A Basic Review of the Basics
Here’s a quick review of the fundamental concepts
and ideas of geometry. SAT questions assume you know these topics
and will throw around basic geometry jargon, so you need to have
the fundamentals down pat.
Points
A point is a way to describe a specific location in space.
Below, the point B is pictured. Isn’t
it lovely?
A point has no length or width. Though in the picture,
point B is a black dot, in real life
points take up no space. Points are useful for identifying specific
locations but are not objects in themselves. They only appear as
objects when drawn on a page.
Lines
A line is an infinite set of points assembled in a straight
formation. A line has no thickness but is infinitely long in both
directions. To form a line, take any two points, A and B,
and draw a straight line through them. The resulting line is a called
line AB.
A line can be drawn through any two points.
Line Segments
A line segment is the portion of a line that lies between
two points on that line—in this example, the portion between points A and B make
up a line segment. Whereas a line has infinite length, a line segment
has a finite length. A line segment is named by the two points it
lies between
A line segment can be drawn between any two points.
Rays
Imagine a line and a line segment mating. The result is
a ray, a cross between a line and a line segment. It extends infinitely
in one direction but not the other.
A ray is named by its endpoint and another point that
it passes through.
Okay. Painless basic geometric knowledge: acquired. That
was quick. Now on to the real meat and potatoes of the geometry
that the new SAT tests.
