s
closed, half-open, or open. Adding or taking away a single point makes no differ-
ence, mathematically, in the length, because points have zero size in all
dimensions!
Midpoint Principle
Imagine a line segment connecting two points P and R. There exists one and only
one point Q on the line segment such that PQ = QR, as shown in Fig. 1-2.
6 g e o m e t r y De mys tifieD
PQ = QR
P R
Q
Figure 1-2 • The midpoint principle.
PROBLEM 1-1
Suppose that, in the scenario of Fig. 1-2, we find the midpoint Q2 between
Q then the midpoint Q3 between P and Q2, then the midpoint Q4
P and Q,
between P and Q3, and so on. In mathematical language, we say that we
keep finding midpoints Q(n+1) between P and Qn, where n represents a pos-
itive whole number. How long can we continue this process?
✔SOLUTION
The process can continue forever. In theoretical geometry, no limit exists
as to the number of times we can cut a line segment in half, because a line
segment contains infinitely many points.
PROBLEM 1-2
Imagine a line segment with end points P and Q. What’s the difference
between the distance PQ and the distance QP?
✔SOLUTION
If we consider distance without paying attention to the direction in which
we express or measure it, then PQ = QP. But if the direction does make a
difference to us, we can define PQ = –QP. Then we use the term displace-
ment instead of direction.
In geometry diagrams, we can specify displacements (instead of simple
distances) if we want to induce our readers to move their eyes from right
to left instead of from left to right, or from bottom to top rather than from
top to bottom.
Chapter 1 R u l e s o f t h e G a m e 7
Measuring Angles
To express the extent or measure of an angle, we can use either of two units:
the degree and the radian. The degree (°) is the unit familiar to lay people, while
the radian is more often used by mathematicians and engineers.
One degree (1°) equals 1/360 of a full circle. Therefore, 90° represents 1/4
of a circle, 180° represents a half circle, 270° represents 3/4 of a circle, and 360°
represents a full circle. A right angle has a measure of 90°, an acute angle has a
measure of more than 0° but less than 90°, and an obtuse angle has an angle
more than 90° but less than 180°. A straight angle has a measure of 180°. A
reflex angle has a measure of more than 180° but less than 360°.
We can define the radian (rad) as follows. Imagine two rays emanating out-
ward from the center point of a circle. Each of the two rays intersects the circle
at a point; call these points P and Q. Suppose that the distance between P and
Q, as expressed along the arc of the circle, equals the radius of the circle. Then
the measure of the angle between the rays equals 1 radian (1 rad).
A full circle contains 2π rad, where π (the lowercase Greek letter pi,
pronounced “pie”) stands for the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.
The value of π is approximately 3.14159265359, often rounded off to 3.14159
or 3.14. A right angle has a measure of π/2 rad, an acute angle has a measure of
more than 0 rad but less than π/2 rad, and an obtuse angle has an angle more
than π/2 rad but less than π rad. A straight angle has a measure of π rad, and a
reflex angle has a measure larger than π rad but less than 2π rad.
T I P Mathematicians often delete the unit reference when they express or write
about angles in radians. Therefore, instead of “o /3 rad,” you might encounter
an angle denoted as “o /3.” Whenever you see a reference to an angle and no
unit goes along with it, you can assume that the author is working with
radians.
8 g e o m e t r y D emys tifieD
RQP
M
L PQR
Q
Figure 1-3 • Angle notation.
Angle Notation
Imagine that P, Q, and R represent three distinct points. Let L represent the line seg-
ment connecting P and Q, and let M represent the line segment connecting R and Q.
We can denote the angle between L and M, as measured at point Q in the plane
defined by the three points, by writing ∠PQR or ∠RQP as shown in Fig. 1-3.
If we want to specify the rotational sense of the angle (either counterclockwise
or clockwise), then ∠RQP indicates the angle as we turn counterclockwise from
M to L, and ∠PQR indicates the angle as we turn clockwise from L to M. We
consider counterclockwise-going angles as having positive values and clockwise-
going angles as having negative values.
