Take the coordinates of two points you want to find the distance between. Call one point Point 1 (x1,y1) and make the other Point 2 (x2,y2). It does not terribly matter which point is which, as long as you keep the labels (1 and 2) consistent throughout the problem.[1] x1 is the horizontal coordinate (along the x axis) of Point 1, and x2 is the horizontal coordinate of Point 2. y1 is the vertical coordinate (along the y axis) of Point 1, and y2 is the vertical coordinate of Point 2. For an example, take the points (3,2) and (7,8). If (3,2) is (x1,y1), then (7,8) is (x2,y2).