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DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS Matemáticas I

Unit 11: Coordinate Geometry

In algebra, you were introduced to the coordinate system, plotting ordered pairs, and
graphing lines. These tools are used in geometry as well. Algebra and geometry are
used hand-in-hand to solve many real-world maths problems.

Coordinate geometry, also known as analytic geometry, or Cartesian geometry, is

the study of geometry using a coordinate system and the principles of algebra and
analysis. In other words, it is concerned with defining and representing geometrical
shapes in a numerical way and extracting numerical information from shapes'
numerical definitions and representations.

1. Cartesian coordinates

In coordinate geometry, points are placed on the “coordinate plane” as shown below.
It has two scales - one running across the plane called the “x-axis” and another a
right angle to it called the “y-axis”. The point where the axes cross is called the
origin and is where both x and y are zero.

A point's location on the plane is given by two numbers, the first tells where it is on
the x-axis and the second which tells where it is on the y-axis. Together, they define a
single, unique position on the plane. So in the diagram above, the point A has an x
value of 20 and a y value of 15. These are the coordinates of the point A, sometimes
referred to as its "rectangular coordinates". Note that the order is important; the x
coordinate is always the first one of the pair.

2. Position vector

If we have a point P ( p 1, p2 ) and O ( 0,0 ) is the

origin, we call position vector of P to the vector
⃗r =⃗
OP . Since we know the coordinates of O
and P, we can calculate the components of
⃗
OP=( p1 −0, p 2 −0 ) =( p1 , p 2 ) . You can see that
the components of ⃗ OP coincide with
coordinates of P, but it is important not to
confuse both concepts.

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Position vectors are useful if we ever need to represent a point as a vector. As we’ll
see there are times in which we definitely are going to want to represent points as
vectors. In fact, we’re going to run into topics that can only be done if we represent
points as vectors.

Let's see some problems we can solve using position vectors.

Collinear points

Three or more points are said to be collinear if they lie on the same straight line.

Two points are trivially collinear since two points determine a line.

If we have three points, A, B and C, we can define two vectors, for example ⃗
AB and
⃗ ⃗ ⃗
AC . Then, A, B and C will be collinear if AB and AC have a common direction.

Using coordinates, if A ( a 1 , a2 ) , B ( b1 , b2 ) and C ( c 1 , c 2 ) , then ⃗

AB=( b1 – a1 , b 2 −a 2 )
and ⃗AC =( c – a , c −a ) . Both vectors will have a common direction, i.e. they will be
1 1 2 2
parallel, if their components are proportional:

b1 −a 1 b2 −a2
=
c 1−a1 c 2 −a 2

Midpoint of a segment

Sometimes you need to find the point that is exactly between two other points. For
instance, you might need to find a line that bisects (divides into equal halves) a given
line segment. This middle point is called the "midpoint". It‘s easy to find a formula that
we can use to find the coordinates of the midpoint of a line segment AB.

From the diagram we can see that the

midpoint M can be reached from O via A to M.
We can therefore write this vector equation
⃗
OM for :
⃗
OM =⃗
OA+ ⃗
AM

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DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS Matemáticas I

1
But we know that ⃗
AB=⃗
OB−⃗
OA , and ⃗
AM = ⃗AB . So, combining these equalities we
2
get

⃗ 1 1 1 1 1
OM = ⃗
OA+ ⃗AB=⃗
OA+ (⃗
OB−⃗
OA ) = ⃗OA+ ⃗OB= ( ⃗
OA +⃗
OB )
2 2 2 2 2

We see that the position vector of the midpoint of the line segment is a kind of
average of the position vectors of the end points. We can therefore find the
coordinates of the midpoint by finding the average of the x coordinates and y
coordinates respectively.
This leads us to a rule we call “the midpoint formula”. Given A ( a 1 , a2 ) and B ( b1 , b2 ) ,
the coordinates of the midpoint M are

a1 + b1 a 2 + b2
M ( 2
,
2 )
Notice that A and B are symmetric with respect to M. So, given A and P, we can find
the symmetric point of A (A') considering P the midpoint of the segment AA '.

3. Equations of a straight line

The concept of vector notation provides a convenient method of representing straight

lines in the plane by simple vector equations. Such vector equations may then, if
necessary, be converted back to conventional Cartesian or parametric equations.

