Find the coordinates of point X if it partitions the directed segment AB¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ in the ratio 1:2 .

1 answer

To find the coordinates of point X that partitions the directed segment \( \overline{AB} \) in the ratio \( 1:2 \), we first need the coordinates of points A and B. Let:

  • \( A(x_1, y_1) \)
  • \( B(x_2, y_2) \)

Point X divides the segment \( \overline{AB} \) in the ratio \( 1:2 \), meaning that \( AX:XB = 1:2 \). The formula for finding the coordinates of a point that divides a segment in a given ratio is:

\[ X\left(\frac{mx_2 + nx_1}{m+n}, \frac{my_2 + ny_1}{m+n}\right) \]

where \( m \) and \( n \) are the parts of the ratio. In our case, we have:

  • \( m = 1 \) (the part associated with A)
  • \( n = 2 \) (the part associated with B)

Substituting these values gives:

\[ X\left(\frac{1 \cdot x_2 + 2 \cdot x_1}{1 + 2}, \frac{1 \cdot y_2 + 2 \cdot y_1}{1 + 2}\right) \]

This simplifies to:

\[ X\left(\frac{x_2 + 2x_1}{3}, \frac{y_2 + 2y_1}{3}\right) \]

Now, to calculate the exact coordinates of point X, we need to substitute the coordinates of points A and B into the formula.

For example, if:

  • \( A(1, 2) \)
  • \( B(4, 6) \)

Then, the coordinates of point X would be:

\[ X\left(\frac{4 + 2 \cdot 1}{3}, \frac{6 + 2 \cdot 2}{3}\right) = X\left(\frac{4 + 2}{3}, \frac{6 + 4}{3}\right) = X\left(\frac{6}{3}, \frac{10}{3}\right) = X(2, \frac{10}{3}) \]

Thus, the coordinates of point X are \( \left(2, \frac{10}{3}\right) \).

You can replace \( A \) and \( B \) with their actual coordinates if they're different to find the specific coordinates of point X.