Given A(−1,2) and B(3,6) , find the coordinates of point X on AB¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ such that the ratio of AX to XB is 3:5.

A. (1 1/2,1 1/2)
B. (1/2,3 1/2)
C. (−1/4,3 1/2)
D. (1 2/5,4 2/5)

1 answer

To find the coordinates of point \( X \) on line segment \( AB \) such that the ratio of \( AX \) to \( XB \) is \( 3:5 \), we can use the section formula. The coordinates of points \( A \) and \( B \) are given as follows:

  • \( A(-1, 2) \)
  • \( B(3, 6) \)

Since the ratio \( AX:XB = 3:5 \), we can express it as \( m:n = 3:5 \), where \( m = 3 \) and \( n = 5 \).

Using the section formula, point \( X \) that divides the line segment \( AB \) in the ratio \( m:n \) can be determined by the following formula:

\[ X = \left( \frac{m \cdot x_2 + n \cdot x_1}{m+n}, \frac{m \cdot y_2 + n \cdot y_1}{m+n} \right) \]

Substituting the values:

  • \( x_1 = -1 \), \( y_1 = 2 \) (coordinates of A)
  • \( x_2 = 3 \), \( y_2 = 6 \) (coordinates of B)

We have:

\[ X = \left( \frac{3 \cdot 3 + 5 \cdot (-1)}{3+5}, \frac{3 \cdot 6 + 5 \cdot 2}{3+5} \right) \]

Calculating the x-coordinate:

\[ X_x = \frac{9 - 5}{8} = \frac{4}{8} = \frac{1}{2} \]

Calculating the y-coordinate:

\[ X_y = \frac{18 + 10}{8} = \frac{28}{8} = \frac{7}{2} \]

Thus, the coordinates of point \( X \) are \( \left( \frac{1}{2}, \frac{7}{2} \right) \).

Now let's convert \( \frac{7}{2} \) to a mixed number:

\[ \frac{7}{2} = 3 \frac{1}{2} \]

So, the coordinates \( X \) can be written as \( (0.5, 3.5) \) or \( \left( \frac{1}{2}, 3 \frac{1}{2} \right) \).

Therefore, the answer is:

B. \( \left( \frac{1}{2}, 3 \frac{1}{2} \right) \).