Please let me know if the following proof is solid or if it contains errors. Thanks.
Show that every quadrilateral (convex or not) has a sidesuch that the other two vertices lie on the same side of the line
. (From Edwin E. Moise Elementary Geometry from and Advanced Standpoint 3rd Ed.)
Proof: Given quadrilateral WXYZ. We have segments,
,
, and
that intersect at the corners of the quadrilateral.
Now by Incedence Axiom 1, segmenthas points Z and W which are contained in one and only one line,
. By incidence axiom 3 and the definition of a quadrilateral, this line is entirely contained in the plane containing the quadrilateral.
By the plane separation theorem, this line divides the plane containing the quadrilateral into two half-planes.
Now consider the segmentsand
. Since W is on the line, X must lie in one half-plane. Similarly, since Z is on the line, Y must lie in one half-plane. So X and Y must lie in either the same half-plane or opposite half-planes determined by the line
.
If X and Y lie in opposite half-planes, then the side of the quadrilateral,, would have to intersect the line
by the plane separation theorem. If
intersects
, this is a contradiction which proves that X amd Y lie in the same half-plane which proves that W and Z lie on the same side of the line
.
Ifintersects the line
outside the segment
, then Z and W lie in the same half-plane determined by the line
.


LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks