Question

Tell how to choose the sign of the radical in the denominator of the formula for the distance from a point to a line.

Answer 1

We choose the sign of the denominator to be the same as the sign of the numerator.

Explanation:

Having an equation of a line of the form: ax + by + c = 0.

Suppose we know the coordinates of the point, then the formula for the distance from a point to a line is given as:

D = |ax1 + by1 + c|/√(a² + b²)

The denominator √(a² + b²) takes either a positive or negative value. This is because the square of a positive or negative value are the same. a² = (-a)²

Now, we choose the sign of the radical in the denominator by considering the sign we have in the numerator. As distance is only reasonable to be positive, if the numerator is negative, we choose the negative sign for the denominator. If the numerator is positive, we choose the positive sign for the denominator.

Explanation:

the same as user above lol

correct on EDGE2021

Answer 2

We choose the sign of the denominator to be the same as the sign of the numerator.

Explanation:

Having an equation of a line of the form: ax + by + c = 0.

Suppose we know the coordinates of the point, then the formula for the distance from a point to a line is given as:

D = |ax1 + by1 + c|/√(a² + b²)

The denominator √(a² + b²) takes either a positive or negative value. This is because the square of a positive or negative value are the same. a² = (-a)²

Now, we choose the sign of the radical in the denominator by considering the sign we have in the numerator. As distance is only reasonable to be positive, if the numerator is negative, we choose the negative sign for the denominator. If the numerator is positive, we choose the positive sign for the denominator.