The distance between two points on a coordinate plane can always be found by subtracting their x- or y-coordinates. Is this true or false?

3

3 Answers

John McCann Profile
John McCann answered
Distance = sqrt[(X2 - X1)^2 + (Y2 - Y1)^2]
Oddman Profile
Oddman answered
False.
Subtracting the x-coordinates and (not or) subtracting the y-coordinates are the first steps in finding the distance. Additional required steps include squaring the results of the subtraction, adding the results of the squaring operation, and taking the square root of the sum.  Subtracting x-coordinates to find the distance will only work in the special case that the y-coordinates are the same, and vice versa. Clearly, this method will not always work.
Janey Profile
Janey answered
That is True.

Answer Question

Anonymous