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11 votes
11 votes
Find the distance between the two points rounding to the nearest tenth (if necessary).

(0,-6) and (9,-1)

User JKC
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2.7k points

1 Answer

24 votes
24 votes

Hey there! I'm happy to help!

Imagine the line that is created when you connect the two points (the distance between the two points).

You can create a right triangle where this distance is the hypotenuse where the two legs are the change in x and y. So, if you take those changes in x and y, you can use the Pythagorean Theorem (a²+b²=c²) to find the distance between the two points, which is the hypotenuse.

Our change in x is 9 because 9-0 is 9.

We square it

9²=81

Our change in y is 5 as -1-(-6) or -1+6 is 5.

5²=25

We add these.

81+25=106

We square root and round to the nearest tenth.

√106≈10.3

So, our distance is 10.3.

This Pythagorean Theorem method actually gives us a formula called the distance formula that you can use to find the distance between points.


\sqrt{(x_(2) -x_(1))^2+(y_(2)-y_(1))^2}

Have a wonderful day and keep on learning! :D

User Sherill
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2.6k points