How do you find the distance between two points? - Answers

For two coordinates points (x1, y1) and x2, y2), you can find the straight line distance using the Pythagorean theorem.The vertical difference (y1-y2) forms one side of the triangle, and the horizontal difference is the other (x2-x1). The hypotenuse is the straight distance along the line, and is defined by :h = square root of (a2 plus b2) = square root of [ (y2-y1)2 + (x2-x1)2 ]---EXAMPLE :For points (1, 3) and (4, 7), the distance along y is (7-3) and along x is (4-1) andsquare root [ 42 + 32 ] = sq rt [9 + 16] = sq rt [25] = 5.Measuring the distance along the line would verify that the distance is 5.