One of the foundations of current knowledge is stored in the word "geometry", familiar to all. Most people remember him from school and associate complex figures, numbers and endless proofs with him, while some work with geometry on a daily basis. Be that as it may, this science laid the foundation for bold discoveries with accurate calculations up to a centimeter.
A bit of history
Like other fundamental sciences, geometry is one of the oldest, and its origin dates back to thousands of years BC. The name of the item is ancient Greek geometria from ge - Earth and metreo - I measure, which literally means the measurement of the Earth. However, this is a very modest designation given by her ancestors.
The development of science and its popularization was carried out by the ancient Greeks, however, the first mention of geometry arose in ancient Egypt. The Greeks call themselves disciples of the Egyptians and give an example proving this. One of the papyruses tells the legend of how a king divided the earth into two rectangles in order to collect income from them. If the Nile took something, then the king sent people to measure the land and reduce taxes. The legend set forth on papyrus dates from the tenth century BC.
Meanwhile, by the 7th century BC e. the first elements of geometry came to ancient Greece. Unformed, unexpressed. For hundreds of years, all painstakingly collected, ordered, adding new and new fragments. Thanks to the outstanding scientist Thales of Miletus, the science of geometry was founded. This was the first peak in a series of peaks that will be conquered in the future. By the way, it was Miletus who was the first to measure the height of the Cheops pyramid.
What is geometry? Geometry definition
Geometry is called the science of bodies and figures in space. Or figuratively speaking, she studies the location and size of everything relative to everything.
Geometry is a unique science. It is used almost everywhere:
- astronomy;
- geography;
- architecture;
- art;
- biology and anatomy;
- cinema and music.
And so on. Geometry begins in our life before birth and is present all our life.
Huge work - work with such a priceless thing. It is impossible to build a building without resorting to geometry, there is a risk of creating a crooked house, and it will collapse. If a portrait is asymmetrically painted on the canvas, it will not look like a real person. One cannot fail to mention that geometry - a branch of mathematics - also helps in calculations. By the way, this text is written in even, identical letters, and the lines in it are also parallel to each other. Which is very convenient when reading. Geometry has entered our lives so firmly that we have ceased to notice it. And in vain. How many amazing architectural monuments survived from the past! And all because the builders created them as stable as possible, geometrically correct. The interior style of "minimalism", which modern people like so much, consists of clear, regular forms with a maximum set of functions, but without excess - this is geometry in an almost perfect form. Examples may be insignificant, but even they bring a sense of order and completeness into our world.
Geometry sections
Now science is divided into two parts:
- Planimetry. The section studies the figures in the limit of only one plane (most often it is a board, notebook, wall, tablet).
- Stereometry. This section examines the figures in space (room, house, country, universe).
The first section sets the primary data for studying the second. Accordingly, they are interconnected. What is the difference? Very simple.
Imagine that a person drew a dot on a piece of paper. An empty sheet with a single dot in the middle. If you increase it, then it will be just a big point. Or average. So, its diameter can be 4, 5, 10 centimeters, any. As the person wishes. And if you draw your hand over the paper, then in any size of the point a person will feel only a touch on the notebook sheet. All this is planimetry. In this case, the figure is a point, and the plane is a sheet of paper.
If we consider the point from the side of stereometry, then the picture changes significantly. It can be assumed that the point is a bowl or olive. The ball can be taken and moved to another place, like the olive tree, which can be eaten in the kitchen. The point has already become something voluminous, and with it you can perform much more actions. What is important, if you draw a point, and put a ball and an olive next to it of the same size and color, then looking from above, you can see only 3 identical points. On the side it is a drawing of a point and two objects.
Geometry at school
The subject of study of geometry has long been. Even during the formation of the first schools and gymnasiums. Surprisingly, the more time passes since then, the less they learn about geometry in schools. Of course, this was done so that all children can learn the discipline in the same way, with an eye to the fact that not everyone understands this subject.
Geometry as a school subject is studied mainly at the level of basics, the material is annually complicated. More recently, in most schools it was introduced from the fifth to sixth grade. Now the curriculum has moved, and children receive their first geometric knowledge from the first grade.
This is done so that students can more effectively prepare for the tasks that await them in high school. First graders have an excellent sense of space, which will develop through the study of science, it is easier for them to understand the definition of geometry, what is, how useful, how to apply it.
What is it useful for?
Man uses the main advantages of geometry at a subconscious level, not taking into account the fact of using science. Nevertheless, understanding even school material contributes to:
- the formation of imagination, the creation of three-dimensional models in it;
- understanding the principles of the mechanisms;
- the formation of topographic thinking and orientation in space;
- ability to design, create, reproduce mechanisms;
- solving simple everyday problems (for example, at what angle to put the legs of a tripod so that the camera stays stable on the surface) and much more.
Interesting facts about science
- Only in the 600th century BC attempts have been made to justify or demonstrate geometry. Up to this point, all the facts were intuitive, they were unproven.
- Abraham de Muavre noted that the duration of his sleep increased by 15 minutes, then he calculated in progression the date of eternal sleep. And so it happened; on the indicated day he died.
- Pi has a date of birth. In America, this is March 14th, since it looks like 3.14 (the beginning of pi).