In the situation of Fig. 1-3, ∠RQP is positive while ∠PQR is negative. If we make
an approximate guess as to the measures of the angles in Fig. 1-3, we might say that
∠RQP ≈ +60° while ∠PQR ≈ –60°. The “wavy” equals sign translates literally to the
phrase “approximately equals” or the phrase “is approximately equal to.”
? still struggling
rotational sense doesn’t matter in basic geometry. however, it does matter
when we work in coordinate geometry (geometry involving graphs). We’ll get
into coordinate geometry, also known as analytic geometry, later in this book.
For now, let’s not worry about the rotational sense in which we express or mea-
sure an angle. We can consider all angles as having positive measures.
Chapter 1 R u l e s o f t h e G a m e 9
S
R
P
y
x
Angles have
equal measure:
x=y
Q
Figure 1-4 • The angle bisection principle.
Perpendicular Principle
Consider a line L that passes through points P and Q. Let R represent a point
that does not lie on L. There exists exactly one line M through point R, inter-
secting line L at some point S, such that M runs perpendicular to L (M and L
intersect at a right angle) at point S. Figure 1-5 illustrates this situation.
o
P 90 Q
L
S
o
P 90 R
PQ = QR
Figure 1-6 • The perpendicular bisector principle.
PQ + QR = PR
PR – PQ = QR
PR – QR = PQ
Chapter 1 R u l e s o f t h e G a m e 11
P Q R
PQ QR
PR
Q
Figure 1-8 • Angular addition and subtraction.
12 g e o m e t r y De mys tifie D
PROBLEM 1-3
Examine Fig. 1-6 once again. Imagine some point S, other than point Q, that
lies on line M (the perpendicular bisector of the line segment connecting
P and RR). What can you say about the lengths of line segments PS and SR?
✔SOLUTION
You can “streamline” the solutions to problems like this by making your
own drawings. As the language gets more complicated (geometry prob-
lems can sometimes read like “legalese”), such drawings become increas-
ingly helpful. With the aid of your own sketch, you should see that for
every point S on line M (other than point Q), the distance PS exceeds the
distance PQ (i.e., PS > PQ), and the distance SR exceeds the distance QR
(i.e., SR > QR).
PROBLEM 1-4
Look again at Fig. 1-8. Suppose that you move point S either straight to-
ward yourself (out of the page) or straight away from yourself (back behind
the page), so S no longer lies in the same plane as points P, Q, and R. What
can you say about the measures of ≠PQR, ≠PQS, and ≠SQR?
✔SOLUTION
In either of these situations, the sum of the measures of ≠PQS and ≠SQR
exceeds the measure of ≠PQR, because the measures of ≠PQS and ≠SQR
both increase if point S departs perpendicularly from the plane containing
points P, Q, and R.
Parallel Lines
We say that two lines run parallel to each other if and only if they lie in the
same plane and they don’t intersect at any point. Two line segments or rays run
Chapter 1 R u l e s o f t h e G a m e 13
parallel to each other if and only if, when extended infinitely in both directions
to form complete lines, those lines don’t intersect at any point.
Adjacent Angles
Consider two lines L and M that intersect at a point P. Any two adjacent angles
(i.e., any two angles that lie next to each other) between lines L and M are
supplementary. We can illustrate this fact by drawing two intersecting lines and
noting that pairs of adjacent angles always form a straight angle, that is, an angle
of 180° (π rad) determined by the intersection point and either of the two lines.
Vertical Angles
Again consider two lines L and M that intersect at a point P. We call the oppos-
ing pairs of angles, denoted as x and y in Fig. 1-9, vertical angles. In any situation
of this sort, the vertical angles have equal measure.
y
x
L
P
x
y
? still struggling
The term “vertical” to describe angles such as those shown in Fig. 1-9 baffles
some people. they don’t look “vertical,” do they? We might do better to call such
angles “opposite” or “opposing.” But a long time ago, somebody decided that the
term “vertical” was good enough, and no one has ever changed it.
