Answer:
Explanation:
The midpoint of a line segment with endpoints (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) is:((x1 + x2)/2, (y1 + y2)/2)Substituting the coordinates of points P and Q into the formula, we get:((2 + (-7))/2, (4 + (-2))/2) = (-2.5, 1)The coordinates of the midpoint of segment PQ are (-2.5, 1).To verify that this point is on the line through P and Q, we can find the slope of the line using the coordinates of points P and Q:slope = (y2 - y1)/(x2 - x1) = (-2 - 4)/(-7 - 2) = -6/-9 = 2/3We can then use the point-slope form of a linear equation to write the equation of the line through points P and Q:y - y1 = m(x - x1)
y - 4 = (2/3)(x - 2)We can substitute the coordinates of the midpoint (-2.5, 1) into this equation to see if it is a solution:1 - 4 = (2/3)(-2.5 - 2)
-3 = -10/3The equation is true, so the midpoint (-2.5, 1) is on the line through points P and Q.To show that this point is just as far from P as it is from Q, we can use the distance formula to find the distance from the midpoint to points P and Q:distance = √((x2 - x1)^2 + (y2 - y1)^2)distance from (-2.5, 1) to (2, 4) = √((2 - (-2.5))^2 + (4 - 1)^2) = √(4.5^2 + 3^2) = √(20.25 + 9) = √(29.25) = 5.4distance from (-2.5, 1) to (-7, -2) = √((-7 - (-2.5))^2 + (-2 - 1)^2) = √(4.5^2 + 3^2) = √(20.25 + 9) = √(29.25) = 5.4. Since the distance from the midpoint to points P and Q is the same, the midpoint is just as far from P as it is from Q.