Angle trisection is a classic problem of compass and straightedge constructions of ancient Greek mathematics.

It concerns construction of an angle equal to one-third of a given arbitrary angle, using only two tools: an unmarked straightedge, and a compass. With such tools, the task of angle trisection is generally impossible, as shown by Pierre Wantzel (1837). Wantzel's proof relies on ideas from the field of Galois theoryin particular, trisection of an angle corresponds to the solution of a certain cubic equation, which is not possible using the given tools. Note that the fact that there is no way to trisect an angle in general with just a compass and a straightedge does not mean that it is impossible to trisect all angles: for example, it is relatively straightforward to trisect a right angle (that is, to construct an angle of measure 30 degrees). It is, however, possible to trisect an arbitrary angle, but using tools other than straightedge and compass. For example, neusis construction, also known to ancient Greeks, involves simultaneous sliding and rotation of a marked straightedge, which can not be achieved with the original tools. Other techniques were developed by mathematicians over centuries. Because it is defined in simple terms, but complex to prove unsolvable, the problem of angle trisection is a frequent subject of pseudomathematical attempts at solution by naive enthusiasts. The "solutions" often involve finding loopholes in the rules, or are simply incorrect. Cube duplication, also called the Delian problem, is one of the geometric problems of antiquity which asks, given the length of an edge of a cube, that a second cube be constructed having double the volume of the first. The only tools allowed for the construction are the classic (unmarked) straightedge and compass. The problem appears in a Greek legend which tells how the Athenians, suffering under a plague, sought guidance from the Oracle at Delos as to how the gods could be appeased and the plague ended. The Oracle advised doubling the size of the altar to the god Apollo. The Athenians therefore built a new alter twice as big as the original in each direction and, like the original, cubical in shape (Wells, 1986, p. 33). However, as the Oracle (notorious for ambiguity and double-speaking in his prophecies) had advised doubling the size (i.e., volume), not linear dimension (i.e., scale), the new altar was actually eight times as big as the old one. As a result, the gods remained unappeased and the plague continued to spread unabated. The reasons for the dissatisfaction of the gods under these circumstances is not entirely clear, especially since eight times the volume of original altar was a factor of four greater than actually requesting. It can therefore only be assumed that Greek gods were unusually ticklish on the subject of "altar"-ations being performed to their exact specifications. Under these restrictions, the problem cannot be solved because the Delian constant (the required ratio of sides of the original cube and that to be constructed) is not a Euclidean number. However, the impossibility of the construction required nearly 2000 years, with the first proof constructed by Descartes in 1637. The problem can be solved, however, using a Neusis construction. Squaring the circle is a problem proposed by ancient geometers. It is the challenge of constructing a square with the same area as a given circle by using only a finite number of steps with compass and straightedge. More abstractly and more precisely, it may be taken to ask whether specified axioms of Euclidean geometry concerning the existence of lines and circles entail the existence of such a square. In 1882, the task was proven to be impossible, as a consequence of the LindemannWeierstrass theorem which proves that pi () is a transcendental, rather than an algebraic irrational number; that is, it is not the root of any polynomial with rational coefficients. It had been known for some decades before then that the construction would be impossible if pi were transcendental, but pi was not proven transcendental until 1882. Approximate squaring to any given non-perfect accuracy, in contrast, is possible in a finite number of steps, since there are rational numbers arbitrarily close to pi. The expression "squaring the circle" is sometimes used as a metaphor for trying to do the impossible.[1] The term quadrature of the circle is sometimes used synonymously, or may refer to approximate or numerical methods for finding the area of a circle.