Questions tagged [geometry]

For questions about geometric shapes, congruences, similarities, transformations, as well as the properties of classes of figures, points, lines, and angles.

Geometry is one of the classical disciplines of math. It is derived from two Latin words, "geo" + "metron" meaning earth & measurement. Thus it is concerned with the properties and relations of points, lines, surfaces, solids, and higher dimensional analogs. Since its earliest days, geometry has served as a practical guide for measuring lengths, areas, and volumes, and geometry is still used for this purpose today. Geometry is important because the world is made up of different shapes and spaces.

Geometry has applications to many fields, including art, architecture, physics, as well as to other branches of mathematics.

Sub-fields of contemporary geometry:

$1.\quad$ Algebraic geometry – is a branch of geometry studying zeroes of multivariate polynomials. It includes the linear and polynomial algebraic equations used for finding these sets of zeros. The applications of algebraic geometry include cryptography, string theory, etc.

$2.\quad$ Discrete geometry – is concerned with the relative positions of simple geometric objects, such as points, lines, triangles, circles etc.

$3.\quad$ Differential geometry – uses techniques of algebra and calculus for problem-solving. The applications of differential geometry include general relativity in physics, etc.

$4.\quad$ Euclidean geometry – The study of plane and solid figures on the basis of axioms and theorems including points, lines, planes, angles, congruence, similarity, solid figures. It has a wide range of applications in computer science, modern mathematics problem solving, crystallography etc.

$5.\quad$ Convex geometry – includes convex shapes in Euclidean space using techniques of real analysis. It has application in optimization and functional analysis in number theory.

$6.\quad$ Topology – is concerned with properties of space under continuous mapping. Its application includes consideration of compactness, completeness, continuity, filters, function spaces, grills, clusters and bunches, hyperspace topologies, initial and final structures, metric spaces, metrization, nets, proximal continuity, proximity spaces, separation axioms, and uniform spaces.

$7.\quad$ Plane geometry – This wing of geometry deals with flat shapes which can be drawn on a piece of paper. These include lines, circles & triangles of two dimensions.

$8.\quad$ Solid geometry – It deals with $3$-dimensional objects like cubes, prisms, cylinders & spheres.

Reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometry

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Determine the rotation necessary to transform one point on a sphere to another.

Given two points on the surface of a sphere in 3D space, is it possible to/how does one systematically determine the set of rotations around the x, y, and z-axes in order to transform one point to the other? For example, on the unit sphere centred…
Stephen
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Almost identical map

Let $f: \mathbb{R}^2 \rightarrow \mathbb{R}^2$ be bijective map with following properties: 1) $f|_{\mathbb{Q}^2}=id$; 2) Image of any line under map $f$ is again a line. Is it right that $f=id$?
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When are angles negative?

In earlier grades we learnt that in for instance an equilateral triangle all angles are 60 degrees. Now in high school I am taught that measuring angles anti-clockwise and clockwise make a difference. So does that mean in an equilateral triangle one…
geek101
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Does the golden angle produce maximally distant divisions of a circle?

I just ran across a video that claimed that the sequence of multiples of the golden angle produces some sort of optimal spacing around a circle for all possible iterations (this is a little hand-wavy, I'm aware). Of course, any irrational angle has…
cobbal
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fitting rectangle inside another rectangle in diagonal

Having the following case, where we want to fit a rectangle (c,d) inside another rectangle (a,b). We know that c>b or d>a so it will not fit horizontally, so we need to check if it will fit diagonally. Example: What would be the condition to check…
magodiez
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Are proofs in geometry rigorous?

What I mean by that is, suppose say I have a circle centered at some point in the Euclidean space for which a certain property $P$ is true. How can I conclude from this, that $P$ is true for all circles centered at any arbitrary point in the space.…
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Tetris Figures Problem

I am only a mathematical amateur, but have been bothered by a problem for a long time. In the game Tetris, you have figures made by squares and there exist five really unique figures which cannot not be made congruent by mirroring or rotation. Now…
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Must a curve of constant width be generated with an odd number of sides?

From what I have seen (and to some extend read), a curve of constant width generated from a polygon with an even number of sides is not possible. Wikipedia cites an Oxford University paper when it says Curves of constant width can be generated by…
Pinpickle
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Line intersecting three (or four) given lines

How can I find a fourth line $L$ that intersects three given lines $L_1$, $L_2$, $L_3$ in 3D space? We can assume that $L_1$, $L_2$, $L_3$ are in "general position", so no two of them are coplanar, etc. I'm not even sure that three lines is enough…
bubba
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woodworker wanting to know formulas for odd shaped boxes

I am a woodworker and want to build boxes that are not at right angles, a pyramid for example. I am looking for the formulas that will allow me to relate the two miter cuts necessary (one that will create a trapezoid shape, for example, and the…
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Proof of parallel lines

The quadrilateral ABCD is inscribed in circle W. F is the intersection point of AC and BD. BA and CD meet at E. Let the projection of F on AB and CD be G and H, respectively. Let M and N be the midpoints of BC and EF, respectively. If the…
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How do I find a point a given distance from another point along a line?

I have $(x_1, y_1), (x_2, y_2)$. How do I find the point that's $d$ distance away from $(x_1, y_1)$ on a straight line to $(x_2, y_2)$? I know I can get the length of the line with Pythagoras. I know if I drew a circle I could use the radius as…
mathme
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Area between the level sets of a curve

I have the following curve on the usual $x$-$y$ Euclidean plane: \begin{align} (x^2-y^2+2x)^2 = 4\alpha({x^2-y^2}) \end{align} for some $\alpha > 1$. You may plot the curve here: http://www.mathsisfun.com/data/grapher-equation.html by entering for…
Lord Soth
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Greatest number of regions we can get when dividing with lines and circles

What is the greatest number of regions a plane can be divided into using $n$ straight lines? What about $n$ circles? Can you generalize this into 3-dimensional space, planes and spheres? For lines, I got $U_{n+1}=U_n+n,$ with $U_0=1.$ And for…
user61067
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How much of a cylinder can you see from a single point of view?

I'm creating wraps for trash cans and recycling bins to label them appropriately. They'll wrap 360 degrees around the bins. I want the text on the bins to be readable from a single point-of-view (so someone doesn't need to walk around the bin to…