Cabri Geometry II Plus

User Manual

Welcome!
Welcome to the world of dynamic geometry! Cabri Geometry was created in the eighties, in the research laboratories of CNRS (Centre National De Recherche Scientique) and at the Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble. Fifteen years later, there are more than ten million users of the software, using Cabri Geometry on personal computers operating under Mac OS and Windows , also on the TI-92, TI-92 Plus, TI Voyage 200, TI-89 and TI-83 Plus calculators from Texas Instruments . Cabri Geometry is currently developed and distributed by Cabrilog, a company which was founded in March 2000 by Jean-Marie Laborde, director of research at CNRS, and virtual father to the line of Cabri babies.

Computer-assisted construction of geometrical diagrams brings a new dimension to the classical method of construction using paper, pencil, ruler and compasses. In fact, once a diagram has been constructed, it can be freely manipulated. Conjectures can formulated and tested. Measurements and calculations can be made. Part of the diagram can be erased, or the whole thing redrawn from the beginning... Once the diagram is complete, the intermediate constructions can be hidden, colour or broken lines can be added, as can text. The diagram is then ready for distribution over the Internet, or for incorporation into another document. Cabri Geometry II Plus is a new version of the Cabri Geometry II software. It has many new features which make it even more powerful and easy to use. In addition, this version has had the bugs of the old version corrected, and includes much of the functionality requested by its users. This manual is in three sections. Part one Discovery - Intermediate Tutorial is designed for new users, and suggests activities at secondary school level. Part two Moving On - Advanced Tutorial suggests more advanced activities for A-level or undergraduate work. Finally, Part three Reference Section is the complete reference document for the software. The various activities in the rst two parts are largely independent of each other. The reader is invited to duplicate the detailed construction methods, then try the listed exercises. The exercises marked with an asterisk (*) are more dicult. Before using Cabri Geometry for the rst time, we recommend that new users read the chapter in the introduction headed Starting Out - Basic Tutorial, to familiarise themselves with the Cabri Geometry interface, and

the conventions for using the mouse. However, experience shows that the learning curve for Cabri Geometry is steep, and that in class, students are already doing geometry within half an hour of loading the software. Our website, www.cabri.com, will give you access to the latest updates and product news, and in particular the new versions of this manual. The website also has links to dozens of Internet pages, and information concerning books about geometry and Cabri Geometry. All the Cabrilog team wish you many fascinating hours of constructions, explorations and discoveries.

Author: Eric Bainville Translation: Sandra Hoath Latest update: 19th September 2002 New versions: www.cabri.com Mistakes: support@cabri.com

2002 Cabrilog SAS

Contents
Chapter 1 Starting Out - Basic Tutorial 5

Part One Discovery - Intermediate Tutorial

Chapter 2 The Euler Line Chapter 3 Hunt the point Chapter 4 The Varignon quadrilateral 15 21 24

Part Two Moving On - Advanced Tutorial

Chapter 5 Pedal triangles Chapter 6 Functions Chapter 7 Tessellations I Chapter 8 Tessellations II 30 35 40 46

Part Three Reference Section

Chapter 9 Objects and Tools Chapter 10 Investigative Tools Chapter 11 Attributes Chapter 12 Preferences and Customisation Chapter 13 User Interface Chapter 14 Exporting and Printing 52 67 70 74 79 95

Chapter 1 Starting Out - Basic Tutorial

1.1 Philosophy

The philosophy behind Cabri Geometry is to provide the greatest exibility in interaction (keyboard, mouse...) between the user and the software. In each case the software behaves in the way that the user expects: on the one hand by respecting the industry standards, and on the other hand by following the most plausible mathematical route. A Cabri Geometry document consists of a diagram which is free to be drawn anywhere on a virtual 1m square sheet of paper. A diagram consists of standard geometrical objects such as points, lines, circles... and also numbers, text, formulae... A document can also contain construction macros, which enable intermediate constructions of a diagram to be easily reproduced, and which extends the functionality of the software. Cabri Geometry allows several documents to be open simultaneously.

1.2

User Interface

Figure 1.1 The Cabri Geometry window and its dierent regions.

Figure 1.1 shows Cabri Geometrys main window and its dierent regions. When Cabri Geometry is rst loaded, the Attributes toolbar, the help window and the text window are not displayed. The title bar displays the diagrams lename, or Figure 1, 2... if the diagram has not yet been saved. The menu bar enables the user to draw on the applications commands, which correspond to the usual software commands. In the rest of this manual, we shall designate the command Action from the Menu menu by [Menu]Action. For example, [File]Save As... designates Save As... from the File menu. The toolbar displays the tools which enable the diagram to be created and modied. It consists of several toolboxes, each of which displays one tool from the toolbox as an icon on the bar. The active tool is shown as a pressed button, with a white background. The other tools are shown as unpressed buttons with a grey background. A brief, single click on a button activates the corresponding tool. Click-and-hold on the button opens the toolbox as a drop-down menu, and by dragging to another tool it can be made the active one which is then displayed as the icon for the toolbox.

The toolbar can be freely modied by the user, and ultimately locked into a conguration for use by a class. (See the chapter: Preferences and Customisation in the Reference part of this manual.)

Figure 1.2 Cabri Geometrys default toolbar, with the names of the various toolboxes.

In the remainder of this manual, we shall designate the Tool tool from the Toolbox toolbox by [Toolbox]Tool, and show the corresponding icon in the margin. (Some of the labels which are too long for the margin have been abbreviated.) For example, [lines]Ray represents the Ray tool from the lines toolbox. The toolbar icons can be displayed in large or small format. To change the size, move the cursor to a position to the right of the last tool shown on the toolbar, and click with the right mouse button (right-click). The status bar gives a permanent indication of the active tool. The attributes bar enables the attributes of dierent objects to be changed: colour, style, size... It is activated by the command [Options]Show Attributes, and de-activated by [Options]Hide Attributes. The function key F9 can be used for the same purpose. The help window provides outline help regarding the active tool. It displays the anticipated required objects, and what will be constructed. It is activated/de-activated by the F1 key. The history window contains a description of the diagram in text form. It lists all the objects that have been constructed, and the construction methods used. It is opened with the command [Options]Show history window, and closed with [Options]Hide history window. It can also be toggled by F10. Finally, the drawing area shows part of the total area that is available. It is in this drawing area that geometrical constructions are carried out. 7

1.3

Using the Mouse

Most of the software functions are controlled by mouse operations. The operations required are: using the mouse to move the cursor, pressing on a button, releasing the button. A brief press-and-release sequence is called a click. A rapid press-release, press-release sequence is a double-click. The sequence press-move-release is called drag-and-drop, if it is used to move an object, or click-and-drag when it is used to stretch out a selection rectangle. In the absence of any other indication, the button referred to is the main mouse button, usually the left mouse button. If a modier key: Alt, or Ctrl, is inserted in a sequence, it is possible that the action will be changed. Ctrl-click is a click which is carried out while the Ctrl key is held down. Similarly for other combinations. When the mouse is used to move the cursor across the drawing area, the software informs us in three ways of the anticipated action of a click or a drag-and-drop:
the shape of the cursor, a pop-up message displayed alongside the cursor, a partial display of the object being constructed.

Depending on the construction, the pop-up message and the partial object may not be displayed. The dierent cursors are as follows: An existing object can be selected. An existing object can be selected, or moved, or used in a construction. Appears when an existing object has been clicked on to select it, or to use it in a construction. Several selections are possible for the objects under the cursor. A click causes a menu to appear which enables the precise object to be selected from a pop-up list. Appears while moving an object. The cursor is in an unused portion of the sheet, and here a rectangular selection area can be made using click-and-drag. Indicates the pan mode for moving the visible area of the sheet. This mode can be entered at any time by holding down the Ctrl key. In this mode, drag-and-drop slides the worksheet across the window. Appears as the worksheet is panned. 8

Indicates that a click will create a new independent, movable point on the sheet. Indicates that a click will create a new independent, movable point on an existing object, or a new point at the intersection of two existing objects. Indicates that a click will ll the object under the cursor with the current colour. Indicates that a click will change the attribute (for example the colour, style, thickness...) of the object under the cursor.

1.4

First Construction

As an illustration for this chapter Starting Out - Basic Tutorial, we shall construct a square, given one of the diagonals. When Cabri Geometry is loaded, a new, blank, virtual drawing sheet is created, and the user can immediately start a construction. We shall rst construct the segment which will be the diagonal of the square. The [lines]Segment tool must be activated by clicking on the lines icon and then holding down the button of the mouse to open up the toolbox. Move the cursor to the Segment tool and release the mouse button to activate it.
Figure 1.3 Selection of the tool [lines]Segment.

Figure 1.4 Construction of the rst point. A pre-image of the nal segment moves with the cursor until the second point has been selected.

Figure 1.5 The segment is complete after the selection of the second point. The [lines]Segment tool remains active, enabling the user to construct another segment.

Now move the cursor across the drawing area: it will assume the form . Clicking creates the rst point. Continue to move the cursor across the drawing area. A segment will extend from the rst point to the cursor, showing where the segment will be created. The second point is also created by clicking. Our drawing now contains two points and one line segment. To construct the square, we rst need the circle with this segment as its diameter. The centre of the circle is the midpoint of the segment. To construct this midpoint, activate the [constructions]Midpoint tool then move the cursor over the segment. The pop-up message Midpoint of this segment is displayed alongside the cursor, whose shape changes to . The midpoint is marked on the segment by clicking.

Figure 1.6 Construction of the midpoint of a segment.

After this, activate the [curves]Circle tool and move the cursor near to the midpoint just drawn. The pop-up message This point as centre is then displayed. The [curves]Circle tool requires the selection of a point as the centre of the circle, so click to select it. As the cursor is moved following this selection, a circle is displayed; so move the cursor near to one end of the line

10

segment, when Cabri Geometry displays Through this point. By clicking, the circle is completed.

Figure 1.7 Construction of the circle with the given segment as diameter.

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Use the [manipulation]Pointer tool to change the diagram. The only movable points of the diagram are the endpoints of the line segment. When the cursor is moved over one of them, its shape becomes and the pop-up message This point is displayed. The point can then be moved by dragand-drop and the entire diagram is automatically updated: the segment is redrawn, the midpoint moves to follow suit, as does the circle.

Figure 1.8 Construction of the perpendicular bisector of the line segment, to determine the other diagonal of the square.

To construct the square we need the other diagonal, which is the diameter of the circle, perpendicular to the original segment. We shall construct the perpendicular bisector of the segment: a line, perpendicular to the segment, through its midpoint. Activate the [constructions]Perpendicular bisector tool, and then select the segment by clicking on it. The perpendicular bisector is constructed. Finally, to construct the square, activate the [lines]Polygon tool. This tool expects the selection of a sequence of points to dene the vertices. The sequence is terminated by selecting for a second time the initial point of the sequence, or by double-clicking to select the last point of the sequence. The two points of intersection of the circle with the perpendicular bisector are not actually constructed: Cabri Geometry enables them to be selected implicitly as they are used.

12

Figure 1.9 Construction of the square, using implicit selection of the points of intersection of the circle and the perpendicular bisector.

In other words, select one endpoint of the segment (pop-up message This point) as the rst vertex of the polygon, then move the cursor to one of the points of intersection of the circle and the perpendicular bisector. A pop-up message This point of intersection is displayed to show that a mouse-click will construct the point of intersection and select it as the next vertex of the polygon, so select it. Follow this with the selection of the other endpoint of the line segment, the second point of intersection of the circle and the perpendicular bisector, and nally the initial vertex. The square appears.

Figure 1.10 Your rst Cabri Geometry construction!

13

Part One Discovery - Intermediate Tutorial

Chapter 2 The Euler Line

We shall construct a general triangle ABC , then its three medians. These are the lines that join a vertex to the midpoint of the opposite side. We shall then construct the three altitudes of the triangle: the lines through each vertex in turn, perpendicular to the opposite side. Finally we shall construct the three perpendicular bisectors of the sides of the triangle: lines perpendicular to each side, through the midpoint of the side. It is a well-known fact that the three altitudes, the three medians and the three perpendicular bisectors are concurrent, and these points of concurrency lie on a straight line, called the Euler1 line of the triangle. To construct a triangle, choose the [lines]Triangle tool. For information on how to use the toolbar, consult the Chapter Starting Out - Basic Tutorial in the Introduction. Once the [lines]Triangle tool is active, select three new points in the drawing area, by clicking in an empty space. These points can be labelled immediately after their creation on the y simply by typing their label on the keyboard. Once the triangle has been constructed, these labels can be moved around the points to place them, for example, outside the triangle.
C

Figure 2.1 Triangle ABC is constructed using the [lines]Triangle tool. The vertices are labelled on the y by typing a letter at the time they are created.

A B

Leonard Euler, 1707-1783

To move an objects name, the [manipulation]Pointer tool must be active. Drag the name by positioning the cursor over it, then holding down the mouse button while dragging the mouse to move the name to the desired location. To change the name of an object, activate the [text and symbols]Label tool then select the name, at which point an editing window will appear. The midpoints are constructed, using the [constructions]Midpoint tool. To construct the midpoint of AB , select in turn A then B . The midpoint of a segment can be constructed equally well by selecting the segment itself. The new point can be named on the y, say C . The midpoints of the other sides are constructed in the same manner: A on BC and B on CA.
C B' A' A'

B'

C'

A B

C'

Figure 2.2 [Left]. The midpoints are constructed with the [constructions]Midpoint tool, which accepts as arguments two points, a segment, or the side of a polygon. [Right]. The medians are constructed with the [lines]Line tool, and their colour is changed with the [attributes]Colour tool.

