A geometric construction is a construction of a geometric figure using only straightedge and compass, as originally studied by the ancient Greeks.
In antiquity, geometric constructions of figures and lengths were restricted to the use of only a straightedge and compass (or in Plato's case, a compass only; a technique now called a Mascheroni construction). Although the term "ruler" is sometimes used instead of "straightedge, " the Greek prescription prohibited markings that could be used to make measurements. Furthermore, the "compass" could not even be used to mark off distances by setting it and then "walking" it along, so the compass had to be considered to automatically collapse when not in the process of drawing a circle.
angle trisection | circle squaring | compass | constructible number | constructible polygon | cube duplication | elements | Fermat prime | geometric problems of antiquity | geometrography | Kochanski's approximation | Mascheroni construction | matchstick construction | Napoleon's problem | neusis construction | plane geometry | polygon | Poncelet-Steiner theorem | rectification | simplicity | Steiner construction | straightedge
elementary school level (California grade 5 standard)