Vector equation

A straight line, L, is uniquely defined by giving two distinct points on the line.

If the coordinates of A and B are given, then the vectors

a =⃗
⃗ OA and ⃗ b=⃗OB are known. Let P be any point on
the line AB with position vector ⃗r . Then

⃗r =⃗
OP=⃗
OA+⃗
AP=⃗a + ⃗
AP

But ⃗
AP is a linear multiple of ⃗
AB , so

a +t · ⃗
⃗r =⃗ AB

for some parameter t. This is the form of the vector equation of a line. The parameter
can take any real value, giving different points on the line.

Example 1 A line passes through point A= (−1,3 ) and has a direction vector with
components ( 2,5 ) . Determine the equation of the vector.

Solution

( x,y )= (−1,3 ) +t ( 2,5 )

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Example 2 Write the vector equation of the line which passes through the points
A= ( 1,2 ) and B= (−2,5 ) .

Solution

Since we know the coordinates of A and B, we can find the components of

the direction vector,

⃗
AB=(−2−1,5−2 )=(−3,3 )

So, the vector equation is ( x,y )= (1,2 ) +t· (−3,3 )

Example 3 Given the vector equation of a straight line, find out three points A,
B and C belonging to that line.

( x,y )= ( 2,4 ) +t· (−1,1 )

Solution

We just have to give t three different values. Each one will give us a point of
the line. For example, let's take t= 0 , t=−1 and t= 2 :

t= 0 ⇒ ( x,y )=( 2,4 )+ 0· (−1,1 )=( 2,4 ) ⇒ A ( 2,4 ) is a point of the line

t=−1⇒ ( x,y )=( 2,4 ) + (−1 ) · (−1,1 ) =( 3,3 ) ⇒ B ( 3,3 ) is a point of the line

t= 2 ⇒ ( x,y )=( 2,4 )+ 2 · (−1,1 )=( 0,6 ) ⇒ C ( 0,6 ) is a point of the line

Parametric equations

Consider the line through the point A ( a 1 , a2 ) and with direction vector ⃗ v =( v 1 , v 2 ) . A
point P ( x , y ) is on the line if and only if the vector with initial point A and final point P
is parallel to ⃗ v . That is, ( x −a1 ,y−a2 ) must be a scalar multiple of ⃗ v :

( x −a1 , y−a2 )=t · ( v 1 , v 2 )

Component wise,

x−a1=t · v 1
y−a 2 =t · v 2

Thus, we obtain the parametric equations

x=a1 +t · v1
y=a 2 + t · v 2

Example 4 Find the parametric equations of a line that passes through the point
( 2,3 ) and has the vector ⃗
v =(−3,2 ) as directional vector.

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Solution

We just have to plug the coordinates of the point and the components of the
vector into the formula of the parametric equations:

x= 2−3·t
y=3+ 2·t

In the same way we did with the vector equation, we can find points belonging to the
line given by parametric equations just changing the parameter t by any real number.

Example 5 In the line of example 4, find out two new points belonging to it.

Solution

1
We can take, for instance, t=−1 and t= . So, we have
2

t=−1⇒ x= 2−3 · (−1 ) =5, y= 3+2 · (−1 )=1 ⇒ the point is ( 5,1 )

1 1 1 1
t= ⇒ x= 2−3 · = ,
2 2 2
y=3+ 2· =4⇒ the point is
2 ( 12 ,4)
Cartesian equations

In the parametric equations, we can eliminate the parameter t and so we get:

x−a 1 y−a 2
=
v1 v2

which is the Cartesian equation of the line or symmetric equations.

You can see from this how the components of the position vector ( a1 , a2 ) and the
direction vector ( v1 , v 2 ) appear in this equation. If one of v 1 or v 2 does happen to
be zero we can still write down these equations. To see this let’s suppose that v 2 =0 .

x−a 1 y−a 2
=
v1 0

Example 6 Given a point (−1,−2 ) and a directional vector ( 3,5 ) , write the
Cartesian equation of a line, and find out two new points that lie on it.

