1.8 - The Coordinate Plane
1. What is the shortest distance between point R and point T? Draw it on the graph above.
The Distance Formula:
2. The distance between two points ______________ and __________________ is:
3. Each morning Alex takes the “Blue Line” subway from Oak Station to Jackson Station.
a. Alex put a coordinate plane like the one below over his map to figure out how far he travels
every morning. City Plaza is located at the origin. Draw and label a point to represent City
Plaza on the “map” below.
b. Oak Station is 1 mile west and 2 miles south of City Plaza. Jackson Station is 2 miles east
and 4 miles north of City Plaza. Draw and label a point on your “map” for each subway
station. Label the points with their correct ordered pairs.
c. Use the distance formula to find the distance Alex travels between Oak station and Jackson
Station.
4. Sarah travels on the same subway line but she goes from Elm Station to Symphony Station. Elm
Station is 3 miles west and 6 miles south of City Plaza. Symphony Station is 1 mile east and 2 miles
north of City Plaza. What is the distance that Sarah travels to work each morning?
5. One day the subway broke down while Sarah was traveling to work!!! The subway train stopped
exactly half way between Elm Station and Symphony Station. With your group find a way to
figure out the exact point that the train stopped (your answer should be an ordered pair). Your
group will be sharing it’s strategy with the class!
The Midpoint Formula:
6. The coordinates of the midpoint of a segment with endpoints ____________and ____________ is:
7. Use the midpoint formula to find the midpoint between Jackson Station and Oak Station (Alex’s
rout from #3!)