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A closed line segment includes both endpoints, while an open line segment excludes both endpoints; a half-open line segment includes exactly one of the endpoints. In geometry , a line segment is often denoted using an overline ( vinculum ) above the symbols for the two endpoints, such as in AB .
Here, p is the (positive) length of the line segment perpendicular to the line and delimited by the origin and the line, and is the (oriented) angle from the x-axis to this segment. It may be useful to express the equation in terms of the angle α = φ + π / 2 {\displaystyle \alpha =\varphi +\pi /2} between the x -axis and the line.
A mathematical symbol is a figure or a combination of figures that is used to represent a mathematical object, an action on mathematical objects, a relation between mathematical objects, or for structuring the other symbols that occur in a formula. As formulas are entirely constituted with symbols of various types, many symbols are needed for ...
The synthetic affine definition of the midpoint M of a segment AB is the projective harmonic conjugate of the point at infinity, P, of the line AB. That is, the point M such that H[A,B; P,M]. [6] When coordinates can be introduced in an affine geometry, the two definitions of midpoint will coincide. [7]
A chord (from the Latin chorda, meaning "bowstring") of a circle is a straight line segment whose endpoints both lie on a circular arc. If a chord were to be extended infinitely on both directions into a line, the object is a secant line. The perpendicular line passing through the chord's midpoint is called sagitta (Latin for "arrow").
To construct a diameter parallel to a given line, choose the chord to be perpendicular to the line. The circle having a given line segment as its diameter can be constructed by straightedge and compass, by finding the midpoint of the segment and then drawing the circle centered at the midpoint through one of the ends of the line segment.
The Encyclopedia of Mathematics [7] defines interval (without a qualifier) to exclude both endpoints (i.e., open interval) and segment to include both endpoints (i.e., closed interval), while Rudin's Principles of Mathematical Analysis [8] calls sets of the form [a, b] intervals and sets of the form (a, b) segments throughout.
Common lines and line segments on a circle, including a secant. A straight line can intersect a circle at zero, one, or two points. A line with intersections at two points is called a secant line, at one point a tangent line and at no points an exterior line. A chord is the line segment that joins two distinct points of a circle. A chord is ...