Let's find the distance between two points.
8
7 units apart
7
(-6,4)
6
5
4
3
2
1
(1,4)
So the distance from
(-6,4) to (1,4) is 7.
-7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
If the points are located horizontally from each other,
the y coordinates will be the same. You can look to
see how far apart the x coordinates are.
What coordinate will be the same if the points
are located vertically from each other?
(-6,4)
7 units apart
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
-7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
(-6,-3)
So the distance from
(-6,4) to (-6,-3) is 7.
If the points are located vertically from each other,
the x coordinates will be the same. You can look
to see how far apart the y coordinates are.
Let's use it to find the distance between (3, -5) and (-1,4)
Plug these values in
the distance formula

c
c   4   9 
2
2
CAUTION!
x-12
(x1,y1)
 x31   
2
y42
(x2,y2)
 -5
y1 
 16  81 
2
means
approximately
equal to
97  9.8
found with a
calculator
Don't forget the order of operations!
You must do the brackets first then
powers (square the numbers) and then add
together BEFORE you can square root