The [manipulation]Pointer tool enables the independent, movable objects of a construction to be moved freely. In this case, the three points A, B and C are the independent, movable objects. The entire construction is updated automatically as soon as any of them is moved. It is thus possible to explore all the various congurations of a construction. To determine which are the movable objects of a diagram, activate the [manipulation]Pointer tool, then click and hold on an empty part of the drawing area which, after a short delay, causes the movable objects to be displayed as marquees (also known as marching ants). The [lines]Line tool enables the three medians to be constructed. For the line AA , click successively on A then A . The [attributes]Colour tool is used to change the line colour. Select the colour from the palette, by clicking on it, and then click on the object to be coloured. Activate the [points]Point tool, and then select the point of intersection of the three medians. Cabri Geometry tries to construct the point of intersection of two lines but, since there is an ambiguity (there are three 16

concurrent lines to choose from) a menu appears enabling the user to select which two lines to use to construct the point. As the cursor is moved down the list of options, the corresponding lines in the diagram are highlighted. Label the point of intersection of the medians G.

C B' A' G

C'

Figure 2.3 Construction of the point of intersection of the medians, and the resolution of the ambiguities of a selection.

The altitudes of the triangle are constructed with the [constructions]Perpendicular line tool. This tool constructs the unique line which is perpendicular to a given direction, through a given point. Therefore, select a point and: a line, a segment, a ray... The order of selection is not important here. To construct the altitude through A, select A then the side BC . The altitudes through B and C are constructed similarly. In the same way as for the medians, choose a colour for the altitudes, and construct their point of intersection H .

17

C B' A' G H A C' A B H B'

A' G O

C'

Figure 2.4 [Left]. The altitudes are constructed using the [constructions]Perpendicular line tool. [Right]. Finally, the perpendicular bisectors are constructed using the [constructions]Perpendicular bisector tool.

The [constructions]Perpendicular bisector tool is used for the construction of the perpendicular bisector of a segment, or the line which is equidistant from two points. Label O, the point of intersection of the three perpendicular bisectors. The [properties]Collinear? tool enables us to check numerically whether the three points O, H and G are collinear. By selecting each of these points in turn, then clicking somewhere on the drawing area, the answer is displayed. The answer is a sentence saying whether or not the points are collinear. If the independent points of the diagram are moved, this text is updated at the same time as the other parts of the diagram.

C B' A' G H A C'

Points are collinear

C B' A' G H A B C'

Points are collinear

Figure 2.5 [Left]. Numerical collinearity check for the three points O, H and G. The [properties]Collinear? tool creates a text message Points are collinear or ...not collinear. [Right]. The Euler line of the triangle, shown clearly by its increased thickness, as changed by the [attributes]Thick tool.

18

You should be aware that the check is numerical. In other words it is based on the 16-digit coordinates calculated by the software for each of the three points. Rounding errors can give a false result, but it is very unlikely for simple diagrams. The result is in no way a mathematical proof. The Euler line of the triangle is constructed with the [lines]Line tool, through the three points O, H and G, by selecting, for example, O and H . The [attributes]Thick tool is used to distinguish this line. When the shape of the triangle is changed by moving the relative position of the vertices, it is apparent that G is always between O and H , and also that its relative position on the line segment does not change. Suppose we check this by measuring the lengths of GO and GH . Activate the [measurement]Distance and length tool. This tool measures the distance between two points, or the length of a line segment, depending on the object selected. Select G and then O: the distance from G to O appears, measured in cm. Do the same for G and H . Once the measurement has been taken, the corresponding text message can be edited by adding GO= in front of the number, for example.

C B' A' G H A C' O

GO = 1.10 cm GH = 2.20 cm

C B' A' G H A C' O

GO = 1.10 cm GH = 2.20 cm

Points are collinear

Points are collinear GH/GO = 2.0000000

Figure 2.6 [Left]. The [measurement]Distance and length tool has been used to nd the lengths of GO and GH . [Right]. Using the calculator [measurement]Calculate to display the ratio GH/GO and show that it is always equal to 2.

By making changes to the original triangle, GH can be seen to be always twice the length of GO. Let us calculate the ratio GH/GO to check this. Use the [measurement]Calculate tool. Select the text message giving the distance GH , then the operator /, and nally the text message giving GO. Click on the = key to get the result, which can be dragged to the drawing area. When a number is selected ([manipulation]Pointer tool), the number of digits displayed can be increased or decreased by means of the

19

+ and - keys. In this way, the ratio can be displayed with a dozen digits, to show that it is always equal to 2. Exercise 1 Add to the diagram the circumscribed circle, centre O, passing through A, B and C . Use the [curves]Circle tool. Exercise 2 Next, add the nine-point circle for the triangle. This is the circle whose centre is at the midpoint of OH , and which passes through the midpoints of the sides: A , B and C , the foot of each altitude, and the midpoint of each of the line segments HA, HB and HC .

C B' A' G H A C' O

Figure 2.7 The nal diagram, showing the triangle with its circumscribed circle and nine-point circle.

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Chapter 3 Hunt the point

In this chapter, we shall illustrate an activity which shows the possibilities for exploration that are provided by Cabri Geometry. Starting from three given points A, B , C , we shall look for any points M such that MA + MB + MC = 0 . First, however, we shall construct four points in random positions, using the [points]Point tool, labelling them A, B , C , and M on the y, i.e. by typing the appropriate letter immediately after each point has been created. Cabri Geometry allows vectors to be used. As we are in an ane plane, we shall manipulate the vectors as their line segment representations, which are suitably labelled and given an arrow to indicate their sense. We now need to construct the vector M A using the [lines]Vector tool, by selecting rst M , then A. This line segment representation of the vector has its origin at M . Do the same for M B , and M C . Next, construct the resultant vector of M A + M B using the [constructions]Sum of two vectors tool. Click rst on the two vectors and then on the origin for the resultant, choosing M here. Label N , the further extremity of the vector. Finally construct the resultant of the three vectors, with M as its origin, in the same way, adding vecM N (which equals M A + M B ) and M C . Label the further extremity of this vector: P .

A N

M B

C B

Figure 3.1 [Left]. Starting from any three points: A, B , C , and a further point M , the line segments representing the vectors M A, M B and M C are drawn. [Right]. M N = M A + M B , and M P = M A + M B + M C are constructed, using the [constructions]Sum of two vectors tool.

We can now look for the solution to the problem diagrammatically. To do this, activate the [manipulation]Pointer tool and move the point M . The resultant of the three vectors is continually updated as M is moved around the drawing area. The magnitude and direction of M P can be seen to depend on the position of M relative to the points A, B and C . In this way, the following observations and conjectures (among others) can be made:
There is only one position of M for which the resultant of the three vectors is null: the problem has a unique solution. The solution point is inside the triangle ABC . The quadrilateral M AN B is a parallelogram. The quadrilateral MCPN is a parallelogram. For a zero resultant vector, the vectors M N and M C must be collinear, and in addition they must have the same magnitude but opposite sense, in other words they must be equal and opposite vectors. M P always passes through the same point and this point is the solution to the problem. The position of point P is dependent on M . Based on this fact, one can dene a transformation, and the solution to the problem is the invariant point under the transformation.

According to the various observations made, the investigation can be taken in any of several directions. In a class situation, the students can decide for themselves which direction to take, depending on their observations and 22

previous experience. Some investigations take longer to achieve than others. For example here, studying the transformation (the last point mentioned above) could be a more delicate matter. Suppose for example, that the observation has been made that vectors M N and M C must have opposite directions. Another question then arises: for which positions of M are these two vectors collinear? Move M in such a way that the two vectors are collinear. It can be seen that M must lie on a straight line, and that this line passes through C and the midpoint of AB . The line is therefore the median of the triangle through C . Since M is equally dependent on A, B and C , it can be seen that M must also lie on the other two medians, and the required point is therefore the point of intersection of the three medians. As a class activity, the students could continue by developing a construction of the solution point, and a proof of the hypothesis resulting from the investigation. The illustrative power of a dynamic construction is much higher than that of a static diagram drawn on a sheet of paper. In fact, it is sucient to manipulate the diagram to check the construction in a large number of cases. A construction which remains valid after a diagram has been altered will be correct in the great majority of cases. To use it to best eect in class, it is a good idea rst to raise the following points with the students (among others):
Is a dynamic construction that is visually correct actually correct? Is a correct dynamic construction an answer to the question? When can a mathematical argument be given the status of proof? What is missing from a dynamic construction to make it a proof? Must a proof be based on the procedure used to draw the diagram?

Exercise 3 Extend the problem to four points, by nding those points M , such that MA + MB + MC + MD = 0 . Exercise* 4 List all the paths of exploration and proofs needed for the initial problem (three points) which are available to a student studying A-level. Exercise* 5 Investigate and construct the points M which minimise the sum of the distances to three points: MA + MB + MC. The solution is the Fermat1 point of triangle ABC.
1

Pierre Simon de Fermat, 1601-1665

23

Chapter 4 The Varignon quadrilateral

In this chapter, we shall present a number of constructions based on Varignons1 Theorem. First, construct any quadrilateral ABCD. Activate the [lines]Polygon tool, then select four points and label them on the y: A, B , C , D. To nish o the polygon, reselect A after constructing D. Next, construct the midpoints: P of AB , Q of BC , R of CD and S of DA using the [constructions]Midpoint tool. This tool expects the user to select A then B to construct the midpoint of AB . It is equally possible to select the segment AB if this already exists: either as a line segment, or as the side of a polygon, which is the case here. Finally, construct the quadrilateral P QRS , using the [lines]Polygon tool. By altering the diagram, using the [manipulation]Pointer tool, it can be seen that P QRS always seems to be a parallelogram. We shall now ask Cabri Geometry to pronounce on whether or not the lines P Q and RS are parallel, then similarly for P S and QR, using the [properties]Parallel? tool. Select the side P Q, then RS , and a text message will appear, conrming that the two sides are indeed parallel. Be aware that here also, the check is numerical, and it is possible in very complex diagrams for the result to be incorrect. Check in the same way that P S and QR are parallel.
1

Pierre Varignon, 1654-1722

A S D P P

A S D

I R R

B C

Figure 4.1 [Left]. Starting from any quadrilateral ABCD, the quadrilateral P QRS is constructed with vertices at the midpoints of the sides of ABCD. [Right]. Construction of the diagonals of P QRS , and the demonstration that they bisect each other.

So now construct the two diagonals P R and QS , using the [lines]Segment tool, and their point of intersection I using the [points]Point tool. There are several ways in which it can be demonstrated that I is the midpoint of both P R and QS , and that P QRS is therefore a parallelogram. For example, one can use centres of mass. P can be considered as the centre of mass of two particles of equal mass at A and B {(A, 1), (B, 1)}. Similarly R is the centre of mass of particles of equal mass at C and D {(C, 1), (D, 1)}. Thus the midpoint of P R is the centre of mass of {(A, 1), (B, 1), (C, 1), (D, 1)}. The midpoint of QS is the same thing. Hence the two midpoints coincide: at the point of intersection I . Varignons theorem is as follows: Varignons Theorem. The quadrilateral P QRS whose vertices are the midpoints of the sides of any quadrilateral ABCD, is a parallelogram whose area is half that of ABCD.

25

A S D P

Figure 4.2 The construction to establish the second part of the theorem.

Exercise 6 We have already demonstrated the rst part of the theorem. Now show that the second part of the theorem is true. Hint: use the diagram of Figure 4.2. Leaving A, B and C alone, move D so that P QRS appears to be a rectangle. Since we already know that P QRS is a parallelogram, it is sucient to show that one of its angles is a right angle. So, measure the angle at P , using the [measurement]Angle tool. This tool expects the user to select three points, the vertex of the angle being the second point. Here, for example, one should select S , P (the vertex of the angle) and Q.
Figure 4.3 Measuring angle P of the parallelogram.
S D P
102,7

The [measurement]Angle tool can also be used to give the size of an angle which has previously been marked with the [text and symbols]Mark Angle tool. This tool also expects three points to be selected, in the same order as for [measurement]Angle. By moving D so that P QRS is a rectangle, it can be seen that there is an innity of solutions, as long as D lies on one straight line. In fact, if the 26

diagonals AC and BD of the quadrilateral ABCD are drawn, it can be seen that the sides of P QRS are parallel to them, and hence P QRS is a rectangle if and only if AC and BD are perpendicular. To ensure that P QRS is always a rectangle, we need to redene the position of D. Draw the line AC with the [line]Line tool by selecting A and C , then draw the perpendicular to this line which passes through B , using the [constructions]Perpendicular line tool, selecting B and the line AC . D is currently an independent, movable point of the diagram. We shall modify this so that it becomes a point which is constrained to lie on the perpendicular to AC . Activate the tool [constructions]Redene Object, then select D. A menu appears listing the various options for redening D. Choose Point on an object, then select any point on the perpendicular. D moves to this point, and thereafter is constrained to be on the designated line. Redenition as a powerful investigative tool, which enables the user to increase or decrease the number of degrees of freedom in a diagram without having to redraw it from scratch.
Figure 4.4 Point D is now redened so that P QRS is always a rectangle. D still has one degree of freedom, being able to move along a line.
P
90,0

A S

R B Q C

Exercise 7 Find a necessary and sucient condition that P QRS is a square. Redene D again, so that the construction will only produce squares.

27

A S P D

R B Q C

Figure 4.5 Here, D has no degrees of freedom at all, and P QRS is always a square.

28

Part Two Moving On - Advanced Tutorial

Chapter 5 Pedal triangles

Use the [points]Point tool to start with three points, A, B , C , anywhere on the drawing area. First construct the straight lines AB , BC and CA, using the [lines]Line tool. Create a fourth point M , anywhere on the plane, and the orthogonal projections of M : C , A and B , respectively, on these lines. These points are constructed by rst creating the perpendiculars through M to each of the lines in turn, using the [constructions]Perpendicular line tool. Use the [points]Point tool to pick up the point of intersection of each perpendicular with its corresponding line. The [points]Point tool constructs implicitly the points of intersection of two objects. It merely requires the cursor to be placed close to an intersection, when Cabri Geometry displays the message Point at this intersection or, in an ambiguous case Intersection of... followed by a menu list. The three points A , B and C dene a triangle which can be drawn using the [lines]Triangle tool. It is called a pedal triangle. The interior of the triangle can be coloured, using the [attributes]Fill tool. The point of interest here is the area of the triangle with regard to the position of M . The area of the triangle is measured, using the [measurements]Area tool. The resulting value is a geometrical area, taking no account of the orientation of the triangle. The measurement is given in cm2 and can be placed anywhere on the drawing area. By clicking the right mouse button, a shortcut menu appears, with the option to change to the algebraic area, the sign of which depends on the orientation of the triangle.

