Page 2 - CH - 2 - LN 2.1

Line Segment

Imagine folding a piece of paper and then unfolding it. You will see a crease where the fold was
made. This crease is like a line segment. A line segment has two endpoints, which can be marked as
A and B. To understand this better, mark two points, A and B, on a piece of paper. Try connecting A to
B using different routes.

Now, think about which route is the shortest. The shortest path between A and B is what we call a
line segment. This line segment includes both points A and B and is written as . The points
A and B are known as the endpoints of the line segment. The points at each end of the segment are
called the endpoints.

Line
A line is like a line segment but extends infinitely in both directions. Imagine taking the line segment
from A to B and extending it endlessly in both directions beyond A and B. This extended version is
what we call a line.

A line has no endpoints and goes on forever in both directions. That’s why you can never draw a
complete picture of a line—it’s infinite!

A line goes on forever in both directions, like an endless road. A line segment, however, is like a piece
of that road—it has a clear starting and ending point.

Question: Which of the following best describes a line segment?

1. A line with no endpoints