CO-ORDINATE GEOMETRY

Year 12 Achievement Standard 90???

Achieving in this unit:

Achievement:

Merit:

Find the mid-point between 2 points Find the distance between 2 points Find the equation of a line given 2 points on the line Find the gradient of a line Find the equation of a line parallel to a given line through a given point Find the equation of a line perpendicular to a given line through a given point Find the coordinates of the point of intersection of 2 lines

Solve problems that involve 2 or more of the previous methods For example, find a median of a triangle, or the equation of a perpendicular bisector of a line Use coordinate geometry to solve problems using a chain of reasoning Solve problems in 3 dimensional situations (lengths, points, etc) Prove relationships using coordinate geometry

Excellence:

Describing Points

Using 2 numbers, we can describe any point on this grid.

The first number tells us how far to move to the right. This is the x-coordinate. The second number tells us how far to move up. This is the y-coordinate.

Both lines cross at (0,0) These lines are called the axes.

Co-ordinates

We call the bold horizontal line the x-axis. We call the bold vertical line the y-axis. Each point is described as:
How far to move to the right

How far to move up

Remember, negative means go the opposite way.

Practise:
A

Describe these points using the co-ordinate method.

B C
D

A= B= C= D= E=

Practise:

Draw these points on the grid using the given co-ordinates

F = (3,5) G = (-2,6) H = (-4,-2) I = (1,-3) J = (-2.5,3.5)

Lines

Any 2 points on the grid can be joined to make a line. You need to be able to calculate the gradient (slope) of a line.
Uphill from left to right is a positive gradient. Downhill form left to right is a negative gradient.

The equation (memorise this!):

2 1 = 2 1

(1 , 1 ) and (2 , 2 ) are any 2 points on the line.

Examples:
1.

2.

Choose any 2 points on the line. 1 , 1 = (4 , 1) 2 , 2 = 2 , 2 Substitute into the equation and solve.

1 = 2 1 The gradient of the line is .

2

2 1 = 2 1 2 1 3 = = 2 4 6

Practise
1

Calculate the gradient of these 5 lines.

Midpoints

Sometimes we need to find the co-ordinates of the point exactly halfway between 2 points. To do this, we just average each co-ordinate. Remember this equation:
1 + 2 2

1 + 2 2

Practise:
A

Find the midpoints between each of these points.

C B
D

A B= B C= C D= A D= B D= A C=

Distance between points

Sometimes we need to find the distance between 2 points. To do this, we need to use Pythagoras. Remember this equation:
2 1
2

+ 2 1

Find the distance between these 2 points:

Practice:
A

Find the distance between each of these points.

C B
D

A B= B C= C D= A D= B D= A C=

Summary so far:

These are the equations you need to have memorised for the exam:

1 + 2 2

,
=

1 + 2 2
2 1
2

2 1 = 2 1
+ 2 1
2

Describing lines with an equation

Every single line on the grid can be described using 2 important pieces of information:
1.

2.

The gradient. This is the slope of the line. We have already rise learned how to calculate it using = run The y-intercept. This is what we call the point where the line crosses the y-axis.

The equation is = gradient + (yintercept) This is usually shortened to = +

Remember the gradient and the y-intercept can be positive or negative.

Example:

The gradient of line 1 is:

2 3

The y-intercept of line 1 is: = 2 The equation is = +

2 3

+2

Example:

The gradient of line 2 is: = 1 The y-intercept of line 2 is: 2 = 1 The equation is = + = 1 1

Practice
1

Write an equation for each of these lines in the form = +

2 3 4

More equations:

Given the gradient of a line, and also 1 point that lies on that line, we can calculate the equation of that line. This is the only equation given to you in the exam! 1 = ( 1 ) The gradient is . The point is (1 , 1 ).
We

simply substitute the values for , 1 , and 1 into the equation. The next step is to expand the brackets and rearrange the equation until we have the form = +

Examples:
1.

Find the equation of the line with gradient -3, that goes through the point (4 , 1).

= 3, 1 , 1 = (4 , 1) Substitute into the equation: 1 = ( 1 ) 1 = 3 4 Expand and simplify: + 1 = 3 + 12 = 3 + 11 This is now in the form = +

Practice
1. 2. 3. 4.

Write an equation for each of these lines in the form = +

= 3, 1 , 1 = (2 , 5) = 7, 1 , 1 = (6 , 2) = 4, 1 , 1 = (2 , 9) = 2, 1 , 1 = (7 , 3)

5.
6.

=
=

7.
8.

= 17,

2 , 5 4 , 3 2 , 3

1 , 1 = (10 , 4)
1 , 1 = (4 , 1)

1 , 1 = (3 , 8)
1 , 1 = (15 , 19)

Some Important Gradients.

There are 2 important gradients that you need to know:

The gradients of parallel lines. Parallel lines have exactly the same slope, therefore their gradients are equal.

For example, if we are told that two lines are parallel, they must have the same gradient: 1 = 2

The gradients of perpendicular lines. When we know that 2 lines are at right angles to each other, then their gradients must multiply together to equal negative 1.

This means we can figure out the gradient of a perpendicular line: 1 1 =

2

Examples:
1.

Find the equation of the line that is parallel to the line = 2 4, that goes though the point (4 , 7).

We know that the gradients of the lines must be equal! = 2, 1 , 1 = (4 , 7) Substitute into the equation: 1 = ( 1 ) 7 = 2 4 Expand and simplify: 7 = 2 + 8 = 2 + 15

Examples:
2.

Find the equation of the line that is perpendicular to the line = 3 5, that goes though the point (1 , 1).

We know that the lines are perpendicular, so their gradients must multiply to give -1. 3 2 = 1 2 = =
1 , 3 1 3

1 , 1 = (1 , 1)

Substitute into the equation: 1 = ( 1 ) 1 1 = 1 3 Expand and simplify: 1 1 1 = + 3 3 1 1 = + 1 3 3

Practice

Find the equation of the line that is parallel to the given line that passes though the given point.

A 1 B

Practice

Find the equation of the line that is perpendicular to the given line that passes though the given point.

A 2

Summary so far:

These are the equations you need to have memorised for the exam:

1 + 2 2

,
=

1 + 2 2
2 1
2

2 1 = 2 1
+ 2 1
2

1 1 = 2

= +

Intersections.

The last thing we need to learn is how to find the point (co-ordinates) where 2 lines intersect. This will be the point where the equations of the 2 lines will be equal.
Equation

1 = Equation 2 1 + 1 = 2 + 2

If we then rearrange the equation, we can find the value of the x co-ordinate. If we know , then choose an equation and substitute to find .

Examples:

Find the point where these two lines intersect.

= 4 + 6

= 2 + 1 Where they intersect: 4 + 6 = 2 + 1 Solve for x: 4 + 6 = 2 + 1 4 + 2 = 1 6 6 = 5 5 = 6 5 The x co-ordinate is 6 . Now we need to find the y co-ordinate: = 4 + 6 5 = 4 +6 6 2 = 2 3

So the point where these two lines intersect:

, = 5 2 ,2 6 3

Practice
1.

Find the co-ordinates of the intersection of the lines given by these equations:

= 3 + 4 and = 2 + 1 = 2 + 5 and = 7 3 = 4 8 and = 1 + 2 = 5 4 and = 4 9

2.

3.

4.