Geometry: A History on the Subject
EUCLID OF ALEXANDRIA (LIVED CIRCA 300 BCE) | |
| Euclid of Alexandria lived circa 300 BCE. He systematized mathematics and geometry, derived earlier from the Greeks and the Near East. He wrote the Elements, which is a set of books on mathematics. It is noted that he also wrote perhaps a dozen other titles, but most of those are lost to time. For approximately 2,000 years, his works were considered a perfect example of correct reasoning. More than a thousand editions of his work have been published, making it the most popular book ever written outside of the Bible. | |
"THE ELEMENTS" BY EUCLID ON MATHEMATICS | |
| Euclid did not come up with all of the ideas in this work. Rather, he gathered knowledge and wrote a textbook of known ideas of the time. It does not cover all known information, but focuses on definitions, postulates, and axioms. He demonstrated that geometry was proven by logical steps from axioms and postulates. Euclid also included some of his original discoveries like infinitely prime numbers. His book is divided into sections of Chapters 1-6 featuring Plane Geometry. Chapters 7-10 describe Arithmetic and number theory. In Chapters 11-13 he explores Solid Geometry. Four other books are still in existence including Data, Division of Figures, Phenomena, and Optics. Find the first English version of The Elements by visiting Project Gutenberg online. | |
VIDEO: EUCLID AS THE FATHER OF GEOMETRY | |
| We are surrounded by space. And that space contains a lot of things. And these things have shapes. In geometry we are concerned with the nature of these shapes, how we define them, and what they teach us about the world at large. Learning geometry is about more than just taking your medicine, it's at the core of everything that exists. Aspects covered in this video include angles, intersecting lines, right triangles, perimeter, area, volume, circles, triangles, quadrilaterals, analytic geometry, and geometric constructions. | |
VIDEO: WHAT IS EUCLIDEAN GEOMETRY | |
| The lesson provided in the video to the right introduces the concept of Euclidean geometry and how it is used in the real world today. This lesson also traces the history of geometry. | |
VIDEO: THE FIVE POSTULATES OF EUCLIDEAN GEOMETRY | |
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VIDEO: WHAT'S THE POINT OF GEOMETRY | |
| Geometry lies at the root of all drawing, so it's good to know a little about it. This is the first video in a series which will explain the basics of Euclid's Elements of Geometry. Don't be scared - it's quite fun! The drawings and script are the basis of the book and eBook, Euclid, The Man Who Invented Geometry. | |
RECOMMENDED READING MATERIALS @ YOUR LIBRARY | |
| BARRON'S PAINLESS GEOMETRY by: Lynette Long, Ph.D. Call Number: 516 LON This book presents informal, student-friendly approaches to learning geometry, emphasizing interesting details, outlining potential pitfalls step by step, offering "Brain Tickler" quizzes, and more. | |
| GEOMETRY by: Richard W. Fisher Call Number: 516 FIS Series: Mastering Essential Math Skills This book provides a system of teaching math with daily lessons that contain three key parts: review exercises, helpful hints, and problem solving. This program requires only 15 to 20 minutes of instruction each day, with each lesson being concise and self-contained to help strengthen the learning of geometry. | |
| GET IN SHAPE: TWO-DIMENSIONAL AND THREE-DIMENSIONAL SHAPES by: Rob Colson Call Number: J 516.15 COL Series: Math Everywhere Provides an introduction to two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes . | |
| GEOMETRY IS AS EASY AS PIE by: Katie Coppens Call Number: J 516 COP Math is made yummy with scrumptious-looking photos, easy recipes, and a variety of pies to bake or just ogle. This book provides a fun and memorable approach to thinking and learning about circles, polygons, angles, parallel and perpendicular lines, tessellations, symmetry, area, volume, and more, this book will leave the reader with a taste for geometry. | |
| DR. MATH PRESENTS MORE GEOMETRY: LEARNING GEOMETRY IS EASY! JUST ASK DR. MATH by: Jessica Wolk-Stanley Call Number: 516 DRM You'll find the answers to dozens of real questions from students in a typical geometry class. You'll also find plenty of hints and shortcuts for using coordinate geometry, finding angle relationships, and working with circles. Pretty soon, everything from the Pythagorean theorem to logic and proofs will make more sense. Plus, you'll get plenty of tips for working with all kinds of real-life problems. | |
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE |
Follow the link to take a short test to see how much you learned about geometry from viewing this classroom topic.