Find the length of segment PQ (-3,7) P (-8,1) Q

Answer 1

Hi Arie!

There are a few ways to solve this problem. One is above by Patrick.

Being a visual and tactile learner, I would graph points P and Q and then connect them. This will give you a diagonal line. We can make this diagonal line into the hypotenuse of a right triangle where the two legs are the change in X and the change in Y.

All points are written in the form (x, y)

To find the change in X you would calculate ( -3 - (-8))= 5

To find the change in Y you would calculate (7-1)= 6

Now that you have the length of the 2 legs, you just need the length of the hypotenuse. To do this we use the formula a² +b² = c²

so 5²+ 6² = (PQ)²

25 + 36 = (PQ)²

61 =(PQ)²

Now to get PQ you take the square root of both sides.

sqrt (61) = sqrt (PQ²)= PQ

7.81 = PQ

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

sqrt ( (-3 - - 8)^2 + (7-1)^2)

= sqrt( ( 5^2 + 6^2)

= sqrt( 25 + 36)

= sqrt(61)