A broken line drawing is essentially a line that isn't continuous; it's made up of separate segments. It can appear as a series of dashes or as a figure created from line segments meeting at different angles.
Understanding Broken Lines
A broken line, also sometimes called a discontinuous line, differs from a continuous line in that it has gaps or abrupt changes in direction. This can be achieved in several ways:
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Dashes or Dots: The simplest form of a broken line is a series of dashes (---) or dots (...) that create the impression of a line without being fully connected.
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Line Segments at Angles: A more complex broken line can be formed by a sequence of straight line segments joined at various angles, creating a zig-zag or stepped appearance. Imagine drawing a series of connected but distinct straight lines, each at a different inclination to the previous one.
Applications of Broken Lines
Broken lines are used in various fields, including:
- Mathematics and Graphing: To represent discontinuous functions or data sets.
- Technical Drawings: To indicate hidden lines, cutting planes, or center lines in engineering and architectural drawings. For instance, dashed lines often represent parts of an object that are hidden from view.
- Art and Design: To create visual texture, suggest movement, or imply incompleteness. An artist might use a broken line to suggest the edge of an object that fades into the background.
- Maps: To represent certain types of boundaries or features that aren't continuous, like interrupted rivers.
- Data visualization: To show trend lines that only exist across particular intervals, to show statistical uncertainty or to emphasize particular points.
Examples
- A dashed line on a road dividing lanes is a broken line.
- A graph of a function with asymptotes might use broken lines to show where the function is undefined.
- A dotted line showing a suggested route on a map is a broken line.
In conclusion, a broken line drawing is a drawing constructed from discontinuous lines or a series of line segments and it serves specific purposes in various disciplines.