B' M C A' A C'

Figure 5.1 The pedal triangle for M , and its area.

B
Area = 12.19 cm

We shall consider how the area of A B C varies, depending on the position of M . There are several possible strategies for this. For example, activate the [text and symbols]Trace On/O tool (which requires selection of the object to be traced, M here so click on it). Now move M while attempting to keep the area of A B C constant. Successive positions of M are displayed on the screen, giving the appearance of a contour line for equal values of the area. Another strategy could be to use the locus of points on a grid to draw a visual representation of the area of A B C for a large number of positions of M . Here, we shall use this latter strategy, and draw the circle, centre M , which has an area proportional to that of A B C for a large number of positions of M . To do this, it is necessary rst to calculate the radius of the circle, proportional to the square root of the area of the triangle. Activate the [measurements]Calculate tool, and enter the expression sqrt( then select the number displaying the area of the triangle to insert that into the expression, which becomes sqrt(a. Now close the bracket, and divide by 10 to avoid having a circle which is too large. The expression in the calculator is now sqrt(a)/10. Evaluate this by clicking on the = button, then drag the answer to an appropriate position on the sheet. To draw a circle, centre M , using the radius we have just calculated, activate the tool [constructions]Compass. Select the number, then the point M . The circle, centre M , with the required radius appears. We can now see the changes in the area of the circle surrounding M , as the point is moved.

31

Figure 5.2 A circle is drawn, centre M , with area proportional to that of A B C .

B' M C A' A C'

B
Area = 12.19 cm r = 0.35 cm

We shall now dene a grid, and redene M in terms of the grid, then draw the circles representing the area of the pedal triangle at each point of the grid. To dene the grid, a system of axes is required. We shall take the default axes which are available for any diagram. To display them choose [attributes]Show axes. Next, activate the [attributes]Dene Grid tool, and select the axes. A grid of points appears.
B' M C A' A C'

Figure 5.3 A grid is constructed, using the default axes for the diagram. M is then redened as any point on the grid.

1 1

B
Area = 12.19 cm r = 0.35 cm

M is still an independent, movable point in the plane; we shall redene it so that it is limited to the grid points. Activate the [constructions]Redene object tool, then select M . Choose the option Point on an object from the menu list that appears, and then select any point on the grid. M is now constrained to the points of the grid. The [constructions]Locus tool can now be used to construct the set of circles which are obtained by moving M around the grid. Select the circle then the point M to obtain the locus of circles as M moves over the grid.

32

It can be shown (see for example Geometry Revisited by H.M.S. Coxeter and S.L. Greitzer, Mathematical Association of America, section 1.9) that the contour lines of equal areas of the pedal triangles are circles with the same centre as that of the circumcircle of ABC . In particular, triangle A B C has zero area if M is on the circumcircle of ABC , or equivalently, points A , B and C are collinear if and only if M lies on the circumcircle of ABC .

B' M C A' A C'

B
Area = 12.19 cm r = 0.35 cm

Figure 5.4 The distribution of the area of the pedal triangle as a function of the position of M .

Exercise 8 With M on the circumcircle of ABC , the three points A , B and C are collinear and A B C is called the Simson1 line for M (or Wallace2 line this line was incorrectly attributed to Simson for many years, as it was in fact published in 1799 by Wallace). Construct the envelope of Simson lines. (Use the [constructions]Locus tool.) This curve, which is invariant under a rotation through 120 , is called a deltoid (or tricuspoid or Steiners3 hypocycloid), since it has the form of the Greek letter . It is
1 2

Robert Simson, 1687-1768 William Wallace, 1768-1843 3 Jakob Steiner, 1796-1863

33

tangential to the three lines AB , BC and CA. It is an algebraic curve of degree 4. Exercise* 9 For the deltoid of the previous exercise, construct the centre, the three points where the curve touches the three straight lines, and the largest circle which can be inscribed in the curve.

A M

B C
Figure 5.5 The envelope of the Simson lines of triangle ABC is called a deltoid. It has the same symmetries as an equilateral triangle.

34

Chapter 6 Functions
Graphs of functions are easy to construct in Cabri Geometry, thanks to its system of axes and expressions. The graph can then be used to study the properties of the function. In this chapter, we shall study the polynomial function of degree 3, f (x) = x3 2x + 1 2. First, display the coordinate axes, using [attributes]Show axes. Next, we need to create the corresponding expression on the drawing area. Once an expression has been placed on the drawing area, its value can be calculated for dierent values of its variables. For this function, activate [text and symbols]Expression, and type in x^3-2*x+1/2. The permitted names for variables are the letters: a,b,c...z. Mark a point P , somewhere on the x-axis (using the [points]Point tool). Display its coordinates by activating [measurement]Equation and Coordinates, then selecting P . The text displaying the coordinates is initially attached to P , and moves with the point. Using the [manipulation]Pointer tool, the coordinates can be detached from P , and placed anywhere on the diagram. To return them to the point, click-and-drag close to P .

1 1

1 1

x^3-2*x+1/2

P (3,49; 0,00) x^3-2*x+1/2

Figure 6.1 [Left]. The expression corresponding to the function is entered on the diagram. [Right]. Point P is marked on the x-axis, and its coordinates displayed using [measurement]Equation and Coordinates.

Next, we need the value of f (x) when x is the x-coordinate of P . Activate the [measurement]Apply an expression tool, and click on the expression, then the x-coordinate of P in the brackets. Here, the order is important.
Figure 6.2 The [measurement]Apply an expression tool is used to calculate the value of f (x) at the x-coordinate of P .

1 1

P (3,49; 0,00) x^3-2*x+1/2 36,01

This value is now transferred to the y -axis, using the [constructions]Measurement transfer tool, and then selecting the value followed by the y -axis. After this one merely has to construct the lines parallel to each of the axes, through each of the marked points, using the [lines]Parallel line tool. Their point of intersection can be labelled M , and has coordinates (x, f (x)). In the following diagram we have moved P to a point (1.98, 0) so that M is visible on the sheet. P can be moved during the construction of the lines.
Figure 6.3 Construction of the point M (x, f (x)) using measurement transfer.

0.5 0.5

P(1,89; 0,00) x^3-2*x+1/2 3,50

The graph of the function is obtained as the locus of M as P moves along the x-axis. It is constructed using the [constructions]Locus tool by selecting M then P . In order to see the interesting part of the function, the origin can be moved (using drag-and-drop), and the scale changed (by dragging-and-dropping any of the scale marks on the axis).

36

Figure 6.4 The graph of the function is nally created using the tool [construction]Locus. The grid can be moved and resized so that the interesting part can be seen.
M

0.5 0.5

P(1,71; 0,00) x^3-2*x+1/2 2,09

We shall now construct an approximation to the tangent to this curve at a given point. For small values of h, it is known that f (x) f (x + h) f (x h) . 2h

From the geometrical point of view, this approximation takes the gradient of the tangent to be the same as the gradient of the chord linking the points on the curve whose x-coordinates are x h and x + h. Using [text and symbols]Numerical Edit, a value for h is dened, 0.3 here for example. This size of h enables the tangent to be constructed easily. The value of h can then be changed to a smaller one, giving a better approximation to the tangent. Next, construct a point A on the x-axis, and the circle centre A, radius h. The circle is obtained by activating the [constructions]Compass tool then selecting the segment of length h followed by A. The two points of intersection of this circle with the x-axis have x-coordinates x h and x + h, if x is the x-coordinate of A. Draw the three lines parallel to the y -axis ([constructions]Parallel line) which pass through the two points of intersection, and the point A. The points of intersection of these three lines with the curve provide the points B , B , B + which are points on the curve with x-coordinates x h, x, and x + h, respectively. As the diagram is becoming rather cluttered, hide those elements which are no longer being used. Activate the [attributes]Hide/show tool, and select the elements to be hidden. Here, we should hide P , M , the two construction lines for M , the coordinates of P , and the value of the function at P . The hidden objects are displayed as marquees (marching ants outlines), and are only visible when the [attributes]Hide/show tool is active. In order to make a hidden object visible once more; just reselect it when this tool is active.

37

B-

B+
0.5 0.5

0.5 0.5

A x^3-2*x+1/2 h = 0,3

A x^3-2*x+1/2 h = 0,3

Figure 6.5 [Left]. The three points on the curve B , B, B + with x-coordinates x h, x, and x + h are constructed. [Right]. The approximation to the tangent at B , once the construction elements have been hidden.

The approximation to the tangent is now the line parallel to B B + which passes through B . Construct the latter line using the [lines]Line tool, then the line parallel to it using [constructions]Parallel line. Now hide the line through B B + and the other construction elements until only h, A, B , and the tangent at B are visible. It can be seen that the value h = 0.3 already gives a very good approximation to the tangent. Nevertheless, this can be improved by decreasing the size of h, for example by taking 0.0001. If the values taken are too small, errors may well appear, due to the way that numbers are represented internally in the computer, these being limited to about 16 signicant gures (decimal system). By moving the point A along the x-axis, it is possible to see the position of the three roots of the equation f (x) = 0, the stationary points of f , and the point of inection of the curve. For information, the three solutions of f (x) = 0 are approximately r1 = 1.52568, r2 = 0.25865, of the and r3 = 1.26703. The x-coordinates stationary points are e1 = 6/3 0.81649, and e2 = 6/3 0.81649. The point of inection is at (0, 1/2). Exercise 10 Using the gradient of the tangent, draw the graph which approximates to the curve of the gradient function. Exercise* 11 The tangent cuts the x-axis at a point A with x-coordinate x , which is, in general, a better approximation to the root, provided A is already in the neighbourhood of a root of f (x) = 0. This statement is the basis of the iterative method known as the Newton1 -Raphson2 method for
1 2

Sir Isaac Newton, 1643-1727 Joseph Raphson, 1648-1715

38

nding the root of an equation. Construct the point A , then its iterate A by the same method, and compare the position of A to that of A. In particular, two positions can be found for A, other than the three roots, for which A and A coincide. For information, these are the two real roots of a polynomial of degree 6, whose values are approximately 0.56293 and 0.73727. It can also be seen that a poor choice of A can cause the method to diverge, by choosing A so that A is one of the two points where the derivative is zero.

x^3-2*x+1/2 B

0.5

0.5

A' A'' B'

Figure 6.6 The rst two iterations of the Newton-Raphson method, starting from point A.

39

Chapter 7 Tessellations I
We shall construct several tessellations of the plane, using polygons. Let us start with some simplied denitions, which are sucient for the following work. The reader who is interested can refer to the reference work Tilings and Patterns by Branko Gr unbaum and G.C. Shepherd, Freeman 1987. A large number of Internet sites also give information about tessellations and symmetry groups. We say that a set of closed plane shapes is a tessellation of the plane if their interior parts are non-overlapping, and the union of all the enclosed parts covers the entire plane. The parts of the plane used are called tiles. The intersection of two tiles which is a segment of a line or a curve is called an edge, and the intersection of two or more tiles at a single point is called a vertex. For the tessellation P , we write S (P ) for the set of isometries, f , of the plane such that the image of every tile of P under f is a tile of P . S (P ) is a group, called the symmetry group of the tessellation. There are several cases to be considered for such a group:
S (P ) contains no translations. S (P ) is then isomorphic to a cyclic group (possibly reduced to the identity element) generated by rotation through 2/n, or to a dihedral group, being the symmetry group of a regular polygon with n sides. S (P ) contains translations which are all collinear. S (P ) is then isomorphic to one of the seven frieze groups. S (P ) contains two vector translations which are non-collinear. Then S (P ) is isomorphic to one of the 17 wallpaper groups (or plane crystallographic groups), and the tessellation is said to be periodic.

If all the tiles of the tessellation can be obtained as isometries of a single tile, we say that the tessellation is monohedral. In this part, we are only interested in the case of monohedral tessellations by polygons.

We shall rst construct a monohedral tessellation of the plane by a triangle. Construct a general triangle ABC , using the [lines]Triangle tool, then the midpoint, I , of one of its sides, BC for example, using the [constructions]Midpoint tool. Let D be the image of A under a half-turn about I (point symmetry), which is created using the [transformations]Symmetry tool, selecting rst the object to be transformed: A, then the centre: I .
Figure 7.1 Starting with any triangle ABC , its image is created under point symmetry about the midpoint of one of its sides (BC here). This produces a parallelogram ABDC .
C D I A

The quadrilateral ABDC is a parallelogram, and it can be used to tessellate the plane. The two vectors AB and AC are created next, using the [lines]Vector tool, then these are used to duplicate the triangles ABC and BCD using the [transformations]Translation tool.
Figure 7.2 The [transformations]Translation tool is used to create the images of the two triangles under translation by the vectors AB and AC .
C

The same approach can be used to tessellate the plane with any quadrilateral, convex or otherwise. The image of the quadrilateral is created under rotation about the midpoint of one of its sides. This produces a hexagon

41

whose sides are pairwise parallel, which is then used to tessellate the plane by translations.
Figure 7.3 The same type of construction is used to tessellate the plane with any quadrilateral, convex or concave, provided it is not a crossed quadrangle.

For other convex polygons, the situation is much more complex. It can be shown that it is impossible to tessellate the plane with a convex polygon with more than 6 sides. There are three types of convex hexagon which will tessellate the plane, and at least 14 types of convex pentagon, each type being dened by a set of constraints on the angles and the sides. At the present time, it is still not know if the 14 known types constitute the complete solution to the problem. The last of the 14 was discovered in 1985. As far as we know, the question of concave polygons has not been resolved. Exercise 12 Construct a convex pentagon ABCDE , subject to the following constraints: the angle at A is 60 , at C it is 120 , AB = AE , CB = CD. These constraints do not dene a unique pentagon, but a family of pentagons. For the construction there are at least three independent points.
Figure 7.4 Construction of a pentagon under the constraints: = 60 , C = 120 , AB = AE , A and CB = BD. A, B , and C are independent points in the plane.
A

D C

Make successive rotations about A through an angle of 60 using the [transformations]Rotation tool. This tool requires selection of: the 42

object to be transformed, an angle, and the centre of rotation, to construct a ower with 6 pentagonal petals. The angle required by the tool is a number on the drawing area, which has previously been created using the [text and symbols]Numerical Edit tool.
Figure 7.5 The basic pentagon is duplicated by rotation about centre A, through an angle of 60 , to form a 6-petalled ower.

