Find the distance between (2, 3)

and (−4, −9)
. Round your answer to the nearest hundredth, if necessary

1 answer

To find the distance between two points \((x_1, y_1)\) and \((x_2, y_2)\), you can use the distance formula:

\[ d = \sqrt{(x_2 - x_1)^2 + (y_2 - y_1)^2} \]

In your case, the points are \((2, 3)\) and \((-4, -9)\). Here, we have:

  • \(x_1 = 2\)
  • \(y_1 = 3\)
  • \(x_2 = -4\)
  • \(y_2 = -9\)

Now, let's substitute these values into the distance formula:

\[ d = \sqrt{((-4) - 2)^2 + ((-9) - 3)^2} \]

Calculating the differences:

\[ d = \sqrt{(-6)^2 + (-12)^2} \]

Now, calculate the squares:

\[ d = \sqrt{36 + 144} \]

Adding these together:

\[ d = \sqrt{180} \]

Now, we can simplify \(\sqrt{180}\):

\[ \sqrt{180} = \sqrt{36 \times 5} = 6\sqrt{5} \]

Now, calculating \(6\sqrt{5}\) using \(\sqrt{5} \approx 2.236\):

\[ 6 \times 2.236 \approx 13.416 \]

Rounding to the nearest hundredth, the distance is:

\[ \boxed{13.42} \]