Question

The midpoint of segment AB has coordinates (4, -9) Endpoint A has coordinates ( -3, -5)

a) What are the coordinates of point B ?
b) Explain in words how you get to the answer.

Answer 1

The coordinates of point B are (0.5, -7). We find these coordinates by taking the average of the x-coordinates and the average of the y-coordinates of the endpoints. This is because the midpoint of a segment is equidistant from its endpoints.

Step-by-step explanation:

a) To find the coordinates of point B, we can use the midpoint formula. The midpoint formula states that the x-coordinate of the midpoint is the average of the x-coordinates of the endpoints, and the y-coordinate of the midpoint is the average of the y-coordinates of the endpoints. In this case, the x-coordinate of point B is:

(-3 + 4)/2 = 1/2 = 0.5

The y-coordinate of point B is:

(-5 + -9)/2 = -14/2 = -7

Therefore, the coordinates of point B are (0.5, -7).

b) To find the coordinates of point B, we took the average of the x-coordinates (-3 and 4) and the average of the y-coordinates (-5 and -9). This is because the midpoint of a segment is equidistant from its endpoints, so the coordinates of the midpoint should be the average of the coordinates of the endpoints.