Lesson #9: Distance on Coordinate Planes

In this lesson you will learn...

• How to find the distance between points on a coordinate plane

Notes: Important Information to Know Before Beginning the Lesson

• Finding the DIFFRENECE between numbers means subtracting the smallest from the biggest value
• The square root of a number is a number that you can square to get the number inside the sqaure root symbol

                EXAMPLE: The sqaure root of 64 is 8, because 8 squared is 64    

Process: Find the distance between two segments; or length of a segment

To find the distance bewteen these two points you need to follow the following steps.....

1.) Find the difference between the values of the x-coordinate of each point

            The difference between 3 and -6 is 9

2.) Find the difference between the values of the y-coordinate of each point

            The difference bewteen 7 and -4 is 11

3.) Square each of the results and then add them

            9² = 81;  11² = 121

            81 + 121 = 202

4.) Find the sqaure root of the sum (you can use a calculator and round to the hundreths place)

            √202 = 14.21

This method can also be used to measure the distance of segmentson a coordinate plane

1.) Find the difference between the values of the x-coordinate of each point

            The difference between 4 and -2 is 6

2.) Find the difference between the values of the y-coordinate of each point

            The difference bewteen 3 and 1 is 2

3.) Square each of the results and then add them

            6² = 36;  2² = 4

            36 + 4 = 40

4.) Find the sqaure root of the sum (you can use a calculator and round to the hundreths place)

            √40 = 6.32