2.5.1 Supplement Postulate
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A work of morality, politics, and criticism will be more
elegant, other things being equal, if it is shaped by the hand of geometry.
—Bernard
le Bovier de Fontenelle (1657–1757)
Definitions.
Two distinct
angles are said to be supplementary
angles if the sum of their measures is 180.
Two angles are a linear pair if B is between A and D. (Two left-hand figures below – Euclidean and Poincaré Half-plane.)
Two angles are vertical angles if either
A-B-E and C-B-D, or A-B-D and C-B-E. (Four right-hand figures below – Poincaré
Half-plane and Euclidean.)
Linear Pair
Vertical Angles
Postulate 14. (Supplement Postulate) If two angles form a
linear pair, then they are supplementary.
The Supplement Postulate is not
independent of the other axioms. Since the proof does not add insight into
better understanding and is not simple, the statement is taken as an axiom
instead of a theorem for most high school geometry courses. The proof that the
Supplement Postulate is not independent is given below; Exercise 2.43 asks the
reader to provide the reasons for each step of the proof.
Theorem 2.8 (Vertical Angle Theorem)
Vertical angles are congruent.
The next theorem, called the Crossbar Theorem, is needed to prove some of the coming theorems. The question the Crossbar Theorem addresses is: How do we know that a ray with one endpoint at a vertex of a triangle that contains an interior point of a triangle intersects the opposite side of the triangle? The answer seems obvious when using Euclidean geometry, but that is making an assumption. The result seems less obvious in the Poincaré Half-plane. Could the ray curl so that it intersects a side that contains the vertex? Or, is there a model where the ray curls in such a way that it never leaves the interior of the triangle? Again, since this is a survey course, we state the Crossbar Theorem here without proof. The theorem follows from the Plane Separation Postulate and Pasch's Postulate.
Theorem
2.9. (Crossbar Theorem) If P is an interior point of angle ABC, then ray BP and
segment AC intersect in a unique point F and
A-F-C.
Exercise 2.41.
Find
the axiom or theorem from a high school book that corresponds to the Supplement
Postulate. Is it an axiom or theorem in the high school book? If it is a
theorem, how was it proven?
Exercise
2.42. Prove or disprove. If two angles are supplementary, then they form a
linear pair.
Exercise
2.43. Justify each numbered step and fill in any gaps in the following
proof that the Supplement Postulate is not independent of the other axioms.
We need to show that given a linear
pair of angles that they are supplementary. Assume and form a linear pair of angles. We must show
that .
We do this by showing that and both lead to contradictions.
Case 1. Suppose .
1. There is a unique ray BE with E and C on the same side
of line AB and with .
2. .
3. Then .
4. Thus .
5. Also, .
6. Then .
7. Thus ,
which is not possible.
Case 2. Suppose .
8.
9. There is a unique ray BF with F and C on the same side
of line AB and with .
10. .
11. .
12. Thus .
13. Hence .
14. Also, .
15. Then .
16. Thus ,
which is not possible.
Thus, by Cases 1 and 2, we must have .
Exercise
2.44. Prove the Vertical Angle Theorem.
Exercise
2.45. Prove that two angles supplement to the same angle are
congruent.
Exercise
2.46. (a) Prove that if two congruent adjacent angles form a linear pair, then
they are right angles.
(b) Prove that the four angles formed by two perpendicular lines are right
angles.
Exercise
2.47. Prove that a segment has a unique
perpendicular
bisector.
© Copyright 2005, 2006 - Timothy Peil |