Distance between Two Points
Distance between Two Points
Computing the distance between two points in the plane is an application of the Pythagorean Theorem for right triangles. It is not always the case that students see the distance formula as a straightforward application of the Pythagorean Theorem +=. This Demonstration is designed as a teaching aid to reinforce for students how computing distances between points in the plane is equivalent to finding the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle.
d=+
2
(-)
x
2
x
1
2
(-)
y
2
y
1
2
a
2
b
2
c