|
|
similar| Of plane or solid figures, having the same shape but a different size or orientation. Two similar figures will have the same corresponding angles, and the ratio of the lengths of their corresponding sides or edges will be constant. They are, therefore, identical shapes but different sizes. Similar figures may be produced by enlargement. |
| For example, triangles ABC and DEF are similar triangles: |
| The ratio of the areas of similar plane shapes is equal to the square of the ratio of their corresponding sides. For example, a rectangle of length 8 cm and height 6 cm and a larger rectangle of length 12 cm and height 9 cm have equal ratios of length (8:12 or 1:1.5) and equal ratios of height (6:9 or 1:1.5), while the ratio of the areas of the two rectangles is 48:108, which can be reduced to 1:2.25 or 1:(1.5)2. |
| Similarity can apply to any two-dimensional (2D) shapes if their corresponding angles are the same. |
How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
?Sign in  |
|---|
|
|
|
| Mentioned in | ? | | References in classic literature | ? |
|
Hutchinson browser | ? |
|
Full browser | ? |
|---|
| Thus in the music of the flute and of the lyre, 'harmony' and rhythm alone are employed; also in other arts, such as that of the shepherd's pipe, which are essentially similar to these. With equal pleasure I have as often taken notice that Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people -- a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs, and who, by their joint counsels, arms, and efforts, fighting side by side throughout a long and bloody war, have nobly established general liberty and independence. As you know I have long possessed the power to cross the void in spirit, but never before have I been able to impart to inanimate things a similar power. |
|
|