These owers can now be assembled, using translations, to tessellate the plane. This tessellation is type 5 according to the classication given in Tilings and Patterns. It was rst published by K. Reinhardt in 1918. This tessellation is not only monohedral, that is to say that all the tiles are identical within an isometry, but it is also isohedral : all pentagons are surrounded by the same pattern of pentagons in the tessellation.
Figure 7.6 The owers are assembled by translations to cover the plane.

= 90 , Exercise* 13 Construct a pentagon ABCDE with constraints: E +D = 180 , 2B D = 180 , 2C +D = 360 , EA = ED = AB + CD. A Points A and E are independent points of the plane, and point I is free to move on the arc of a circle.

43

D C I

Figure 7.7 A pentagon of type 10, according to the classication in Tilings and Patterns. This pentagon is the basis for a monohedral tessellation of the plane.

B E A

The tessellation is constructed by rst making three copies of the tile, using successive rotations through 90 about E , to obtain a truncated square. These squares are then assembled in strips using translation in one direction. The strips of squares are then separated by strips of pentagons, as shown below.

44

Figure 7.8 A monohedral tessellation of the plane by convex pentagons. This tessellation was created by Richard E. James III, following the publication of an article by Martin Gardner in Scientic American in 1975. The complete article can be found in Time travel and other mathematical bewilderments, Martin Gardner, Freeman 1987.

45

Chapter 8 Tessellations II
This chapter makes reference to the denitions given in the chapter Tessellations I. There are sets of polygons which cannot be used to produce periodic tessellations. The best known of these are the Penrose tessellations, named after the mathematician Roger Penrose1 who discovered them in 1974. These tiles are called Kites and Darts. A coloured motif is drawn on the tiles, and only those assemblies that respect the correspondence of the colours are allowed. This eliminates all the periodic tessellations. These two tiles are quadrilaterals whose angle are multiples of = 36 , and whose sides are of length 1 and (phi), with = (1 + 5)/2. The colour motif shown here was drawn by John Conway2 , and gives astonishing curves that are invariant under rotation through .
Figure 8.1 A Dart tile (left) and a Kite tile (right).
36 216 36

72

72

72 144

72

The Kite and Dart tiles have lengthy constructions, so we shall create a construction macro which enables copies of these tiles to be deposited liberally across the drawing sheet by means of a single click. A (construction) macro corresponds to a sub-section of a diagram. Its denition is based on a set of initial objects, and a set of nal objects which are constructed uniquely from the initial objects. Once the macro has been dened, it is available as a new tool in the [macros] toolbox. To complete the construction, the user has to select a set of objects, of the same type as
1 2

Sir Roger Penrose, 1931John Horton Conway, 1937-

the initial objects, when the tool reproduces the construction stored in the macro, using these selected objects. When the macro is created, it is possible to name it, to design an icon for it, and to save it in a separate le. To use a macro created in one diagram in another, both diagrams are opened, and the macro is available to both. The macro is saved in a diagram le if it is either used or created in that diagram. It is possible to overlay a macro denition, by dening a macro of the same name, and constructing objects of the same type. When the user attempts to save the macro, Cabri Geometry asks whether it should replace the previous macro, or supplement it. If the latter choice is made, either of the macros can be used. For example, a macro can be dened which starts either from two points or from a line segment. We shall dene a macro named Dart 1 L, which starts from two points, A and B , and constructs a Dart tile on AB , to the right of it when looking at B from A, with AB as a short side of the tile (hence the 1 in the name) and an arc, one foot of which is further from A than from B (hence the L for long). In similar fashion we shall dene the macros Dart 1 S (short) whose shape is the same as that of Dart 1 L, but where the foot of the arc is nearer to A than to B . Dart phi L, Dart phi S need to be constructed in the same way, also the four corresponding macros for the Kite. To dene these macros, we must rst construct the tiles, starting from two points. So, let us take any two points, A and B , constructed with the [points]Point tool, which will be used to represent the side of length 1 in the tiles. Next, construct the straight line AB , using [lines]Line, then the perpendicular to AB through A, using [constructions]Perpendicular line, and the circle through B , centre A using [curves]Circle and selecting rst the centre A then the point on the circumference B . Finally, construct the point of intersection C of the perpendicular to AB and the circle. Select the point of intersection above AB , using [points]Point. We must now divide the circle into 10 equal sectors. Construct the point B diametrically opposite to A, centre B , and A diametrically opposite to B , centre A. (Use the [transformations]Symmetry tool; by rst selecting the point to be transformed, then the centre of symmetry.) If A is considered as the origin on line AB , then B is at 1, B at 2, and A at 1. We also need A , the midpoint of AA , using [constructions]Midpoint. A is at 1/2 using the above conventions. Now construct the circle, centre A , which passes through C . This circle cuts the line AB in two points: P to the left of A, and Q to the right of A. P and Q are on AB at and 1 respectively. The perpendiculars to AB , through P and Q cut the circle, centre A, radius AB in four points: the vertices of a regular pentagon, whose fth vertex is at B . Using symmetry, the vertices of the decagon can be completed as shown below. From this, the angle of = 36 and the

47

 length = (1 + 5)/2 are constructed. These dimensions are intimately linked to the regular pentagon.
Figure 8.2 Division of the circle into 10 equal sectors.
C

A'

A''

Q B

B'

Draw the circle, centre A, through P . The radius of this circle is then . Now use [attributes]Hide/Show to hide all those elements of construction which do not appear in the diagram below. The vertices of the regular decagon inscribed in the circle, radius , are labelled R, 1, 2, 3, 4, P, 6, 7, 8, 9.
Figure 8.3 The subdivision into equal segments is transferred to the circle radius , and the obsolete elements of construction are hidden.
4

2 1

P 6 7

Q B 9 8

The construction can be continued by taking note of the following diagram. The line segments linking P to points 2 and 8 are constructed using [lines]Segment, then the two quadrilaterals are drawn with [lines]Polygon. Next, the circles from which the arcs are to be selected are drawn using [curves]Circle, and nally the arcs are drawn using [curves]Arc. An arc of a circle is dened by three points: one extremity, an intermediate point, and the second extremity. The points used to dene the arcs can now be hidden so that they do not appear when the macro is used. The appearance of the arcs and the quadrilaterals can be changed, using [attributes]Thick, and [attributes]Colour.

48

3 4

2 1

Figure 8.4 Construction of the two tiles with their coloured arcs.

P 6 7

B 9 8

We can now create two of the macros. Activate the [macros]Initial Objects tool, and select B then A. The order of selection of objects of the same type is important; they must be selected in the same order when the macro is used. Now activate the [macros]Final Objects tool and select the Dart and its two arcs. Finally the macro is nished by activating [macros]Dene Macro. Name it Dart 1 L. As part of the process of dening a macro, an icon can be designed for the tool. It can also be named, a few lines of text can be entered for the Help window, a name can be given to the rst object created, and the macro can be protected with a password. (Passwords are useful in a class situation; to dene Black Box tools.) Once the macro has been dened, a new tool appears in the [macros] toolbox. We shall test our new macro. Activate the new [macros]Dart 1 L tool, and select two new points: U and V . A new Dart, based on U and V , appears immediately.
Figure 8.5 Application of the macro Dart 1 L to the two new points: U and V .

49

Using the earlier construction, we can dene the macro Kite 1 L similarly. Using these two macros, we can start to construct the Sun tessellation, which has the same symmetry group as the regular pentagon.
Figure 8.6 The start of the Sun tessellation, constructed using our two macros.

Exercise 14 Dene the other six macros listed in the text above and continue the Sun tessellation. Draw the Star tessellation, whose centre is created from ve Dart tiles pointing towards the central vertex. Exercise 15 List the 7 possible congurations of the Penrose tiles around a vertex.

50

Part Three Reference Section

Chapter 9 Objects and Tools

This chapter lists the set of objects manipulated by Cabri Geometry, all the dierent ways of creating them, and their attributes. The attributes and how to change them is given in detail in the chapter Attributes. All the objects can have an associated label. This consists of alphanumeric characters attached to an object, for example, the name of a point. When an object is created, it can immediately be given a name, typed in on the keyboard. The label can be changed subsequently, using the tool [text and symbols]Label.

9.1

Point

The point object is the basis of all shapes. Cabri Geometry manipulates points in a Euclidean plane, with special treatment for points at innity. An independent, movable point can be marked on the plane, using the [points]Point tool and clicking on an empty part of the drawing area. The point can then be moved anywhere in the plane, (using [manipulation]Pointer). A point can be created on a line (segment, line, ray...) or on a curve (circle, circular arc, conic, locus) either implicitly using the tool [points]Point, or explicitly with [points]Point on an object. A point created this way can be moved freely on the object. Finally, one can create a point of intersection of two lines/curves, either implicitly with [points]Point, or explicitly with [points]Intersection points. In the latter case, all the points of intersection of the two objects are constructed simultaneously. The [constructions]Midpoint tool constructs the point which is midway between two existing points, or the midpoint of a line segment or side of a polygon. The [constructions]Measurement transfer tool transfers a length

onto a ray (select the measurement and the ray), a vector (select the measurement and the vector), an axis (select the measurement and the axis), a circle (select the measurement, the circle and a point on the circle), or a polygon (select the measurement and the polygon). In all these cases a new point is constructed. A point can be constructed as the image of a point under a transformation, using one of the tools in the [transformations] toolbox. The object point is selected rst, then the elements that dene the transformation. Inversion is the only tool in [transformations] which is not ane. In Cabri Geometry inversion can only be applied to points. When any other tool is used which requires the selection of a point, this can be done by selecting an existing point, by constructing a point implicitly (on a line or curve), or at the intersection of lines or curves. In this case, the operation is the same as for the [points]Point tool. When a line or ray is being created, the second point can be created on the y as an explicit point by holding down the Alt key until the position for the second point is selected. The attributes of a point are its colour, shape, size, label, picture (optional).

9.2

Line

Cabri Geometry manipulates lines in the Euclidean plane, with the additional possibility of a line of points at innity if the treatment of innity has been activated. The [lines]Line tool is used to create a line through a given point, by selecting rst the point, then clicking anywhere else on the plane. The line can then be made to pivot freely about the point. This tool can also be used to construct a line through two points. The second point can be created on the y by holding down the Alt key. In the case of a line dened by two points; if the two points coincide, the line is undened. The tools [constructions]Perpendicular line and [constructions]Parallel line construct the unique perpendicular/parallel line in a direction (given by a segment, a line, a ray, a side of a polygon, a vector, or an axis), passing through a given point. The [constructions]Perpendicular bisector tool creates the line equidistant from two points, or the perpendicular bisector of a line segment or side of a polygon.

53

The [constructions]Angle bisector tool constructs the line which bisects an angle. By selecting the three points A, B and C , the angle dened by the segments BA and BC is bisected. The second point selected must be the vertex of the angle. A line can be constructed as the image of another line under an ane transformation by using the tools from the [transformations] toolbox. The attributes of a line are its colour, thickness, line style, and label.

9.3

Line Segment

The [lines]Segment tool is used to construct the segment between two points. If the two points coincide, the segment is still dened, but reduced to a point. A line segment can be constructed of another line segment under an ane transformation. The attributes of a segment are its colour, thickness, line style, endpoint style, label, and picture (optional).

9.4

Ray

The [lines]Ray tool is used to create a ray starting from a point. First the point is selected, then any free position of the sheet. The ray will then pivot freely about the point. This tool will also construct a ray starting from a rst point and passing through a second point. Alternatively, the second point can be created on the y by holding down the Alt key. In the case where a ray is dened by two points; if the two points coincide, the ray is undened. A ray can be constructed as the image of another ray under an ane transformation. The attributes of a ray are its colour, thickness, line style, and label.

9.5

Vector

A vector is represented by two endpoints. Consequently, a vector is manipulated as if it is a line segment plus a direction (or sense) indicated by an arrow.

54

The [lines]Vector tool uses two points to construct a vector. If the two points coincide, then the vector that has been dened is the zero vector. The [constructions]Vector sum tool constructs a representation of the resultant of two vectors. The two vectors are selected, then the point where the resultant is to start. A vector can be constructed as the image of another vector under an ane transformation. The attributes of a vector are its colour, thickness, line style, label, and picture (optional).

9.6

Triangle

A triangle is a polygon with three vertices. Triangles and polygons are generated in the same way. Since the triangle is by far and away the most frequently used polygon, a special tool is available for them. The [lines]Triangle tool uses three points to create a triangle. It is possible to have triangles with zero area, or with two or three coincident points. An image triangle can be created of another triangle under an ane transformation. The attributes of a triangle are its colour, thickness, line style, ll colour, label, and picture (optional).

9.7

Polygon

In mathematics, the concept of a polygon can be dened in several ways. In Cabri Geometry, we shall call a polygon the set of n segments P1 P2 , P2 P3 . . . Pn1 Pn , Pn P1 dened by n points (n 3). Hence a Cabri-polygon is, above all, closed. The [lines]Polygon tool constructs a polygon using at least three points. To nish o the construction, the rst point created must be reselected, or the nal point must be created by a double-click. If all the points are collinear, it has zero area and is represented by a line segment. The [lines]Regular polygon is used to construct regular polygons or stars. First select the centre of the polygon, then the rst vertex. The number of sides, and the interval between vertices for a star, can be chosen. 55

In the nal phase of the construction, a pop-up message follows the cursor to display the number of vertices, and the interval between consecutive vertices. For example, 5 indicates a regular pentagon, while 10/3 is a ten-branch star, drawn by linking vertices 1, 4, 7, 10, 3, 6, 9, 2, 5, 8, and 1 of a regular decagon. A polygon can be constructed as the image of another polygon under an ane transformation. The attributes of a polygon are its colour, thickness, line style, ll colour, label, and its picture (optional) in the case of a quadrilateral.

