Applications, Distance, and Midpoint

Question

Find the midpoint of the line segment from (2,1) to (5,-3)

Answer 1

To find the midpoint, find the average of the two x-values and find the average of the two y-values:

x_midpoint = (1/2)(x₁ + x₂) = (1/2)(2 + 5) = 3.5

y_midpoint = (1/2)(y₁ + y₂) = (1/2)(1 + -3) = -1

So the midpoint is (3.5, -1)