MODERN

GEOMETRY
SACCHERI QUADRILATERAL
A Saccheri quadrilateral is a quadrilateral with the following properties:
has two adjacent right angles
the line joining the vertices is called the
baseopposite the base is called summit
the side
and the two other sides are congruent

A summit B

C base D
 THEOREM 4.8:
In a Saccheri Quadrilateral,
the segment joining the
midpoints of the summit and
the base is perpendicular to
both, and the summit length
is greater than the base
length.
PROOF
NTS:
I ) The segment joining the
midpoints of the summit and the
base is perpendicular to both,

II ) The summit length is greater

than the base length.
 PART I :
and DC is the summit.
Consider Saccheri quadrilateral where AB
is the
Let base
M and N be the midpoint of AB and DC respectively.
AD
Then CN, BC,
and by Theorem 4.7 D= C.
DN
So by SAS BCN.
congruence, ADN
This means that AN BN.

D N C

A M B
 Also AM BM and MN MN so by SSS congruence AMN BM
It follows that AMN =
BMN
But AMN
and BMN are supplementary angles!
Hence they must be right angles.

D N C

A
M B
 Then by using analogous way of proof
with DMN and CMN, we can show that
MN is perpendicular to DC.

Thus, MN is perpendicular to AB.

D N C

A
B
Therefore, the segment joining the midpoints of
the summit and the base is perpendicular to both.
 PART II :

To prove (b), we
will be needing
another theorem
in Hyperbolic
Geometry.
 THEOREM
In a quadrilateral with a base,
if the arms relative to the base
are unequal, so are the
summit angles, and
conversely, the greater
summit angle always lie
opposite the greater arm.
 ILLUSTRATION:
A B

D C

IfIf
B =
A> D then
C, = 90,DC > AB.
then AD is a base.
Cand
IfAB > DC
B,are
then
theAB
arms
> DC.
relative to AD.
 N
PROOF OF (b): D C

B
A M

Let ABCD be a Saccheri quadrilateral,

AB as the base and DC as the summit.
We let M and N be the midpoints of
AB and DC respectively.
Then MN AB and MN DC by (a).
 N
D C
Consider quadrilateral
AMND with MN as base so
DN and AM are the arms
A
relative to MN.
B
M

We know that A = 90 and by

Theorem 4.7 D is acute so A >
D.
Then by Theorem 2, DN > AM.
Similarly, for quadrilateral BMNC, we
have NC > MB.
 D N C

A B
M
Thus, by combining the inequalities DN
> AM and NC > MB we have:
DN + NC > AM + MB
DC > AB
Hence the summit is longer than the base.
Therefore, in a Saccheri
Quadrilateral, the segment
joining the midpoints of the
summit and the base is
perpendicular to both, and
the summit length is greater
than the base
QEDlength.