Distance between points (4, 4) and (20, 4)

[runlemmingsrun]

My question is:

The distance between the points (4,4) and (20,4).

Thanks

 

[royhaas]

Use the distance formula.

 

[Mrspi]

My question is:

The distance between the points (4,4) and (20,4).

Thanks

You can always use the distance formula for finding the distance between (x<SUB>1</SUB>, y<SUB>1</SUB>) and (x<SUB>2</SUB>, y<SUB>2</SUB>):

d = √ [ (x<SUB>2</SUB> - x<SUB>1</SUB>)<SUP>2</SUP> + (y<SUB>2</SUB> - y<SUB>1</SUB>)<SUP>2</SUP> ]

However, in the special cases where the two points lie on the same horizontal line (like your problem) or the same vertical line, you can find the distance between them very easily.

If the two points have the same y-coordinate, then the distance between them is the absolute value of the difference of the x-coordinates. That is, subtract the x-coordinates, and take the absolute value if neccessary to assure that the distance is positive.

If the two points have the same x-coordinate (which would indicate that they lie on a vertical line), then the distance between them is the absolute value of the difference of the y-coordinates.

I hope this helps you.