How to use the distance formula to find distances between 2 points.
The distance formula can be obtained by creating a triangle and using the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the hypotenuse. The hypotenuse of the triangle will be the distance between the 2 points.
Suppose you are given the 2 points [–2 , 1] and [1, 5], and they want you to know how far apart they are. The points look like this:
You could draw in the lines that form a right angled triangle, using these points as 2 of the corners:
It isn't difficult to find out the lengths of the horizontal and vertical lines of the right triangle: just subtract the x- values and the y- values:
Then use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the third side (which is the hypoteneuse of the right triangle)
c^2 = a^2 + b^2
And here you are, now you know how to use distance formula to find distances between 2 points!
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