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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What is the length of pair of wires after twisting them around each other?

Given two wires each of diameter D and length L, what will be the new length after you twist the wires around each other 1 Turn? I mean that when you start with the pair of straight wires and put them against a scale, the length is L. When you…
Lemur
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Why doesn't a simple mean give the position of a centroid in a polygon?

I was having a look at this question on SO. From what I know, the centroid is the center of mass of an object. so, by definition its position is given by a simple mean of the positions of all the points in the object. For a polygon, it only has mass…
Lazer
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The cow in the field problem (intersecting circular areas)

What length of rope should be used to tie a cow to an exterior fence post of a circular field so that the cow can only graze half of the grass within that field? updated: To be clear: the cow should be tied to a post on the exterior of the field,…
e.James
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Among all shapes with the same area, a circle has the shortest perimeter

Is it true that "Among all shapes with the same area, a circle has the shortest perimeter" ? and how to prove it ?
mounaim
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Rolling a Sphere on the Plane

Suppose one starts with a sphere $S$ resting on a ($2$-dimensional) plane $H$ at the origin. A "move" consists of the following: Let $P$ and $Q$ be two points in $H$. Roll the sphere $S$ along a straight line on the plane from the origin to $P$,…
Frosty
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Is here a specific name for the following theorem? (Sides of inscribed squares of a triangle meet at points collinear with a vertex of the triangle)

For any acute and right triangle, two of the intersections(C and B) of the two inscribed squares and the vertex A of the triangle are collinear. I have a proof for the theorem, but I have not found any specific name for it. I searched "inscribed…
Larry
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Why are two planes parallel to the same line not necessarily parallel?

What is a case in which the statement, "Two planes parallel to the same line are parallel" be false?
Robert
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Reuleaux Rollers

The Reuleaux polygons are analogs of the regular polygons, except that the "sides" are composed of circle arcs instead of lines. It is known that for an odd number of sides, e.g. the Reuleaux triangle, the polygon has constant width. After reading…
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Why would the triangles join up to a rhombus?

The question I am going to present may as well sound very dumb. But this is becoming a hell of a confusing thing for me. The question is from ISI B.Math-B.Stat entrance exam 2022 UGA question paper. It is problem 29. The question included pictures,…
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Finding the angle between three points?

I have the cartesian coordinates for three points $A$, $B$, $C$. I need to find the angle formed by $A\rightarrow B\rightarrow C$ using the 'right-hand rule' from B. I'm having difficulty here as sometimes the angle will be exterior, and sometimes…
James
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Can we compute the area of a quadrilateral with one right angle when we only know the lengths of any three sides?

I took an IQ test for fun recently, but I take issue with the answer to one of the questions. Here's the question: My issue is that the explanation assumes angle DC is a right angle. Given that assumption, I can see the quadrilateral is indeed a…
Jack
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Proving that every isometry of $\mathbb{R}^n$ is of the form of a composition of at most $n+1$ reflections

I know, for example, the every isometry of $\mathbb{R}^3$ can be written as a composition of at most $4$ reflections (through planes that doesn't necessarily have the 0 vector in them). I wish to prove to more general statement that says every…
Belgi
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Do equal angles necessarily mean a polygon is regular?

In a polygon, if all the sides are equal, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the polygon is regular (eg. a rhombus). Is this also true for angles? Meaning can you draw a polygon whose interior angles are equal, but the shape is still not regular? I…
Jamminermit
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Explain why a line can never intersect a plane in exactly two points.

Why can a line never intersect a plane in exactly two points? I know this seems like a really simple question, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to answer it. I also tried googling the question but I couldn't find an answer for exactly…
Jayden
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Prove the ratio of the length and width of the rectangle is rational.

Assume there is a rectangle be combined by finite squares, and the small squares are not of equal size. Also, the lengths of the squares may be irrational. The question is "Can we know the ratio of the length and width of this rectangle is rational…
user627221