Concept Notes Page - Distance Formula
Distance
1. Upon what theorem is the distance formula based?
2. State the theorem using delta.
3. What is a radicand?
4. If you have a vertical or a horizontal line, is the distance formula necessary? If not, how do you solve those?
5. What are the two most common mistakes students make when using distance formula?
Worked Example (work this example from video using the steps):
Steps: Example: (5, -3) (14, 9)
1. Find the distance between x1 and x2.
2. Square the value.
3. Find the distance between y1 and y2.
4. Square the value.
5. Add the two squares together.
6. (Remember, that sum is a radicand.)
7. Simplify.
8. If the question asks for the exact answer,
leave in radical form. Otherwise, round to
the value stated (hundredth).
Summarize the steps you use to solve the distance of two points (or the length of a segment) on a grid.
Practice Problems
Find the exact distance between each pair of points.
1) (3, 1) (-3, -2) 3) (-4, 1) (-5, 8)
2) (0, 5) (-8, 7) 4) (-7, -3) (7, 8)
5) 6)
7) 8)
Find the length of the segment. Round the value to the nearest tenth.
9) 10)