The distance formula is used to find the distance between two points in the coordinate plane. Formula for Distance Between Two Points The formula for the distance d d between two points whose coordinates are x1y1 x 1 y 1 and x2y2 x 2 y 2 is. Gain an edge over your peers by memorizing the distance formula d x 2 - x 1 2 y 2 - y 1 2.
We join P and Q and make a right triangle PQR as shown in the figure below.
We use the 2D formula when working in the x-y plane and the 3D distance formula when working in the x-y-z system. The Pythagorean Theorem a2 b2 c2 a 2 b 2 c 2 is based on a right triangle where a and b are the lengths of the legs adjacent to the right angle and c is the length of the hypotenuse. Derived from the Pythagorean Theorem the distance formula is used to find the distance between two points in the plane. Distance Between Two Points The distance formula is derived from the Pythagorean theorem.