Q
M
x
w
y
z
L
P
N
x
w
M
Q
P
L
y
z
Corresponding Angles
Now consider two lines L and M that lie in the same plane, and that also hap-
pen to run parallel to each other. Let N represent a transversal that intersects L
and M at points P and Q, respectively. We’ve learned that in this special situa-
tion both pairs of alternate interior angles have equal measure, and both pairs
of alternate exterior angles have equal measure. But we can say more! In the
situation of Fig. 1-12, each of the four pairs of angles “facing in the same direc-
tion” constitutes corresponding angles, as follows:
No. 1.
THE HONOURABLE PENISTON, WILLIAM, AND FREDERIC LAMB,
THREE SONS OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.
In a garden, the eldest in dark satin coat and velvet breeches. His
arm round the youngest child, who is standing on a boulder in a
white frock. He is also supported by the second brother, dressed
in a light-coloured suit. A hat and feathers lying on the ground.
By Sir Joshua Reynolds.
No. 2.
PORTRAIT. UNKNOWN.
Black suit.
By Bol.
No. 3.
A LADY IN THE DRESS OF THE REIGN OF HENRY VIII.
No. 4.
PORTRAIT. UNKNOWN.
In armour.
No. 5.
RAPHAEL MENGS.
By Himself.
No. 6.
CHARLES JAMES FOX.
By Hoppner.
No. 7.
FATHER OF JAMES NORTHCOTE THE PAINTER.
By his Son.
No. 8.
SARAH, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH.
No. 9.
CHARLOTTE, COUNTESS FAUCONBERG.
Peeress’s robes.
No. 10.
PORTRAIT. UNKNOWN.
No. 11.
UNCERTAIN.
No. 12.
ROBERT HARLEY, EARL OF OXFORD.
No. 13.
FIELD-MARSHAL HENRY OF NASSAU, LORD OF AUVERQUERQUE.
No. 14.
LADY ANNE COLLETON.
DIED 1740.
No. 15.
LADY MILBANKE.
She was the daughter and heir of John Hedworth, Esq., M.P., wife
of Sir Ralph Milbanke, of Halnaby, M.P., and mother of the first
Viscountess Melbourne.
No. 16.
ELIZABETH, WIFE OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.
DIED 1818.
She was the only daughter of Sir Ralph Milbanke, of Halnaby Hall,
county York. In 1769 she married Sir Peniston Lamb, Bart., M.P., who
was created Viscount Melbourne in 1770. She was a beautiful young
woman of twenty when she first went to London, and took the town
by storm. She was as much admired for her vivacity as her beauty,
and Sir Joshua Reynolds speaks of her as figuring at one of the
fashionable masquerades of the day in domino and tricorne hat, as
‘a pretty fellow’ or maccaroni, with the Duchess of Ancaster and
Lady Fordyce, and a charming portrait, in possession of Lord
Southampton, represents her in this costume. Lady Melbourne
persuaded her husband to buy a house in Piccadilly from Mr. Fox
(father of Charles James), who had been a friend of Sir Matthew
Lamb, next door to Burlington House, which cost a large sum. Lady
Melbourne called it after her husband’s title, and took the greatest
delight in furnishing and adorning the interior, on which work she
employed Cipriani, Wheatley, the humorous designer Rebecca, and
all the best decorative artists of the day. The society was as brilliant
as the walls which encircled them; and Royalty, fashion, beauty, and
talent flocked to the receptions at Melbourne House, whose master,
bent on pleasing his beautiful wife, threw open his gates with lavish
hospitality. Sir Joshua was an intimate, as well as a general guest,
and thus had many opportunities of studying the form and features
which he afterwards immortalised in the picture that heads this
notice. It was painted in 1770, just after Sir Peniston Lamb’s
elevation to the peerage and the birth of his eldest son.
