Different Types of Lines in Math (2024)

Table of Contents

January 25, 2021

A line haslengthbut nowidth. A line is a type ofgeometricfigure that can move in both directions. A line is made up of anendlessnumber ofpoints. It is infinite and has no ends on both sides. A line is one dimentional.

In geometry, the notion oflineorstraight linewas introduced by ancient mathematicians to represent straight objects having negligible width and depth. It is often described in terms of two points.

A line in the plane is often defined as the set of points whose coordinates satisfy a givenlinear equation in the concept of analytic geometry whereas,a line may be an independent object, distinct from the set of points which lie on it in the concept of incidence geometry.

Also read:

• How to Find the Measure of an Angle?
• What are Quadrilaterals? Different types, Formulae, and Properties
• 3D Shapes in Real Life

Downloadable PDF

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Types of Lines

There are different types of lines used in Geometry. Lines are the foundation of the Geometry.Basically, there are two types of lines:

1. Straight line 2. Curved line

Straight lines are further classified into Horizontal lines (Sleeping lines), Vertical lines (Sleeping lines) and Oblique lines (Slanting lines). The equation of straight line is\(ax+b=0\).

1. Horizontal line

Definition: A line that is parallel to x-axis is called as horizontal line. Ahorizontal line proceeds parallel to the x-axis. Thisline does not touch any point on the X-axis.
Examples of horizontal lines

The red and white stripes in the flag are one of the examples for horizontal lines. Other popular examples include steps on the staircase, planks on the railway tracks.

2. Vertical line

Definition: A line that is parallel to y -axis is called as vertical line. Itgoes straight up and down, parallel to the y-axis of the coordinate plane.

Examples of vertical lines

The steel rails in a fence are an example of vertical lines. Even, a row of tall trees on a highway, Electric poles placed on the roads are examples of vertical lines.

Other Types of Lines

When two or more lines are used together, they form different types of lines like parallel lines, perpendicular lines, and transversal lines as shown below.

3. Parallel lines

When two lines that run together separated by the same distance and do not meet are known as parallel lines, irrespective of the length of the lines. Curves that do nottoucheach other or intersect and keep a fixed minimum distance are said to be parallel.Two straight lines in a plane that do notintersectat any point are said to be parallel.

The symbol||is used to represent parallel lines.

Real-Life Examples of Parallel Lines

Railway tracks are the best example to show the parallel lines.

Walls of buildings, Stack of identical notebooks, collection of same-sized papers are all parallel to each item in the collection when arranged uniformly.

4. Intersecting lines

Two non-parallel lines may meet at a point and those lines are calledintersecting lines.Intersecting linesare twolinesthat share exactly one point. This shared point is called the point of intersection.

Real-Life Examples of Intersecting Lines

Scissors, the two blades of the scissors intersect at each other to make it work effectively.

These signboards on the roads are one of the best examples to show the intersection of lines.

5. Perpendicular lines

Alineis said to beperpendicularto anotherlineif the twolinesintersect at a right angle. Perpendicular lines are denoted by the symbol of (⊥).Thisproperty of beingperpendicularis the relationship between twolineswhich meet at a right angle (90 degrees).

Real-Life Examples of Perpendicular Lines

Clocks are the best examples to show perpendicular lines at 3 O clock and 9 O clock.

Set squares, blackboards are alsoone of the real-life examples of perpendicular lines. Television sets, bookshelves, and on the globe, where lines of latitude and longitude intersect are all examples of perpendicular lines.

6. Transversal line

The Transversal line is a straight line that cuts two or more lines which may or may not be parallel. Atransversal line passes through twolinesin the same plane at two distinct points in the concept of geometry. Transversals play a role in establishing whether two otherlinesin the Euclidean plane are parallel.

Real-Life Examples of Transversal Line

These are some of the examples of the transversal lines in our daily life, the antenna, stair railings.

Apart from these, there are few more types of lines, about which the kids can explore such as skew lines, coplanar lines, concurrent lines, etc.

Conclusion

So, the line can be defined as a straight one-dimensional figure that has no thickness and extends endlessly in both directions.

Lines are one of the important aspects and introduction to Geometry. With the types of lines introduced in this blog, kids will be able to apply their ideas to real life and explore their thoughts.