Your task is to come up with a formula to find the distance between any two horizontal points. Use the applet down below to help you develop the formula. Point B will change the distance, Point A will change the starting point. [br]Hint: Pay attention to the x-values.
What formula did you come up with?
Now your task is to come up with a formula to determine how far apart any two vertical points are. Point A changes your starting point and point B will change the length. [br][br]Hint: Pay attention the the y-values.
What formula did you come up with?
Using the applet below create a right triangle whose hypotenuse is AB. [br][br]Now, use the Pythagorean theorem ([math]a^2+b^2=c^2[/math]), and the two formulas you just developed. Determine a formula for the distance between any two points on the coordinate plane. [br][br]Hint: Distance is the hypotenuse of a right triangle.[br]Hint: Your x-values should be represented with [math]x_1[/math] and [math]x_2[/math].[br]Hint: Your y-values should be represented with [math]y_1[/math] and [math]y_2[/math].
What did you and your partner decide on for the distance formula?
Click check and see how you did! We will be discussing this as a class so write down any questions we have so we can discuss them together.