Find the distance between (−8, −3) and (−2, −5). Round your answer to the nearest hundredth, if necessary.

1 answer

To find the distance between the points \((-8, -3)\) and \((-2, -5)\), we can use the distance formula, which is given by:

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

Here, \((x_1, y_1) = (-8, -3)\) and \((x_2, y_2) = (-2, -5)\).

Substituting the coordinates into the formula, we have:

\[ d = \sqrt{((-2) - (-8))^2 + ((-5) - (-3))^2} \]

Calculating the differences:

\[ x_2 - x_1 = -2 + 8 = 6 \] \[ y_2 - y_1 = -5 + 3 = -2 \]

Now substituting these differences back into the formula:

\[ d = \sqrt{(6)^2 + (-2)^2} \] \[ d = \sqrt{36 + 4} \] \[ d = \sqrt{40} \]

Now, we can simplify \(\sqrt{40}\):

\[ \sqrt{40} = \sqrt{4 \times 10} = 2\sqrt{10} \]

Next, we can calculate the numerical value of \(2\sqrt{10}\):

\(\sqrt{10} \approx 3.162\).

Therefore:

\[ d \approx 2 \times 3.162 \approx 6.324 \]

Rounding to the nearest hundredth, the distance is:

\[ \boxed{6.32} \]