Question

PLeases help me...find the distance (P1,P2) between the points P1=(-4,5); P2=(5,1)

Answer 1

The distance formula for points \((x_1,y_1)\) and \((x_2,y_2)\) is\[d=\sqrt{(x_2-x_1)^2+(y_2-y_1)^2}\]

If you draw a diagram, you'll see that you're just using the Pythagorean theorem to find the hypotenuse of the triangle...

Answer 2

Usually the only tricky part is if the points in question cause you to do things like subtracting a negative number, such as 5-(-4)...