What is the distance between the points (2, 1) and (14, 6) on a coordinate plane?

Question

Geometry help please...

Answer 1

Hi Selena,

 

I would think about this in a visual way.  When you have 2 points you can make a right triangle where the distance between the points is the hypotenuse of that triangle.  

 

the difference in the x coordinates of these points is 14-2=12, so 12 will be the length of the triangle in the x direction.  Next the difference in y coordinates is 6-1=5, so 5 is the height of the right triangle in the y direction.

 

Now all you are left to do is find the hypotenuse of this triangle which has sides of 12 and 5.

 

a²+b²=c²

where a=12 and b=5, now solve for c

 

I hope this helps!