9.8

Circle

The [curves]Circle tool creates a circle anywhere on the drawing area. First select the position of the centre, then a point somewhere else on the sheet. The radius of the circle can then be changed at will. Alternatively, the second point can be created on the y by holding down the Alt key. The [curves]Circle tool also constructs a circle by selecting rst its centre, then a point on the circumference. A circle can be constructed as the image of another circle under an ane transformation. The attributes of a circle are its colour, thickness, line style, ll colour, and its label.

9.9

Circular arc

An arc of a circle is part of the circle which has two extremities, and contains a third point. The [curves]Arc tool constructs an arc using three such points: the rst is an extremity, the second is an internal point, and the third is the other extremity. If the three points are collinear, the arc becomes a line segment or the complement of a line segment (a line with a gap in it), depending on the relative positions of the three points on the line. An arc can be constructed as the image of another arc under an ane transformation. The attributes of an arc are its colour, thickness, line style, ll colour (of the associated segment), and label.

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9.10

Conic

Cabri Geometry enables all proper conics (ellipses, parabolas, hyperbolas) to be manipulated in the Euclidean plane. Degenerate conics, consisting of two intersecting straight lines, are also possible. The [curves]Conic tool constructs a conic through ve points. If four of the points are collinear, or two of the points coincide, no conic is created. In contrast, if only three points are collinear, two intersecting straight lines (a degenerate conic) are constructed. A conic can be constructed as the image of another conic under an ane transformation. The attributes of a conic are its colour, thickness, line style, ll colour, and its label.

9.11

Locus

Dierent types of objects are created by Cabri Geometry under the name locus. In general, a locus represents all those positions which can be assumed by an object A as a point M moves on an object. Normally, the construction of A makes use of the point M . A locus is constructed using [constructions]Locus, rst selecting the object, A, then the variable point, M . Object A can be one of the following types: point, line, ray, segment, vector, circle, arc, or conic. Point M can be a variable point on any type of line or curve, including a locus, or even a free point on a grid. Object A can equally well be a locus, when a set of loci is constructed. In this case, Cabri Geometrys performance can deteriorate signicantly due to the complexity of the diagram, and a warning message is displayed. In the case where A is a line, ray, line segment, vector, or circle, the locus is either the envelope of the lines, rays... or the entire set of the objects, depending on whether or not the box Envelope has been ticked in the Preferences dialog box. (See the chapter on Preferences and Customisation.) Vectors behave in just the same way as line segments for the creation of a locus. The envelope of a set of rays, line segments, or vectors is the same as the envelope of the lines of which they are part, but restricted to those points that they actually pass through.

57

In the case where A is an arc or a conic, the locus is automatically the set of positions taken up by A. The attributes of a locus are its colour, its thickness, its line style, its label, its construction method (envelope or set of positions) and its drawing method (continuous or set of points), the minimum number of positions to be calculated.

9.12

Transformation

Cabri Geometry does not have an explicit object-type which is transformation. Rather, transformations are eected by the tools. Each tool, in applying a transformation to an object requires various elements to dene it (centre, axis, angle...). Cabri Geometry provides the usual ane and Euclidean transformations (enlargement, translation, reection, point symmetry, rotation), as well as inversion. In all cases, the object must be selected, and also the elements which dene the transformation. If the object to be transformed is of the same type as one of the elements that dene the transformation, it has to be selected rst. In other cases, the order of selection is immaterial. For example, for the point symmetry transformation of point M with point C as centre, M is selected rst, then C . For point symmetry of line D with respect to point C , selection can be in either order. The object to undergo a transformation can be a point, any type of line or curve, but not a locus. For inversion, only points can be selected. In this case, a locus can be used to create more complex images. The tool [transformations]Reection applies orthogonal symmetry with respect to an axis. The object for transformation is selected and the line which is to be taken as the axis: line, ray, segment, vector, side of polygon, axis. The tool [transformations]Symmetry applies symmetry with respect to a point (point symmetry or half-turn). The object for transformation is selected and the centre of symmetry (a point). The tool [transformations]Translation applies a translation. The object is selected and the vector which denes the translation. The tool [transformations]Enlargement applies an enlargement. The object to be enlarged is selected, the scale factor (a real number on the drawing area), and the centre of enlargement (a point). The tool [transformations]Rotation applies a rotation. The object to

58

be rotated is selected, the angle of the rotation (a number on the drawing area or an angle mark) and the centre of rotation (a point). Finally, the tool [transformations]Inversion constructs the inverse of a point with respect to a circle. The point for transformation is selected, then the circle which is invariant under the inversion.

9.13

Macro

A macro denition is based on a diagram. Once it has been dened, a macro can be used in just the same way as any other tool, and reproduces the construction process using the initial elements that are selected by the user. For example, a macro can be dened which will construct a square on a given diagonal. To dene the macro, rst construct the square using any line segment as the diagonal, then select the initial objects here the line segment and the nal objects here the square and nally save the macro. This is now a new tool which is in the [macros] toolbox, and which requires the selection of a segment, upon which it constructs the square. The objects which are created as part of the construction method are hidden, and cannot be displayed. To dene a macro, it can be seen that the corresponding construction must already exist. With the construction displayed on-screen, the [macros]Initial objects tool is activated and the initial objects of the construction are selected. For objects of the same type, the order of selection is important, and the same order will be required when the macro is used. For initial objects of dierent types, the order of selection is immaterial. The set of initial objects in the diagram ash or are displayed with marching ants outlines. To add objects to or remove them from the list of initial objects, simply click on them. When the selection of initial objects has been completed, the nal objects must be dened. The [macros]Final objects tool is used, with selection of members of the nal objects set being made in the same way as before. Until the macro is saved, the sets of initial and nal objects are held in memory and can be changed at will. Finally, the macro just has to be dened, using [macros]Dene Macro. Cabri Geometry rst checks that the nal objects can indeed be constructed from the set of initial objects selected. If this is not the case, the macro will not be dened, and an error message is displayed: This macro-construction
is not consistent. Cabri cannot determine all final objects with the given initial objects.

59

If the macro is a consistent entity, a dialog box is displayed, for the user to edit the attributes of the macro. The only item which must be completed is the name of the construction. All other attributes are optional.
Name of the construction. The name of the macro as it will appear in the [macros] toolbox. Name of rst nal object. The name appears to identify the object, as the cursor is moved over the drawing area. For example if the macro constructs the perpendicular bisector of the segment joining two points, the name of the nal object could be This perpendicular bisector. Password. If a password is allocated to the macro, its intermediate construction objects are inaccessible from the History window which displays the macro in text form. (This window is opened with the F10 key.)

An icon for the construction can be created in the other part of the dialog box. Clicking on the Save button enables the macro to be saved in a stand-alone le. The macro is saved both in the diagram where it has been created, and in any diagram where it is used. A macro which is loaded into a diagram is available to all other diagrams that are open simultaneously. If a macro has the same name, and constructs the same type of nal objects as one already dened, Cabri Geometry gives the user the choice of adding the new one to that already existing, or replacing it. If the user decides to add it to the one already existing, Cabri Geometry will choose the appropriate macro to use according to the initial objects selected. For example, if a macro is dened with two points as initial objects, another macro could be added to it which is identical apart from having a segment as the initial object. The standard tools [constructions]Perpendicular bisector and [constructions]Midpoint... have been added to in this way. To use the macro, the corresponding tool in the [macros] toolbox is activated, then the initial objects are selected. When the initial objects have been selected, the construction follows automatically, and the new set of nal objects appears. The objects which are created as part of the construction method are hidden, and cannot be displayed by using the [attributes]Hide/Show tool. When a macro is used, an object can be dened as an implicit argument of the macro by holding down the Alt key when the object is selected. When the macro is used in future, it is no longer necessary to select this object as an argument: it will be selected automatically. If, for example, a macro requires the selection of two points and a circle, and on one occasion two points are selected, and the Alt key is held down while a circle is selected, then in future the macro will only require the selection of two points, the circle being selected automatically. 60

If the attributes of nal objects are not the same as the default attributes when the macro is dened, they will be saved with the macro and applied to those objects which are created when the macro is used.

9.14

Number

A number can be any real number, displayed on the drawing area, and can have an associated unit. Numbers are displayed as dynamic elements within text messages. (See section 9.17, Text.) When a number is created, Cabri Geometry creates a text message whose sole content is the number. The text message can be edited subsequently. The [text and symbols]Numerical Edit tool enables the user to enter the number directly onto the drawing area. The number can then be edited and animated. The up and down arrows to the right of the number, and also animation can be used to modify its value, changing the digit to the left of the cursor position in the edit window. For example, if the number is 30.29 and the cursor is between the 2 and the 9, animation or the use of the arrows will change the value of the number by steps of 0.1. The [measurement]Distance and length tool creates a number representing the distance between: two points, a point and a line, a point and a circle; the length of a segment, a vector, an arc of a circle; the perimeter of a polygon; or the circumference of a circle or ellipse. The resulting value is given in cm as the default unit of measurement. The [measurement]Area tool creates a number to represent the area of a polygon, circle or ellipse. The text message includes a unit of area, the default unit being cm2 . The [measurement]Slope tool measures the gradient of a line, ray, line segment or vector. The value is dimensionless. The [measurement]Angle tool measures the size of an angle. The arguments required are three points: A, O and B in that order, where the sides containing the angle are OA and OB , or a single argument, being the already existing mark of an angle. The [measurement]Calculate tool is used to perform calculations on numbers displayed in the drawing area, the constants pi and infinity, or directly entered real values. The usual operators can be used: x + y , x y , x y , x/y , x, xy , (x). The calculator also recognises the following standard functions: abs(x), sqrt(x), sin(x), cos(x), tan(x), arcsin(x), arccos(x), arctan(x), sinh(x), cosh(x), tanh(x), arcsinh(x), arccosh(x), arctanh(x), ln(x), log (x), exp(x), min(x, y ), max(x, y ), ceil(x), f loor(x), round(x), sign(x), random(x, y ). Some variants of these spellings are recognised: an initial capital letter, asin, sh, ash, argsh... 61

The inverses of functions can be used by combining the inv button with the function button. For example, to use the arcsin function, click on the buttons inv then sin. This extends to inv-sqrt which gives sqr, inv-ln which gives exp (ex ) and inv-log which gives 10x . Apart from the standard operators, for which the syntax is well-known, f loor(x) returns the largest integer less than or equal to x, ceil(x) returns the smallest integer greater than or equal to x, round(x) returns the integer nearest to x whose modulus is also nearest to that of x, sign(x) returns 1, 0 or +1, depending on whether x is negative, zero or positive, and nally, random(x, y ) returns a randomly-generated real number belonging to a uniform distribution over [x, y ]. To ensure that random(x, y ) is updated as the diagram is modied, it is necessary to introduce a parameter from the diagram into one of its arguments, even if this parameter has no eect on the resulting value, for example random(0, 1 + 0 a), where a is a number, dependent on some independent element of the diagram. The = button calculates the result. It can then be placed anywhere on the drawing area, using drag-and-drop directly on the answer or by doubleclicking on = and dragging the result to the desired position. It can be taken as read that this result will be updated as the diagram changes. The [measurement]Apply an Expression tool calculates the value of an expression which is displayed in the drawing area. The user must rst select the expression, and then a number in the drawing area for each variable of the expression. Suppose, for example, that the expression is 3 x + 2 y 1: Cabri Geometry requires a number for x and another for y , when it produces a new number which is the value of the expression, and this can then be placed anywhere in the drawing area. The number can now be selected for use in new calculations. As has been said above, a number displayed on the screen is part of a text message. A number inherits the graphical attributes of the text of which it is part. (See text attributes in the Text section.) In addition to these attributes, there is one attribute specic to a number: the number of signicant gures to be displayed.

9.15

Property

A property is displayed as a text message on the diagram. It is generated in a similar fashion to a number, and is updated as the diagram changes. The text message corresponding to a property can be edited. The tool [properties]Collinear? checks the alignment of three points.

62

The corresponding text message is either The points are collinear, or The points are not collinear. The tool [properties]Parallel? checks whether two directions are parallel. Each direction is dened by a line, ray, segment, vector, side of a polygon, or axis. The text message displayed is either The objects are parallel or The objects are not parallel. The tool [properties]Perpendicular? checks whether two directions are perpendicular. Its use is identical to that of [properties]Parallel? The tool [properties]Equidistant? requires the selection of three points: O, then A and B , and checks whether the distances OA and OB are equal. The text message is These points are equidistant or These points are not equidistant. The tool [properties]Member? requires the selection of a point and another object other than a point, and checks whether the point lies on the object. The text message displayed is either This point lies on the object or This point does not lie on the object. The text relating to a property inherits the attributes of the text message of which it is part. (See text attributes in the Text section.)

9.16

Expression

An expression is a text message displaying a valid calculator expression a function of one or more variables. The names that are allowed for the variables are: a, b . . . z (lower case). The [text and symbols]Expression tool enters a new expression. Expressions are edited as text. The syntax is only checked at the moment the expression is evaluated. (See the previous section on numbers.) The expression can be evaluated for dierent values of its variables, using the [measurement]Apply an Expression tool. This tool requires the selection of an expression, then a number to correspond to each variable. If f (x) is a function of one variable, this tool also enables the user to select the expression, and then an axis, when the graph of y = f (x) will be drawn. The attributes of an expression are: its character font, alignment and the colours of the: background, border and characters.

