All about flooble | fun stuff | Get a free chatterbox | Free JavaScript | Avatars    
perplexus dot info

Home > Shapes > Geometry
All or Exactly Two (Posted on 2011-03-27) Difficulty: 3 of 5
If a finite set of n>2 points in the plane are not all on one line, then prove that there exists a line through exactly two of the points.

See The Solution Submitted by Bractals    
Rating: 4.0000 (1 votes)

Comments: ( Back to comment list | You must be logged in to post comments.)
Some Thoughts Planely true | Comment 1 of 5
Wow!  This is harder to prove than I would have expected.  Or at least, I don't yet have the key insight that proves it for any finite n. 

I do notice that this does not appear to be true in spherical geometry.  For instance, place 4 points equally spaced around the equator, and one at the North and South Pole.  They are not all on a single line (ie, great circle), but there is no line (ie, great circle) that goes through exactly two of them. 

  Posted by Steve Herman on 2011-03-27 21:38:30
Please log in:
Login:
Password:
Remember me:
Sign up! | Forgot password


Search:
Search body:
Forums (0)
Newest Problems
Random Problem
FAQ | About This Site
Site Statistics
New Comments (3)
Unsolved Problems
Top Rated Problems
This month's top
Most Commented On

Chatterbox:
Copyright © 2002 - 2024 by Animus Pactum Consulting. All rights reserved. Privacy Information