No sooner was the London house completed, than Lady
Melbourne turned her attention to the embellishment of her
husband’s country seat in Hertfordshire, where, in company with her
chosen friend, Mrs. Damer (alike charming as a woman and an
artist), she planned and arranged the internal decorations of Brocket
Hall. Wheatley was again called in, and, with the assistance of
Mortimer, painted the ceilings with allegorical subjects. The two
ladies were also much addicted to the pastime of private theatricals,
as was their mutual friend, the beautiful Duchess of Devonshire;
while such names as Sheridan, Fox, Horace Walpole, and other
celebrities, figured as actors and authors in Lady Melbourne’s
company. It was here, doubtless, that Lord Egremont (then a youth)
imbibed that love of art, and that taste for the society of artists,
which made him so noble and munificent a patron, to the end of a
long life. He was a great friend of the Melbournes, and loved to see
his ‘three young lambs’ gambolling over the greensward in his
spacious park at Petworth.
Lady Melbourne was very popular with the Royal Family, and one
day the Duke of York called on her, and in the course of
conversation became very enthusiastic in his admiration of
Melbourne House. He confessed he was weary of his own at
Whitehall, and would gladly move into her neighbourhood. The lady
laughed, and said, for her part, she often wished to exchange the
chimes of St. James’s Church for those of Westminster Abbey; and
they talked on, half jestingly, half in earnest, till the possibility of an
exchange of residence was mooted. It appeared strange, but
perhaps the amateur house-decorator was lured by the prospect of
new walls to beautify, fresh fields to conquer. Before the Duke took
his leave, he had gained her Ladyship’s promise to discuss the
subject with her husband: ‘For you know, dear Lady Melbourne, you
always have your way with everybody, especially with my Lord.’
His Royal Highness was right: if Lord Melbourne raised any
objection at first, it was soon overcome; the consent of the Crown
was gained, the bargain was struck, the house at Whitehall became
Melbourne House, and the residence in Piccadilly, York House,
afterwards changed to the Albany, where, in the oldest portion and
principal apartments of that paradise of bachelors, the decorations
of Cipriani and his colleagues may still be admired.
All contemporary writers speak of Lady Melbourne as a leader of
fashion and an ornament of society; Horace Walpole, in particular,
alludes to her frequently, ‘in wonderful good looks,’ at the Prince of
Wales’s birthday ball at Carlton House, and again at the French
Ambassador’s, where it was so hot he was nearly stewed, but ‘the
quadrilles were surprisingly pretty, especially that one in which Lady
Melbourne, Lady Sefton, and Princess Czartorisky figured, in blue
satin and gold, with collars mounted à la reine Elizabeth.
In 1805 her eldest son died; but the mother seems to have been
consoled by the promise of future greatness shown by her second
son, William, who early evinced a taste for public life, which
harmonised with Lady Melbourne’s views. She took a great interest
in political affairs, was a staunch Whig, and at the time of Charles
Fox’s famous election, she displayed as much zeal and enthusiasm
as her rival beauty, the Duchess of Devonshire. William Lamb’s
marriage with the daughter of Lord Bessborough, which enlarged his
connection with all the principal Whig families, was a source of great
pleasure to Lady Melbourne. It was a pity, with her political
predilections, she did not survive to see her favourite son and her
daughter’s second husband each rise to the coveted position of
Prime Minister of England.
We have no authority for stating in what light Lady Melbourne
viewed her daughter-in-law’s infatuation for Lord Byron; but we
know, from his own letters, that he entertained a great admiration
for herself. He had never met with so charming a woman. ‘If she
had only been some years younger, what a fool she would have
made of me!’ With her he kept up unvarying friendly relations during
all the vicissitudes of his love and hate passages with Lady Caroline.
