Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Restricted Thesis

Terms of Use

© 2016 Frank Wu. All rights reserved. Access to this work is restricted to users within the Swarthmore College network and may only be used for non-commercial, educational, and research purposes. Sharing with users outside of the Swarthmore College network is expressly prohibited. For all other uses, including reproduction and distribution, please contact the copyright holder.

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Educational Studies Department, Mathematics & Statistics Department

First Advisor

K. Ann Renninger

Second Advisor

Janet Talvacchia

Abstract

My thesis discusses the history and development of geometry, specifically Euclidean geometry. I used my personal experiences, observations, and research to learn more about the fundamentals of geometry. Greek mathematician, Euclid has had a significant impact on what we learn in geometry today in school. With his definition of geometry as an axiomatic system, there are missing pieces to geometry as a whole that is not limited to Euclidean geometry and the five Euclid postulates. Given that the parallel postulate has not been proven yet, there are non-Euclidean geometries that are just as valuable to our learning of the subject as Euclidean geometry. By understanding the basic history and development of geometry, educators can be better informed in their instruction of a geometry class.

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