63

9.17

Text

A text message is a rectangular box in which static characters are entered, as well as dynamic elements. Dynamic elements are updated with the diagram; these are the numbers and properties displayed on the working area. All the text messages on the drawing area can be changed at will. The tools which create numbers and properties construct implicitly a text message which contains the number or the property. If the distance between two points, A and B , is measured, then AB = can be inserted directly in front of the value of the measurement produced. The [text and symbols]Comments tool can be used to create a text message. Once created, dynamic elements such as numbers and properties can be added to it. The [measurement]Equation and Coordinates tool produces a text message which represents the coordinates (of points) or the equation (of other objects) according to the object selected. The object can be a point, a line, a circle, a conic, or a locus. In the case of points, a text message of the type (3.14, 2.07) is displayed. For other objects, its algebraic equation is displayed, according to which of the various preferences has been selected: ax + by + c = 0 or y = ax + b for a line and ax2 + bxy + cy 2 + dx + ey + f = 0 or (x x0 )2 /a2 (y y0 )2 /b2 = 1 for conics. For a locus, the algorithm used to determine its equation is numerical, and produces algebraic functions of degree no greater than 6. For loci whose points are of very dierent magnitudes, numerical errors appear very rapidly as the degree increases. The result produced is to be interpreted with caution. In particular, it may be necessary to restrict the domain of denition of the locus, in order to obtain a correct equation from the algorithm. If, for example, a locus is generated by a point moving on a line, a better result may be obtained by restricting the point to a segment of the line. When several sets of axes are in existence, [measurement]Equation and Coordinates requires the relevant set to be selected. The attributes of a text message are: character font, size and style, its alignment, and the three colours of the background, the border and the text. For equations, there are additional attributes: equation type and the associated coordinate system.

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9.18

Mark angle

The mark of an angle is created with [text and symbols]Mark angle. It requires the selection of three points, A, O and B , in that order and marks the angle between the arms OA and OB , whose vertex is at O. If the angle is a right angle, the shape produced is automatically changed to the standard form. By moving an angle mark, either the angle or its supplementary angle can be marked. The arrow must be dragged past O in order to change from one to the other. Otherwise, dragging the angle mark changes its size. The attributes of an angle mark are: its colour, thickness, line style, mark type, and label.

9.19

Axes

A set of axes consists of a point the origin and two lines which pass through this point, each of them marked one unit away from the origin. The axes are not necessarily perpendicular, but for coordinates of points to be dened they must not coincide. Every diagram has a default origin and set of axes. The origin is initially at the centre of the drawing sheet and the axes are perpendicular with the unit distance being 1cm. The [attributes]Show axes and [attributes]Hide axes tools will show or hide the default axes. The [attributes]New Axes tool creates a new set of axes. It requires the selection of the origin, the point (1, 0) and the point (0, 1). The attributes of a system of axes are: their colour, thickness and line style.

9.20

Grid

The denition of a grid is based on the current system of axes. It represents an innite set of points spread regularly according to the type of reference system selected (either cartesian coordinates or polar coordinates). A grid is created with the [attributes]Dene Grid tool which requires selection of the relevant set of axes.

65

The attributes of a grid are: the colour of its points, and the type of coordinate system chosen (cartesian or polar).

9.21

Tabulate

A table contains numbers extracted from the working area. A diagram can only contain one table. A table is created with [measurement]Tabulate. Initially, the table is empty, and the user selects the numbers to be entered in the rst row. If text has been added in front of the number, this text will be used as the column heading. If the diagram is now changed, the Tab key can be used to enter a new line containing the current values of the numbers in the previous line. If the table is selected before starting an animation, the table will be lled automatically by the animation up to a maximum of 1000 lines. If the table is selected before using the command [Edit]Copy, the contents of the table are copied to the clipboard in text format and can be pasted into any spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel, for analysis of the data.

66

Chapter 10 Investigative Tools

10.1 Trace

The [text and symbols]Trace On/O tool enables the user to select the set of objects which will leave a trace of their movements as the diagram is manipulated. When the tool is active, those objects which will leave a trace are displayed with marching ants outlines. Objects can be added to or removed from this set by selecting them, in the same way as described for other tools of this type (initial objects, nal objects, hidden objects). As the dierent parts of the diagram are moved around, the selected set of objects leaves behind a trace of their position, which enables the user to study the way that they change.

10.2

Fix/Unx

The [text and symbols]Fix/Unx tool is used to x the position of independent (normally movable) points. When this tool is activated, such points are indicated by a small thumbtack. Fixing a point means that not only is this point immovable, but so are all those objects which were used in its construction.

10.3

Redenition

Redenition is a powerful function which enables the user to redene elements whose construction is already been complete. For example, the user could replace one construction method by another, or change the number of degrees of freedom of an object. To redene an object, the [constructions]Redene Object tool is

activated, and the object selected. A menu appears, with the redenition options listed. Depending on the option chosen, one or more objects will have to be selected, or just possibly none.

10.4

Animation

The [text and symbols]Animation tool and the [text and symbols]Multiple Animation tool are used to animate one or more elements of a diagram. Animation consists of launching one or more objects along a trajectory dened by the user. To start a simple animation, activate [text and symbols]Animation, then click on the object to be animated, but hold down the mouse button while moving the cursor slowly away from the object. A small spring appears, which is stretched by the user to x the direction and speed of the animation. The animation is launched when the mouse button is released, and continues while the tool is active. The animation is also stopped when the mouse is clicked in a free part of the diagram. To dene and start a multiple animation, activate the [text and symbols]Multiple Animation tool. A control window appears, in which one can dene or remove springs (top row of buttons), start or stop the animation (bottom left button), and restore the diagram to its initial state (bottom right button). The xed endpoint of a spring is dened by clicking at the appropriate point on the diagram and the direction and speed of the animation are determined by clicking on another point to select the other end of the spring. Multiple animations behave slightly dierently from a simple animation, in that the mouse button is not held down to dene the extension of the spring. The animation parameters for a multiple animation are kept when the tool is no longer active, and when the gure is saved. An option during the save process allows for the animation to start automatically when the diagram is loaded in future.

10.5

Recording the Session

The [Session] menu enables the user to record a session, for example that of a student solving a problem, and then to print it out stage by stage (several stages per page).

68

10.6

History window

The F10 key displays or hides a window which contains a textual description of the diagram. In this window, the full set of steps used in the construction can be seen, in the order used. This window can be used to help with the design and naming of objects. The contents of the window can be copied and pasted into other applications, as a textual description of the diagram. A single click on an object highlights in bold the objects that were used to create it. This window can also be used to help with the design and naming of objects. The contents of the window can be copied and pasted into other applications, as a textual description of the diagram. To create this copy, use the shortcut menu, contextual to the history window. This shortcut menu can also be used to display hidden objects and intermediate objects in macros (possibly after entering a password, if this was a requirement in the macros creation or when the diagram was saved).

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Chapter 11 Attributes
The attributes of an object can generally be accessed in several ways:
using a tool from the [attributes] toolbox to change one specic attribute, using the [attributes]Modify appearance tool, by means of the shortcut menu for the object, which is opened by right-clicking on the object, with the assistance of the attributes toolbar, which is displayed by selecting the menu item [Options]Show attributes or pressing F9, opening the Preferences dialog box to change the default attributes of new objects, or those of selected objects. (See the chapter Preferences and Customisation.)

The default attributes for new objects, which are assigned to them at the time they are created, are dened in the Preferences dialog box. (See the chapter Preferences and Customisation.)

11.1

Colour

For points, this is the colour of the point; for curves it is the colour of the curve; for text messages it is the colour of the border surrounding it. The colour is changed with the [attributes]Colour tool, by selecting a colour from the palette displayed, then clicking on those objects which are to take on that colour. The colour of one or more objects can also be changed by using the from the attributes bar. The object(s) are selected, then the colour. Finally, the colour of an object can be calculated. This can only be done via the shortcut menu, by clicking on the right mouse button and selecting Variable Colour and then Select Red/Green/Blue Parameter. tool

Cabri Geometry then requires a number to be selected from the working area. The correspondence between the intensity i of a colour component (in the interval [0, 1]) and the number x selected from the working area is determined by a sawtooth function of period 2. The function is dened by the identity (i = x) between 0 and 1 and a linearly decreasing function (i = 2 x) to return to 0 over the interval [1, 2]. For example, the number 7.36 corresponds to the same intensity as the numbers 5.36, 3.36, 1.36, -0.64... because the function has periodicity 2. 1.36 is in the interval [1,2] and so the intensity is 2 1.36 = 0.64. Undened colour components are assigned a zero value. Using coordinates (R, G, B ): (0, 0, 0) corresponds to black, (1, 1, 1) is white, (g, g, g ) is a shade of grey, (1, 0, 0) is red, (0, 1, 0) is green, (0, 0, 1) is blue, (1, 1, 0) is yellow, (1, 0, 1) is magenta, and (0, 1, 1) is cyan.

11.2

Fill Colour

This colour applies to circles, arcs, polygons, and text messages. For text it is the background colour of the rectangular box enclosing the text. The ll colour is changed with [attributes]Fill, by selecting the new colour from the palette, then the objects to be coloured. To revert to the original colour, it is just reselected in the same way. The ll colour can also be changed with the tool from the attributes bar, by selecting the object(s) to be coloured, then the colour. The shortcut menu can be used (as in the preceding section) to assign the colour numerically. The default setting is for overlapping objects to mix their colours. An object can be made opaque or transparent, using the shortcut menu. A mixture is created using a logical and, which approaches an additive synthesis of colours. For example, a mixture of yellow with cyan gives green. Opaque objects are displayed in front of transparent objects, in the order in which they were created.

11.3

Text Colour

This is the colour of the characters in a text message. The [attributes]Text colour tool is used to modify the colour of the characters. The colour is selected rst, then the objects to be coloured.

71

The tool from the attributes bar can also be used to colour text. The objects are selected rst, then the colour in the palette.

11.4

Point style and size

The size of points is changed with the [attributes]Thick tool. The corresponding tool is also accessible from the attribute bar. The point style is accessed via [attributes]Modify appearance, and also from the attributes bar.

11.5

Line style and thickness, smart lines

The line style (plain, dashed, dotted) and the thickness (standard, thick, very thick) is accessed via [attributes]Dotted and [attributes]Thick, and also via the corresponding tools on the attributes bar. The display of lines and rays can be limited to the visible window (default setting), or to the region used on the lines and rays (smart lines). In this case, Cabri Geometry decides where to cut o the line according to the position of points marked on it. There are two possible styles for these truncated lines: with or without an arrow accessible from the attributes bar. How much of a line is displayed can be changed at will.

11.6

Characters and alignment

The shortcut menu is used to change the alignment (left, right, centred) within the text box. This menu is also used to change the font, size and style of selected characters in a text box. Each character can have dierent attributes. The [Options]Character... menu can also be used to change the attributes of characters.

11.7

Equations and signicant gures

The precision displayed for a number is dened as a default setting in the preferences. The number of signicant gures displayed can be changed by selecting the number and using the - or + keys. 72

The type and format of an equation can be changed via the shortcut menu, and also in the preferences dialog box.

11.8

Picture/textures attached to objects

Cabri Geometry II Plus allows bitmap images to be linked to points, line segments, triangles, quadrilaterals, and to the background of the window. In the case of a triangle, the picture is sized to t a parallelogram derived from the triangle. In all cases, this function is accessed via the shortcut menu for the appropriate object (right-click on the object while the [manipulation]Pointer tool is active). For the background of a window, right-click in an empty part of it. The menu then enables the user to choose from a default list of images: the screens of the TI-83, TI-89 or TI-92; or by reading a GIF, JPG or BMP le from any directory. Once the image has been attached to an object, it can be removed using the shortcut menu.

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Chapter 12 Preferences and Customisation

12.1 Dialog box for preferences

The dialog box for preferences details the options available for the attributes of new and existing objects, and the settings for the software parameters. It is accessed through the [Options]Preferences menu. This dialog box shows a number of themed tabs which will be described in detail in the following paragraphs. On all the tab sheets, clicking on the button labelled Factory settings will restore the original settings, as shipped from the manufacturer. On the tab sheets which deal with the attributes of objects, there are two tick boxes next to the Apply button, oering the choice of applying the new set of attributes to the current Selection, or to New Objects. A button labelled Save to le can be seen in the lower section of the dialog box which is common to all the tab sheets. Clicking on this saves a new version of a le with the .ini extension, containing all the current preferences. These preferences will be applied when this le is opened with [File]Open. Clicking on the Close button closes the dialog box without making any of the changes selected, and without changing the default settings le. Clicking on OK closes the dialog box after all the changes specied in each tab sheet have been made and, if the Keep as defaults tick box has been ticked, the default settings le has been updated. The following paragraphs detail one by one the various tab sheets in the preferences dialog box.

12.1.1

Loci Options

This tab is for the attributes which are specic to loci. The Number of objects in a locus is the minimum number of positions of the variable object which will be used to draw the locus. In the case of point loci, they can be connected to create a curve, or left as a set of unconnected dots. For the locus of lines, segments, vectors and circles, Cabri Geometry can calculate the envelope of these objects, that is to say the curve which is tangent to all of the objects in the locus, or simply draw the set of objects, depending on whether or not the Envelope box is ticked.

12.1.2

Default Styles

This tab deals with those attributes which are common to text and to graphical objects. For each type of text, a font can be chosen, together with a style, size and colour. Choices can be made for each type of graphical object: colour, line style, line thickness, point style, point size, extremity style, angle mark style. Depending on the type of object, some of the attributes are not relevant, and so are not displayed.

12.1.3

Geometry

The options under this tab control the manner in which the geometrical constructions evolve. By default, Cabri Geometry creates points implicitly during a construction: when a point is selected which has not yet been dened on a curve or at an intersection. Often this will increase considerably the ease of use and the speed of construction of diagrams. However, this behaviour can be turned o. The way that Cabri Geometry manages innity is to draw extensions to the Euclidean plane which serves as the geometric model for the software. If this option is active, the model is extended by a line to innity: two parallel lines will have a point of intersection, a circle can have its centre at innity, etc. Certain constructions which are specically ane, cannot be extended. For example, a segment cannot have one of its extremities at innity, and would not be dened in this case, whatever option has been chosen.

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12.1.4

System options

On this tab sheet, the behaviour of the system and the user interface are managed. If the option Bitmap Copy is activated, the command [Edit]Copy causes a bitmap image of the selection rectangle to be held in the clipboard. If this option has not been activated, the selected objects will be held in the clipboard in vectorial format (Windows Enhanced Metale). For more information on this option, see the chapter Exporting and Printing. If the Disable Undo option is ticked, the possibility of undoing or redoing the last action will not be available in the [Edit] menu. The Tolerance is the distance within which the software searches for elements under the mouse. A larger tolerance facilitates the selection of isolated objects, but is a hindrance in the case of close or overlying objects. The Cursor Font is the character font used to display dynamic text messages which appear alongside the cursor as it is moved, for example Symmetric to this point... The Menu Font is used when the various toolboxes are opened, to display the names of the tools.

