Geometry Basics (Geometry Vocabulary for Beginners)

Hello again!

Today, I wanted to do something pretty simple. So, my next few blogs are going to be regarding geometry, so I wanted to take the time to establish some of the basics of geometry before I started going on about crazier stuff.

So, geometry is math involving shapes, as most of us know. In geometry, each part of the shapes have a name to identify them. I will be telling you the names of those shapes, as well as some basic angles.

The basic things that are in geometry are points, lines, line segments, rays, and planes

First- a point. Have you ever seen a line or a shape that has dots on each end or corner and each line is labeled A,B,C,D,E,F,G, etc? A point is the dot at the end of the lines in any given shape or line. They have those letter associated with them so that you can identify them. Here is that a simple of what points looks like.

Next, is a line. In the world of math, a line can go on forever and ever. Have you ever seen a number line? Notice how they have two dots (or more) and then arrows of either side of it? The dots represent points on the line, but the arrows mean that the line can go on forever and ever, and you can't stop it. Lines can be horizontal, vertical, diagonal, etc. Basically a line can go any direction as long as it is straight. Lines look like this.

Next, is a line segment. A line segment is a line that ends. So picture the exact same line above, except it doesn't have the arrows on the ends. That means that there is a starting point and an ending point to the line, and it doesn't go on forever. Just like a line, line segments can go any direction, as long as it is straight. Here is what a line segment looks like.

Next, there are rays. Since we already know what a line is, and what a line segment is, this will be super simple. A line segment has a starting point, but no ending point. For example, it can start at 0, and go on forever. This is what a ray looks like.

Finally, there is something called planes. Planes are a little bit harder to understand. Think of a box. You have the front, back, left side, right side, top, and bottom. each side of the box is a line segment (since it ends). The front left corner can't ever touch the back right corner, can it? No, it cannot. That is because they are on different planes. So, to put it simply, a plane is a multi-dimensional surface with different lines or line segments on it. 

If you would like to see a video of some of these things being drawn out, please go here: Line Segment, Line and Ray. If you have any questions, please let me know, and I will do my best to answer them! Next time we will talk more in depth about geometry!

Images from:

https://www.wyzant.com/resources/lessons/math/geometry/introduction/basic_geometry_terms

https://www.mathplanet.com/education/geometry/points,-lines,-planes-and-angles/an-introduction-to-geometry