GENERAL  ARTICLE

Foundations of Basic Geometry

Jasbir S Chahal

Jasbir S Chahal is
Professor of Mathematics !
at Brigham Young
University, Provo, Utah,
USA. His research
interest is in number
theory.

Part 1. Foundation of Basic Arith-

h
metic, Resonance , Vol.11, No.1,
January 2006.
Part 2. Foundation of Basic b
Figure 1.
Arithmetic, Resonance , Vol.11,
No.2, February 2006.

! !
" #
!
$ %!
!

Keywords
Area, proportionality, Pytha- & #
gorean triplet.

30 RESONANCE  July 2006

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 GENERAL  ARTICLE

( )
'

) (
*% ) "
( ')

Figure 2.

( )
'
( )
'

') !

( +)

Figure 3.

RESONANCE  July 2006 31

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 GENERAL  ARTICLE

, -
,
, ( , )
' ' '
( )
'
.
+) &
( /)

Figure 4.

0 &
!

( , )
' ' '

" #
The formula for the 0 1
area of a circle 2
was known to the #
Chinese and the & ( )
Babylonians as 3
half of the radius 4
times the
" !
circumference. 3

32 RESONANCE  July 2006

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 GENERAL  ARTICLE

Figure 5. Changing a
circle into a rectangle.

3 . !
!

( )
'
"
( ) 1 3
5 6 7 #

(
) "
4. ( ) ( )! 8!

Figure 6. Similar triangles.

RESONANCE  July 2006 33

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 GENERAL  ARTICLE

The ratio 9 #
circumference/
9
diameter is the
!
same for all
9 6 ! 2 8! : /
circles. " #2

! !

; ( ) #
7 " ! !
#
!

1 !
# ( <) =

! 3
<! 1
!

Figure 7.

34 RESONANCE  July 2006

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 GENERAL  ARTICLE

! Although the first

occurrence of the
symbol π for this ratio
appeared in 1706 in a
book by William
Jones, like many
other symbols, use of
π was popularized by
. ( 3 the Swiss
) mathematician
! Leonhard Euler
(1707-1783),
probably to initialize
the word perimeter.
> 9
? 2 ( ) #
6
? 2 #

<%8 2 @ ! 2
! 7 .
; 9 ( < % < A < = + )!
7
& A (+ )
! #
2 ( )
! !

. B #
! !

(' )
'

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 GENERAL  ARTICLE

. ( )!

'
'
'
> 9
$ %

& ! & #
! & #
" &
? ! :
2
9 '%%% !
" 4%% " !
2 ( )
: 2
" - !
: ? 2 #
: ( 8 )
! 2
9 2

2 ! "
2 ( /A =4 ) 2 !

=%
(: )
,
2 6 !
1 3 ,
3 3 =

! ( , ) /( ),

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 GENERAL  ARTICLE

Figure 8.

> 9
&'

" %
3
! ,

' .

C ( *)
Figure 9 (top).
+ %! 8 '
Figure 10(bottom).
1
.

! -
D

%
( ) ! ! #
3 ,
0 ,
( ) , ( ) ( )

RESONANCE  July 2006 37

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 GENERAL  ARTICLE

:
E
! (+ ! / ! 4 ) 2 3
E 7 (4 ! ' ! + )
(= ! 4 ! < ) !
( )

( )

' (' )
,

() %F
( ) !
"
( ) ! #

! : #
( )
&' ; ' $ 3 (' )

' +
' ' /
' , 4
0 1 2 + ' E ( )
(4 ' +)
+ ' 4
' + ' '
+ , ' +

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 GENERAL  ARTICLE

! #

#
: 0
! 2

3
,

, (+ )

:
3 ( )

, (/ )

( $
! ! )
& ! 2
(/ ) 7 ( 91 )

,
'
(4 )
,
!
! (4 )

( )
( ) , ,

'( ) '
( ) , ,

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 GENERAL  ARTICLE

G .
! -

' (8 )
,
" > 9
G :
( ) ( )
&'

/ 7 (4 ) (/ )
% & " (/ )
1 ( %) (/ ) "
(/ )
!

4 & (' )
' <%* + 4%% = 4/

! (

2 *%%# 8%% ! #
: ( H I!
= # % I) "

Figure 11.

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 GENERAL  ARTICLE

Figure 12. The Egyptians

created right triangles from
ropes divided into 12 equal
segments..

: 2 ' <%*!
+ 4%%! = 4/ : !

:
' " ( )
2 4%%% 9 #
: (+ / 4 ) #
" #
(+ / 4 )!
2 3 (. 7
! 9 2
)
2 Address for Correspondence
+! /! 4 ' Jasbir S Chahal
Professor of Mathematics
Suggested Reading Brigham Young University
USA
Email:jasbir@math.byu.edu
[1] André Weil, Number Theory – An Approach through History, Birkhäuser,
1983.

The description of right lines and

circles, upon which geometry is
founded, belongs to mechanics.
Geometry does not teach us to draw
these lines, but requires them to be
drawn.

Sir Isaac Newton

(1643 to 1727)

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