12.1.5

Display precision and units

This tab sheet manages the attributes of numbers, obtained when measurements are made on the diagram. For the various types of number (Length, Angle, Other), the number of digits to be displayed after the decimal point is chosen, and the units (for length and angle).

12.1.6

Coordinate system and equations

This tab controls the display style and the system of coordinates to be used for the equations of lines, circles, and conics. In all these cases, Cabri Geometry attempts to obtain integer or rational coecients in the equations. For lines, the user chooses between equations of the type y = ax + b (which possibly becomes x = k ) and ax + by + c = 0. For circles, the choice has to be made between the general equation, x2 + y 2 + ax + by + c = 0, and the equation which shows clearly the coordinates of the centre and the length of the radius, (x x0 )2 + (y y0 )2 = R2 . In this case, if the centre of the circle is at innity, and if innity management 76

has been activated, Cabri Geometry displays an equation of the type y = ax + b and The line at infinity, and the circle is represented by a line. For conics, the choice must be made between the general equation ax2 + bxy + cy 2 + dx + ey + f = 0, and the equation which shows the centre of the conic (x x0 )2 /a2 (y y0 )2 /b2 = 1. In this case, the conic must be one which has a centre (ellipse, hyperbola), and its axes must be parallel to the coordinates axes. If this is not the case, the general form is used. For loci, only the Cartesian system of coordinates is used. If one of the coordinates x or y can be isolated from the equation obtained, the display is given in the form x = f (y ) or y = f (x); otherwise the display is in a general form with the sum of the terms aij xi y j equal to 0.

12.2

Customised toolbars

The user can add their own tools (constructed with macros) to the toolbar, and also move these tools to other toolboxes. It is also possible to remove tools from toolbars. This customisation is useful for extending the features available in Cabri Geometry, and also in class for working on exercises with a restricted number of tools (for example without perpendiculars or parallels). For work in class, the customised toolbar can be protected with a password, preventing students from modifying it. When macros are created, the corresponding tools are added to the [macros] toolbox. The toolbar is changed by selecting [Options]Tool Conguration...; the customisation dialog box then appears. This enables the position of tools to be changed: one click to select the tool, another to put it in position. To remove the tool, it is moved to the recycle bin whose icon appears to the right of the toolbar. Changes to the toolbar are not saved with the diagrams. The toolbar must therefore be saved separately to reuse it in another session. If a password is entered when the toolbar is modied, it will be requested before the toolbar can be changed again.

12.3

Language

The menu item [Options]Language displays a dialog box which opens a le. This dialog box enables a Cabri Geometry language le to be selected,

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extension .cgl, containing the full set of text messages displayed in the software for a given language. The new language is installed immediately without having to restart the software. After installing the new language, Cabri Geometry asks if this language le is to be used routinely when the software is loaded. The set of language les distributed with the software varies between distributors. Cabri Geometry has been translated into most of the languages by mathematics teachers, practising in the countries concerned. You can contact us at support@cabri.com with any questions you may have on the languages available.

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Chapter 13 User Interface

This chapter contains a systematic list of the complete software interface. A complementary presentation from dierent points of view (for example, the set of tools to create points) is given in other chapters.

13.1

Menu Bar

13.1.1 File
[File]New Ctrl+N creates a new diagram consisting of two objects: an origin and a set of perpendicular axes with unit distance one centimetre. These two objects are initially hidden. The new document becomes the active document [File]Open... Ctrl+O displays the standard Windows dialog box for opening les. The les that can be opened by Cabri Geometry II Plus are: a Cabri Geometry or Cabri Geometry II Plus diagram .fig, a macro .mac, a preferences le .ini, a toolbar le .men, a diagram for the TI-92 or TI-83 calculators, or a language le .cgl. [File]Close Ctrl+F4 closes the active document. If the document has been modied since it was last saved, a dialog box appears, which enables the user to conrm Close, Save or Cancel. If the diagram has only been manipulated since it was last saved, the dialog box does not appear. [File]Save Ctrl+S saves the active document. If the document has not been saved previously, it behaves in the same way as [File]Save As... [File]Save As... displays a standard Windows-style dialog box for saving les. Tick-boxes enable dierent save options to be chosen:

Separate picture le. If this box is ticked, only a link to the lenames is saved in the diagram le. In this case, the image les must be available so that the diagram can be opened. If the box is not ticked, the images will be saved in the diagram le.

 Auto-animate gure on open. In the case where a multiple animation has been dened and this box is ticked, the animation will start as soon as the diagram is opened in future. Limit access to macro object. This denies access to intermediate macro objects in the diagrams history window. The password entered here will be required in order to display such objects. [File]Export gure for TI... enables the diagram to be saved in a format which can be read by the versions of Cabri Geometry II which are installed in the Texas Instruments calculators: TI voyage 200, TI-92, TI-92 Plus, TI-89, TI-83 Plus, and TI-83 Plus SE.
[File]Revert... enables the user to return to the previously saved version of the diagram, but losing all the changes that have been made since the last Save. A dialog box is displayed which requires conrmation before executing the command. [File]Show Page... displays a dialog box for the Drawing Window which shows the entire 1m square virtual drawing sheet. The portion of the sheet which is visible on screen can be changed. [File]Page Setup displays a standard Windows dialog box for Page Setup prior to printing. Within it, the choices of margins, size/orientation of paper... are made. [File]Print... Ctrl+P displays the standard Windows print dialog box, which enables the printer to be chosen from the options available. Next, after this has been conrmed, another dialog box appears for choosing the Print Area. In this box, the portion of the 1m square virtual sheet which will be printed is chosen. For printing succeeding diagrams, the initial position of the printed page is that of the most recent print. This dialog box also controls the printing of the date and the diagrams lename. [File]Exit Alt+F4 exits from Cabri Geometry. Cabri Geometry rst closes all les, using the same procedure as [File]Close. The user can choose Cancel to cancel the procedure if wished.

13.1.2 Edit
[Edit]Undo Ctrl+Z cancels the most recent operation carried out. Once the operation has been cancelled, it can be restored with [Edit]Redo. Only the most recent operation can be cancelled. [Edit]Cut Ctrl+X deletes those elements that have been selected and copies them into the clipboard. The copy in the clipboard is always in the internal Cabri Geometry format (see the item below Copy). [Edit]Copy Ctrl+C copies the selected elements into the clipboard. The copy is made in two formats. The rst is in the Cabri Geometry internal format, which enables these elements to be pasted into another

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diagram, or into the same diagram (in this latter case, the copy is slightly displaced from the original). The other format is not produced unless a selection rectangle is active (this is created by click-and-drag in [manipulation]Pointer mode); it is either a bitmap image of the contents of the selection rectangle, or a vectorial image in the Windows Enhanced Metale format (EMF). The choice between these two formats is made in the Preferences dialog box. Refer to the chapter Exporting and Printing for more details.
[Edit]Paste Ctrl+V adds to the diagram those elements which have previously been copied into the clipboard in Cabri Geometry format. [Edit]Clear Del deletes the selected elements. [Edit]Select All Ctrl+A selects all the elements in a diagram. [Edit]Replay Construction displays the dialog box Replay Construction. [Edit]Refresh Drawing Ctrl+F completely redraws the contents of the window. If there were traces present in the window (created with [text and symbols]Trace On/O), these will be erased.

13.1.3 Options
[Options]Show Attributes F9 shows or hides the attribute bar. [Options]Show History Window F10 shows or hides the History window. [Options]Preferences... displays the Preferences dialog box. [Options]Tool Conguration... displays the Tool Conguration dialog box. [Options]Language... displays the standard Windows dialog box from which a language le can be loaded. [Options]Font... displays the standard Windows dialog box for the choice of font, size, colour, and character style for the selected elements.

13.1.4 Window
[Window]Cascade arranges document windows in a cascade down the main window of the application. [Window]Tile Horizontally arranges the document windows one above the other in the main window of the application.

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 [Window]Tile Vertically arranges the document windows alongside one another in the main window of the application. [Window]Close All closes all those documents which are open. A dialog box appears for conrmation of the closure of any document which has been modied since it was last saved.

13.1.5 Session
[Session]Record... F2 asks for an index lename under which to record a session, then saves the dierent stages of the construction in this index, each one under a dierent name, which is the name of the index followed by an integer to indicate its order in the sequence. [Session]Play... F4 displays a dialog box listing the diagram les which have been recorded. One of them can then be selected, enabling the construction procedure to be reviewed. Various buttons allow the user to move forward or back in the sequence. [Session]Print... F5 displays a dialog box in which are listed those diagram les that have been recorded, then requests how many stages are to be printed on each page (1,2,8) before printing the session.

13.1.6 Help
[Help]Help F1 shows or hides the help window. [Help]About Cabri Geometry II Plus... displays the dialog box About Cabri Geometry II Plus.

13.2

Toolbar

The user can completely redene the Toolbar (see the chapter Preferences and Customisation). Here we shall describe the default Cabri Geometry toolbar. The dierent types of object and the tools used to construct them are described in the chapter Objects and Tools. The various object attributes and the tools which are used to change them are described in detail in the chapter Attributes. The information given in these two chapters is more detailed, and presented in a dierent order.

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Figure 13.1 Cabri Geometrys default toolbar, and the names of the various toolboxes.

13.2.1

Manipulation

All the tools in this toolbox enable the user to dene a selection rectangle (with click-and-drag starting from an empty region of the sheet) and to select objects. One click on an object selects just that object. A click in an empty region of the sheet cancels all selections. Shift-click on an object adds or removes the object from the current selection. Shift-click-and-drag denes a square selection area. Those objects which are currently selected are indicated by a marching ants outline. Dragging and dropping an object moves it. Whenever possible, Cabri Geometry allows points to be moved, and also other objects which have been constructed from points which are themselves independent. The [manipulation]Pointer tool enables an object to be moved by translation. The [manipulation]Rotate tool rotates an object about its centre (the denition of the centre depends on the nature of the object). The [manipulation]Dilation tool enlarges an object with respect to its centre. Finally, the [manipulation]Rotate and Dilate tool combines enlargement and rotation.

13.2.2

Points

To create a new independent, movable point on the sheet, use the [points]Point tool. If the implicit points option is activated in preferences (this is the default situation), this tool will also create an independent point on an

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object, or a point at the intersection of two objects. The choice between these is made according to the position of the cursor at the instant of the click. The dynamic text associated with the cursor indicates On this conic/line/... during the creation of a point on an object, and Point at this intersection during the creation of a point at the intersection of two objects. The [points]Point on an object tool creates an independent point on an object. It requires the selection of a point on an existing object. The [points]Intersection Points tool is used to create the set of all points of intersection of two objects (in contrast to the implicit creation of points, which creates one specic point of intersection). It requires the selection of the two objects.

13.2.3

Lines

The tools in this toolbox only construct objects which are portions of lines, hence its name: Lines. The [lines]Line tool constructs a line. It requires that two points be selected, or one point and a direction. In this case, the line is free to turn about the rst point. The direction is given by clicking in an empty zone of the sheet to select the second point. If the Alt key is held down at the instant of selection of the second point, a new point will be created. The [lines]Segment tool constructs a segment. It requires the selection of two points. The [lines]Ray tool constructs a ray emanating from the rst point. Its behaviour is the same as for the [lines]Line tool. The [lines]Vector tool constructs a vector. It requires the selection of two points. The rst point will be the origin of the segment representing the vector. The [lines]Triangle tool constructs the triangle whose vertices are three given points. It requires the selection of the three points. The [lines]Polygon tool constructs a polygon. This is a Cabri-polygon. That is to say a sequence of points closed by a loop. A polygon must have at least three vertices, and the maximum number of vertices is limited internally by Cabri Geometry (actually to 128). The tool requires the selection of the requisite number of points. To complete the construction, the selection of the last point must be with a double click, or the rst point must be clicked for a second time. The [lines]Regular polygon tool constructs a regular polygon, or

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alternatively a star. It requires the selection of the centre of the polygon, and one of the vertices, then the number of sides and branches for stars. This latter selection is carried out by moving the cursor around the centre, a symbol indicating continuously the polygon (while moving in the semicircle to the right of the vertex) or the star (while moving in the semicircle to the left of the vertex) which will be constructed by the nal click. In both cases, the maximum number of vertices is xed at 30. A symbol {n} indicates the construction of a regular convex polygon with n sides; {5} for example represents a regular Pentagon. A symbol {n, p} represents a star with n branches, obtained by taking a vertex every p vertices round a regular polygon of n sides. n and p are coprime, so that the star uses all n vertices. For example, a symbol {10, 3} represents the star which is created by linking vertices 1, 4, 7, 10, 3, 6, 9, 2, 5, and 8 of the regular decagon.

13.2.4

Curves

The [curves]Circle tool constructs a circle, based on its centre and a point on the circumference, or an independent circle with a given centre. The rst point selected is the centre of the circle. It behaves in the same way as [lines]Line. The [curves]Arc tool constructs a circular arc, as dened by three points. The rst and third points are the extremities of the arc. The second point denes the circle of which the arc is part: the circle through the three points, and the part of the circle to be kept: that part which contains this second point. The [curves]Conic tool constructs a conic dened by ve distinct points, of which no more than three are collinear.