One day he called on Lady Melbourne, and asked her advice and
sympathy. She was a model confidante, and had once given it as her
opinion, that few men could be trusted with their neighbours’
secrets, and scarcely any woman with her own. Byron assured her
he was wearied with his way of life, that he wished to marry and
reform, and settle down at Newstead, and asked if she would assist
him in his choice of a wife. Lady Melbourne smiled, and said she
thought she knew of the very woman to suit him—her near
kinswoman, Miss Milbanke, daughter of Sir Noel Milbanke, heiress to
a large fortune, and a peerage in her own right, as Lady Wentworth,
—no great beauty, but not uncomely, well brought up, well
educated, and amiable. Byron was quite satisfied, but, as may be
expected, when Lady Caroline heard of it, she was furious. ‘The girl
has a bad figure, is given to statistics, and goes regularly to church,
—a pretty wife for a poet!’ The lady refused the man, of whose
moral character she had heard a sorry account; but he persisted,
and the marriage took place in 1816,—an ill-fated union, as might
have been expected, a fact but too well known. Lady Melbourne’s
health began to fail; she drooped gradually, till one day the sentence
was pronounced in her hearing—she had but a short time to live.
She heard the announcement with calmness, took an affectionate
leave of those she loved, and addressed some parting admonitions
to her beloved William, which he never forgot. Lady Melbourne died
on the 6th April 1818, at Whitehall, and was buried at Hatfield
Church. Her son Frederick was absent from England at the time.
This portrait was brought from Brocket, where it once hung at the
end of the ball-room. It was engraved by the title of ‘Maternal
Affection.’
No. 17.
LADY CAROLINE LAMB.
By Hoppner.
If such be the posy, what must the ring be?—the generous moment
selected for the publication! I have not a guess at the contents.’ A
little while after, Madame de Staël lent him the book, when he went
to see her at Coppet. ‘It seems to me that if the author had told the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, the romance
would not only have been more romantic, but more interesting. The
likeness is not good; I did not sit long enough.’
Besides her novels, Lady Caroline sent contributions to Annuals
and Magazines, breathing eternal love and dire remorse:—
“Weep for what thou’st lost, love,
Weep for what thou’st won,
Weep for what thou didst not do,
And more for what thou’st done.”
She often amused herself by setting her own compositions to
music very prettily.
We are not told in what manner Lady Caroline received the tidings
of Byron’s death, but we have a detailed account of her driving one
summer’s day on the Great North Road, not far from Brocket, in an
open carriage, accompanied by her husband, when, at a turn in the
road, they came upon a long and melancholy procession. It proved
to be the funeral of a peer, from the fact that the hearse was
preceded by a horseman bearing a coronet on a cushion. The lady
stopped her carriage and asked the question whose funeral it was.
‘We are taking Lord Byron to Newstead to be buried,’ was the reply.
The shock was terrible. Lady Caroline reached home, more dead
than alive, and fell into a species of trance, from which the waking
was slow and tedious. She would sit for hours with her hands
clasped on her lap, silent and listless; and it was long before she
could be prevailed on to resume her usual occupations, or busy
herself with her books, music, or drawing. When the invalid was a
little better, change of air and scene was prescribed, and she was
sent abroad. She wrote from Paris to Lady Morgan, asking her to
look in a cabinet, in a certain room at Melbourne House, where she
would find a miniature[5] of Lord Byron: ‘Pray send it me without
delay.’ Coming back to England, she again took up her abode at
Brocket, where her husband often visited her, although his official
and Parliamentary duties were a sufficient reason for his residing
mostly in London. When he went over to Ireland as Chief Secretary,
he kept up a regular correspondence with his wife (now a confirmed
invalid), and with those to whose care she was consigned. In Dublin
he was a frequent visitor at the house of Lady Morgan, who was
much attached to Lady Caroline, to give her news of his wife’s
health, or show her some of the letters he received from Brocket,—
such, for instance, as, ‘My dearest William,—Since I wrote last I
have been a great sufferer. Tapping is a dreadful sensation, it turns
me so deadly cold and sick.... But everybody is so good to me. All
the members of both our families, Emily, and Caroline have been to
see me, and the whole county has called to inquire. My dear brother,
too, has been with me, and is coming again. He reads to me, which