Point
Pronunciation: /pɔɪnt/ Explain
A point is a location in space that has no width,
length or height[2]. An object that has
no width, length or height is called
dimensionless.
Since it is dimensionless, the only property a point can have is a
location.
A fixed point is a point that does not move.
In his book
Elements[2],
Euclid gave the definition of a point as "That which has no part", meaning
that a point can not be divided into smaller parts. A point is the fundamental element
in Euclidean Geometry, and all other objects are made from points. For example, a
line
consists of an infinite number of points in a row.
References
- McAdams, David E.. All Math Words Dictionary, point. 2nd Classroom edition 20150108-4799968. pg 140. Life is a Story Problem LLC. January 8, 2015. Buy the book
- Casey, John, LL.D., F.R.S.. The First Six Books of the Elements of Euclid. pg 4. Translated by Casey, John, LL.D. F.R.S.. www.archive.org. Hodges, Figgis & Co.. 1890. Last Accessed 12/3/2018. http://www.archive.org/stream/firstsixbooksofe00caseuoft#page/4/mode/1up/search/point. Buy the book
- Euclid. Elements. Book 1, definition 1. Translated by Joyce, D. Clark University. Last Accessed 12/3/2018. https://mathcs.clarku.edu/~djoyce/elements/bookI/defI1.html. Buy the book
More Information
- McAdams, David E.. Dimension. allmathwords.org. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem LLC. 3/12/2009. https://www.allmathwords.org/en/d/dimension.html.
- Euclid of Alexandria. Elements. Clark University. 9/6/2018. https://mathcs.clarku.edu/~djoyce/elements/elements.html.
Cite this article as:
McAdams, David E. Point. 12/21/2018. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem LLC. https://www.allmathwords.org/en/p/point.html.
Revision History
12/21/2018: Reviewed and corrected IPA pronunication. (
McAdams, David E.)
12/1/2018: Removed broken links, updated license, implemented new markup. (
McAdams, David E.)
8/7/2018: Changed vocabulary links to WORDLINK format. (
McAdams, David E.)
12/21/2009: Added reference to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dimension and dimensionless (
McAdams, David E.)
8/20/2007: Initial version. (
McAdams, David E.)