Lesson plan
Flat (geometry)
In geometry, a flat is an affine subspace, i.e. a subset of an affine space that is itself an affine space. Particularly, in the case the parent space is Euclidean, a flat is a Euclidean subspace which inherits the notion of distance from its parent space. In an -dimensional space, there are -flats of every dimension from 0 to ; flats one dimension lower than the parent space, -flats, are called hyperplanes. The flats in a plane (two-dimensional space) are points, lines, and the plane itself; the flats in three-dimensional space are points, lines, planes, and the space itself. The definition of flat excludes non-straight curves and non-planar surfaces, which are subspaces having different notions of distance: arc length and geodesic length, respectively. Flats occur in linear algebra, as geometric realizations of solution sets of systems of linear equations. A flat is a manifold and an algebraic variety, and is sometimes called a linear manifold or linear variety to distinguish it from other manifolds or varieties.
Article summary
In geometry, a flat is an affine subspace, i.e. a subset of an affine space that is itself an affine space. Particularly, in the case the parent space is Euclidean, a flat is a Euclidean subspace which inherits the notion of distance from its parent space. In an -dimensional space, there are -flats of every dimension from 0 to ; flats one dimension lower than the parent space, -flats, are called hyperplanes. The flats in a plane (two-dimensional space) are points, lines, and the plane itself; the flats in three-dimensional space are points, lines, planes, and the space itself. The definition of flat excludes non-straight curves and non-planar surfaces, which are subspaces having different notions of distance: arc length and geodesic length, respectively. Flats occur in linear algebra, as geometric realizations of solution sets of systems of linear equations. A flat is a manifold and an algebraic variety, and is sometimes called a linear manifold or linear variety to distinguish it from other manifolds or varieties.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.