Question

Can someone help me understand the distance formula?

Answer 1

It helps you find the distance between two points.

Answer 2

Go to http://www.purplemath.com/modules/distform.htm

Answer 3

It's pretty simple, and it's derived from the Pythagorean theorem.

Answer 4

Here you have points A and B.
The coordinates of point A are \((x_1, y_1) \).
The coordinates of point B are \((x_2, y_2) \).
Ok so far?

Answer 5

We want to find the distance between points A and B.

That is the length of the segment between points A and B in the figure below.