Finding distances between points that share a common coordinate given their coordinates

Introduction

In this lesson, we are given two points that share a common coordinate. We are required to find the distance between the two given points.

First we look at the coordinates of the given two points.
We see that the two points have one of the coordinates same or have a shared common coordinate.
The difference between the coordinates of the two points other than the shared coordinates gives the distance between the two points in the graph.

Example 1

Find the distance between the pair of points given below that share a common coordinate.

(−3, 6), (−3, 12)

Step 1 − The given pair of points have a common x coordinate −3.

Step 2 − The distance between the points is the difference between the y coordinates, i.e., 12 − 6 = 6 units.

Step 3 − So, the distance between the two given points = 6 units.

Example 2

Find the distance between the pair of points given below that share a common coordinate.

(0, −6), (0, −11)

Step 1 − The given pair of points have a common x coordinate 0.

Step 2 − The distance between the points is the difference between the y coordinates, i.e., −6 – (−11) = −6 + 11 = 5 units.

Step 3 − So, the distance between the two given points = 5 units.