What is the distance between (-2,1) and (3,7) ?

1 Answer
Dec 7, 2015

The distance between (-2, 1) and (3, 7) is sqrt61 units.

Explanation:

We can use the distance formula to find the distance between any two given points, where d =the distance between the points (x_1, y_1) and (x_2, y_2):

d = sqrt((x_2-x_1)^2 + (y_2 - y_1)^2)

If we plug in our points, our equation will be:

d = sqrt((3-(-2))^2 + (7-1)^2)

This can be simplified to d = sqrt((5)^2 + (6)^2

And then: d = sqrt((25) + (36), which is d = sqrt(61).

You can't simplify this further, so your final answer is sqrt61 units.

Usually, the square root of a quantity would be + or - , but in this case, the quantity is only positive because it represents distance, which can never be negative.