Question

What are you building when you use a distance formula

Answer 1

Answer:

See below  

Step-by-step explanation:

In math, the distance formula gives us the distance between two

points, (x₁, y₁) and x₂, y₂):

$d = \sqrt{(x _{2}-x_{1})^{2} +(y _{2}-y_{1})^{2}}$

For example, in the triangle below, the distance between the points (1,5) and (-2, 1) is  

$d = \sqrt{(1 - (-2))^{2} +(5-1)^{2}}$

$= \sqrt{3^{2} +4^{2}}$

$= \sqrt{9 + 16}$

$= \sqrt{25}$

= 5

You are really using Pythagoras' Theorem to find the distance.

When using the distance formula, you are building a right triangle whose hypotenuse connects two given points.