13.2.5

Constructions

The [constructions]Perpendicular line (or [constructions]Parallel line) tool constructs a line which is perpendicular (or parallel) to a given line, through a given point. It requires the selection of a point and a direction: line, ray, segment, vector, side of polygon, axis. The [constructions]Midpoint tool constructs the point in the middle of a segment. It requires the selection of two points, or a segment, vector, or the side of a polygon. The [constructions]Perpendicular bisector tool constructs the perpendicular bisector of a segment: the line passing through its midpoint

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and perpendicular to its direction. It requires the selection of two points or a segment, vector, or side of a polygon. The [constructions]Angle bisector tool constructs the bisector of an angle. It requires the selection of three points A, B , and C , which dene the angle ABC with vertex at B . The [constructions]Vector sum tool constructs the lines segment to represent the sum of two vectors. It requires the selection of two vectors, and a point to be the origin of the line segment representing the resultant. The [constructions]Compass tool is used to construct a circle for which the centre and radius are given. If three points, A, B , and I are selected, the tool constructs the circle with centre I and radius AB . If the point I and a line segment are selected, the circle with centre I and radius equal to the length of the segment is constructed. Finally, if a point I is selected and a number r, the circle is constructed with centre I and radius r. The [constructions]Measurement transfer tool is used to transfer a length onto a circle, a polygon, a vector, a ray, a regular polygon or an axis. The tool requires the selection of a number, then a circle and a point on it, a polygon, a ray, a vector or an axis. The tool constructs a point on the object such that the directed part of the objects perimeter between the designated origin and this point has the required measurement. For a polygon, the designated origin is the rst vertex created in dening it. For circles, the designated origin is the point selected on the circle. The [constructions]Locus tool constructs a locus. It requires the selection of an object A and a point M , constrained to move either on A itself or on another object. It constructs the locus of A as M moves. Refer to the description of locus in the chapter Object and Tools for more details. The [constructions]Redene Object tool enables the construction of an existing object to be redened, without having to delete and redo the construction. Objects which are dependent on this object are unaected. Refer to the chapter Investigative Tools for more details.

13.2.6

Transformations

Each of the tools in this toolbox performs a particular transformation. Each requires the selection of the object to be transformed, then the elements that dene the transformation. Transformations are described in detail in the Transformations section in the Objects and tools chapter. The [transformations]Reection tool reects an object in a line. It 86

requires the selection of the object to be transformed and a direction: line, ray, segment, vector, side of a polygon, or axis. The [transformations]Symmetry tool transforms an object by point symmetry. This can also be considered as an enlargement with scale factor 1, or a rotation about a point through an angle . It requires the selection of the object to be transformed and a point. The [transformations]Translation tool applies a translation. It requires the selection of the object to be transformed and a vector. The [transformations]Rotation tool applies a rotation. It requires the selection of the object to be transformed, a point for the centre of rotation, and a number for the angle. The [transformations]Enlargement tool applies an enlargement. It requires the selection of the object to be transformed, a point for the centre of enlargement, and a number for the scale factor. The [transformations]Inverse tool applies an inversion. It can only be applied to points. It requires the selection of the object to be transformed and the circle which is invariant under the inversion.

13.2.7

Macros

A construction macro is that part of a construction which has been saved as a tool, and which can be reused at a later date in the same way as any other Cabri Geometry tool. Macros are described in detail in the Macros section of the Objects and tools chapter. The [macros]Initial objects tool is used to select the set of initial objects to be used in the construction macro, and [macros]Final objects selects the nal objects. The [macros]Dene Macro tool is used to save and name the construction macro.

13.2.8

Properties

The tools in this toolbox produce text messages to indicate whether or not the selected objects possess certain properties. Are they: collinear, perpendicular, parallel, or equidistant, or do they belong to an object? Properties are described in detail in the Properties section in the Objects and tools chapter. 87

The [properties]Collinear? tool checks whether three points are collinear. It requires the selection of the three points. The [properties]Parallel? and [properties]Perpendicular? tools checks whether two directions are parallel/perpendicular. It requires the selection of two directions: lines, rays, segments, vectors, sides of polygons, or axes. The [properties]Collinear? tool checks whether three points are collinear. It requires the selection of the three points. The [properties]Equidistant? tool checks whether the two points, A and B , are an equal distance from point O. It requires the selection of the three points, O, A, and B in that order. The [properties]Member? tool checks whether a point lies on an object. It requires the selection of a point and another object that is not a point.

13.2.9

Measurement

The [measurement]Distance and Length tool measures the length of a segment, the magnitude of a vector, or the distance from a point to a line or a circle, or the distance between two points. It can also be used to measure the perimeter of a polygon, or the circumference of a circle or an ellipse (giving an innite value for other conics). In all these case, it displays a text message in the working area, and the number displayed is given a unit (cm by default). The [measurement]Area tool measures the surface area of a polygon, circle, or ellipse (giving an innite value for other conics). It displays a text message on the screen, containing a number with a unit of area (cm2 by default). The [measurement]Slope tool measures the gradient of a line, ray, segment or vector. It displays a text message on the screen, containing a dimensionless number, which is innite if the direction is vertical. The [measurement]Angle tool measures the size of an angle dened either by three points (the second of which must be at the vertex) or by an angle mark. For an angle dened by three points A, I , B , it gives the unsigned value of the angle between the vectors IA and IB , in the interval [0, ]. The [measurement]Equation and Coordinates tool produces a text message giving the equation of: a line, a circle, a conic, or a locus. The type of equation displayed depends on the choices made in the preferences. If several sets of axes have been dened, one set must be selected.

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The [measurement]Calculate tool opens the Calculator window. The [measurement]Apply an Expression tool evaluates an expression. It requires the selection of the expression, then one or more numbers, depending on how many variables there are in the expression. It displays a text message on the screen, containing the numerical value of the expression for these values of the variables. If the expression is a function of x only, the tool will construct the graph of the function: rst select the expression, then a set of axes. The [measurement]Tabulate tool creates a table of numbers extracted from the diagram, for dierent congurations of the objects. Once the table has been created, the numbers to be entered in the table must be selected. Subsequently, the Tab key can be used to enter a new line containing the current values of the numbers. A diagram can only contain one table.

13.2.10

Text and symbols

The [text and symbols]Label tool is used to enter the name of a object. Any object, with the exception of axes, can be labelled. The name of the object is a text message attached to the object, and can be moved along or around the object. The [text and symbols]Comments tool is used to enter text anywhere on the drawing sheet. Numbers, names... can be included by selecting them. It is also possible to resize the rectangular box containing the text. The [text and symbols]Numerical Edit tool is used to enter a number anywhere on the drawing sheet. The [text and symbols]Expression tool is used to enter an expression anywhere on the drawing sheet. The syntax of the expression is not checked until the moment that it is used by the [measurement]Apply an Expression tool. The [text and symbols]Mark Angle tool draws an angle mark (an arc with a dash) at the vertex of an angle dened by three points. The second point is the vertex of the angle. A special mark is drawn for right angles. The size of an angle mark can be changed easily by click-and-drag. If, during the click-and-drag procedure, the cursor is taken through the vertex of the angle, the mark moves to the angle on the other side of the line segments containing it. The remaining tools in this toolbox are investigative tools, described in the chapter on Investigative Tools. They are the [text and symbols]Fix/Free tool for xing and releasing independent objects, [text and symbols]Trace On/O for selecting those objects which are to leave a trace when the diagram is manipulated, and nally, [text and symbols]89

Animation and [text and symbols]Multiple Animation for animating the various objects in the diagram.

13.2.11

Attributes

The attributes and the tools used to change them are described in more detail in the chapter Attributes. The way in which all these tools change the attributes is the same: the new value of the attribute is chosen, then the objects to be modied are selected one by one. The [attributes]Hide/Show tool is used to select that set of objects in the diagram which are to be hidden. These objects are neither seen on the screen nor printed. This enables the work on complex diagrams to be simplied. The [attributes]Hide/Show Button tool is used to place a button on the drawing sheet which controls the display of a set of objects. With this tool, a new button can be created using drag-and-drop, or by selecting an existing button. In this case, the set of objects which can be hidden when the button is clicked is shown with marching ants outlines and the set can be modied. The [attributes]Colour, [attributes]Text Colour, and [attributes]Fill tools are used to change the colours of lines and text, and the ll colour. A colour is selected from the palette, then the objects whose colour is to be changed. The [attributes]Thick and [attributes]Dotted tools work in the same way to change the thickness of lines or curves and the size of dots as well as the line style. The [attributes]Modify Appearance tool is used to modify other object attributes in the Modify Appearance palette. The [attributes]Show Axes (Hide Axes) tool is used to show or hide the diagrams default axes and origin. The [attributes]New Axes tool is used to create a new system of axes. It requires the selection of a point for the origin, then the points with unit coordinates on each of the axes. The [attributes]Dene Grid tool creates the coordinate grid for a set of axes. It requires the selection of a set of axes.

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13.3

Attributes bar

The attributes bar is displayed vertically to the left of the drawing sheet, and is shown/hidden by [Options]Show Attributes F9. The attributes bar behaves dierently from the Attributes toolbox. When a tool is selected to construct a particular type of object (point, line...) the attributes bar is updated to show the default attributes of this type of object. These can then be modied, and the changes will aect all new objects of this type. For example, if [points]Point is activated, the attributes bar is updated to show the default properties of points (colour, style, size). If blue is then chosen as the drawing colour, all new points created after this will be blue. It is also possible to select objects in the Pointer mode, and then choose a value for an attribute on the attributes bar. This value will then be applied to the selected objects. The rst three buttons , , on the attributes bar relate to drawing colours, ll colours and text colours. The current colour appears on the icon (black here). The buttons are used to increase and reduce the size of characters.

The buttons are used to change the size of points and the thickness of curves and lines. The buttons are used to control the line style (plain, dotted, dashed) of curves and lines. The buttons control the form of points.

The and buttons control the type of mark used to mark angles and line segments. These marks show, for example, that angles are the same size, or that segments are the same length. The buttons determine the endpoint style of smart lines.

Finally, the buttons control the type of coordinate system (linked to a grid): Cartesian, or polar in degrees, radians, or grades.

13.4

Dialog boxes

The standard Windows dialog boxes that are used in this application are not documented here. They relate to: Opening and Saving les, Page Setup, Printing, and Character Format. The Preferences and Tool Conguration dialog boxes are described in the chapter Preferences and Customisation. 91

13.4.1

Drawing window
Figure 13.2 The Drawing window dialog box.

This dialog box shows the full 1m square drawing sheet, and also a rectangle to indicate the visible portion of this sheet, which corresponds to the visible window of the document. The rectangle can be moved in order to change the portion of the sheet which is visible. The OK button conrms this change and quits the dialog box. The Cancel button leaves the dialog box without changing the position of the visible window.

13.4.2

Print Area
Figure 13.3 The Print Area dialog box.

This dialog box appears after the standard Windows Print dialog box. It shows the entire 1m square drawing sheet, with a black rectangle showing the portion of the diagram that will be printed, and a grey border around it to indicate the print margins. This rectangle can be moved freely around the sheet. Between one print session and the next, the position of the rectangle is restored to its central position. Two boxes can be ticked to add the date and the name of the diagram to the page. Printing is started by clicking the OK button, and the Cancel button cancels the operation.

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13.4.3

Replay construction
Figure 13.4 The Replay construction dialog box.

To display this dialog box, select [Edit]Replay construction. From this dialog box all stages of the construction can be seen from the rst to the most recent. If the Show the macro-construction steps box is ticked, then the stages which are internal to the construction macros are also accessible, except for those macros which were protected by a password when they were created. The | button jumps back to the beginning of the construction, the button goes back one step, the button goes on one step, and the | button jumps to the end of the construction. The Cancel button returns the diagram to its most recent state and closes the dialog box. If the OK button is selected when the diagram is in an intermediate state, Cabri Geometry asks if the diagram should be left in that state.

13.4.4

Colour palette
Figure 13.5 The Colour palette.

This window is displayed each time that the user has to choose a colour. The 36 colours are arranged in hexagons according to their hue and lightness, with white in the centre. The three primary colours and their complementary colours are at the vertices of the interior hexagon. Four shades of grey, including black, are below the hexagon. The colours used formerly in Cabri Geometry II are included in this new palette.

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13.4.5

Modify Appearance
Figure 13.6 Modify Appearance dialog box.

This window behaves in the same way as the tools in the Attributes toolbar. It is displayed by selecting the [attributes]Modify Appearance tool. It groups together various attributes: point form, mark type for segments and angles, endpoint style for lines, and coordinate system for grids.

13.4.6

Calculator

Figure 13.7 The Calculator dialog box.

The calculator is displayed by means of the [measurement]Calculate tool. It continues to be displayed until it is closed ( button). The calculator evaluates an expression entered into the display panel. Operators can be entered from the keyboard or by clicking on the dierent calculator buttons. Numbers can be entered from the keyboard, or by selecting them on the working area. The answer is calculated by clicking on the equals button, and can then be moved to the drawing sheet (using drag-and-drop). The set of functions and operators that are available is given in the Number section of the Objects and tools chapter.

13.4.7

About Cabri II Plus

This dialog box is also displayed when the software is loaded. It provides information about the software version, its licence type, and the name and aliation of the user.

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Chapter 14 Exporting and Printing

There are several ways in which a diagram created in Cabri Geometry can be used in other documents, or in published work. To use all or part of a diagram in another Cabri Geometry document, it is sucient merely to select the objects required, possibly select all of them with Ctrl+A, and follow this with [Edit]Copy, and then [Edit]Paste in the other document. To use the diagram in another application, it can be copied into the clipboard in two formats: bitmap or vector. The choice between the two is made in the Preferences dialog box, under the System Options tab. In both cases, a selection rectangle must be dened using click-and-drag in Pointer mode. The contents of the rectangle will be copied to the clipboard. The bitmap format is more suitable for the publication of static diagrams (non-manipulable) on the Internet, and will have a pixelated appearance when printed. The vector format is the enhanced Windows Metale type, and can be copied in vector form into most software. The appearance when printed will be perfect, since it uses the same resolution as the printer. To obtain high resolution bitmaps, or PostScript les, the [File]Print command is used. The page is printed using a PostScript printer driver (for example the generic printer driver of Adobe PostScript) by selecting Print to le and, for example, the Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) option in the driver. In this way one obtains a vector format which is portable (to other operating systems, which is not possible with Windows Metales).

An Encapsulated PostScript version can be converted later into other formats using suitable utilities; Ghostscript (freeware) for example, using whatever resolution one wishes. The textual description of the diagram can be also be copied from the History window using the shortcut menu (right click).