Question

Find the distance between the two points. Round an approximate result to the nearest hundredth.
(-1, -1) and (3, -7)
A) 7.21 B) 26 C) 6.93 D) 24

i don't know if i am doing something wrong but i keep getting the answer of 2

Answer 1

Yes, you are doing something wrong.

distance=sqrt( (x1-x2)^2 + (y1-y2)^2 )

Answer 2

Think of it like a right triangle.

The distance horizontally is 4 (from -1 to 3). The distance vertically is 6 (from -1 to -7).

You know the formula a^2 + b^2 = c^2 with c being the hypotenuse.

Therefore, 4^2 + 6^2 = c^2 and c is the distance between the points.

16 + 36 = c^2

52 = c^2

The square root of 52 is just more than 7 because 7^2 = 49. So your answer is A

Answer 3

What is the distance between P(–4, 3) and Q(6, 1)? Round to the nearest tenth.