Abu Sahl al-Quhi
Girard Desargues
Hellenistic
Interior
Janos Bolyai
Postulate
Spatial
B Comprehension
Read the text and choose the correct answer.
1 Geometry was first used to solve
A common problems.
B abstract problems.
2 During the Classical Period of Greek civilisation,
A the way problems were solved changed.
B people were only interested in geometry.
3 The Greeks made important advances in geometry
A only during the Classical Period.
B during both the Classical and Hellenistic Periods.
4 After the decline of Greek civilisation,
A mathematicians used geometry to solve other kinds of problems.
B nothing new was discovered.
5 Between the 17th and 19th centuries, European thinkers
A ignored the Greeks' ideas about geometry.
B created new types of geometry.
Before you read
Discuss these questions with your partner.
-» What developments in geometry do you know about that occurred during the Renaissance
(c 15th -17th centuries AD)?
-» What differences and what similarities can you think of between maths and philosophy?
D Vocabulary
Find a synonym in the box for the words or phrases in green in the sentences.
Then check your answers in the text.
N knowledgeable n tutor
n prosperity n synthetic geometry
N goal n advance
N on the continent n analytic geometry