Solution

x+1 y+ 2
The Cartesian equation will be = .
3 5

In this case, there is no parameter that we can substitute by a real number to

find new points of the line. So, what we will do is considering any of the
variables x and y as a parameter, and solving the equation for the other

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variable. For example, we can take x as the parameter and give values to it, say
x= 1 , x=−1 , to find two new points:

1+1 y+ 2 2 4 4
x= 1⇒
3
=
5
⇒ y= 5· −2= ⇒ the point is 1,
3 3 ( )
3

−1+1 y+ 2 0
x=−1 ⇒ = ⇒ y=5 · −2=−2 ⇒ the point is (−1,−2 )
3 5 3

Point-slope equation

If we rearrange the Cartesian equation, we can write the following:

v2
y−a 2 = · x−a1 )
v1 (

v2
But is the slope of the directional vector of the line, or, what is the same, the
v1
v2
slope of the line. If we call m= , we have the point-slope equation of the line:
v1

y−a 2 =m· ( x−a 1 )

Example 7 Find the equation of the line that has slope -3 and passes through the
point ( 3,1 ) .

Solution

Using the point-slope equation, we have directly the solution:

y−1=−3 · ( x−3 )

Example 8 Find an equation of the line that passes through ( 2,−3 ) and ( 5,3 ) .

Solution

3−(−3 ) 6
The slope of the line is m= = =2 .
5−2 3

We have two points of the line, so we can choose one of them to write the point-
slope equation, for instance, we take the point ( 2,−3 ) :

y+3=2 · ( x−2 )

Example 9 Find an equation of the line that has slope 6 and y-intersect 7.

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Solution

The line has y-intersect 7 means that ( 0,7 ) is on the line. Therefore an equation
of the line is y−7=6 · ( x−0 )

Example 10 Find an equation of the line that has angle of inclination 135º and
contains ( 4,2 ) .

Solution

The slope of the line is m=tan 135º=−1 . Therefore the equation we are
searching for is y−2=−1 ( x−4 ) .

Point-intercept equation

If we simplify the point-slope equation of a line, we get an expression like this,

y=mx+b

where m is the slope of the line, and b is the y-intercept (if we take x= 0 , then y=b ).

Example 11 Find an equation of the line that has slope 6 and y-intersect 7.

Solution

Using the point-intercept equation, the result is y=6 x +7 .

General equation

x−a 1 y−a 2
If we take again the Cartesian equation, = , we can simplify it in the
v1 v2
following way:

v 2 · ( x−a 1 ) =v 1 · ( y−a2 ) ⇒ v 2 · x −v 2 · a 1=v 1 · y−v 1 · a2 ⇒ v 2 · x + v 1 · y−v 2 · a1 +v 1 · a 2=0

To make it simpler, we recall v 2 =A , −v 1 =B and −v 2 ·a1 +v 1 ·a 2 =C , and so we get

Ax+By+C= 0

which is the general equation of the line with directional vector (−B,A ) . Note that the
vector ( A,B ) is a perpendicular vector to the line.

Also note that the point ( a1 , a2 ) belonging to the line has “disappeared” when we
have substituted −v 2 · a1 +v 1 · a 2 by C.

v =( 1,−4 )
Example 12 Find the general equation of the line with directional vector ⃗
and passing through the point A ( 2,−1 ) .

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Solution

v =( 1,−4 ) , in the general form of the line

Since the directional vector is ⃗
Ax+By+C= 0 we have that A= 4 and B= 1 . So we just have to find the value
of C:

4 x+ y +C =0

In this case, the point A ( 2,−1 ) lies on the line, so it is sure we have that

4 · 2+ (−1 ) +C= 0⇒ C=−8+1=−7

So, the equation of the line is 4 x+ y −7=0

Example 13 Given the line 2 x−3 y +1=0 , find out a directional vector and a point
belonging to the line.

Solution

The directional vector is obvious: v⃗ =( 3,2 ) .

To find out a point, we just have to consider one of the variables ( x or y) as a

parameter. For instance, if we take x as a parameter, we can give any value to
it, say x= 1 ; now, we solve for y and get the second coordinate of a point of the
line:

x=1 ⇒ 2· 1−3 y +1=0⇒−3 y +3=0 ⇒ y=1

So ( 1,1 ) is a point of the line.

Intercept form

To use this equation of the line, it would be 'intercepting' at two points, one on the x-
axis and the other on the y-axis (so, it cannot be a vertical or a horizontal line, and it
cannot pass through the origin). Let A ( a ,0 ) and B ( 0, b ) be the intercepts on the x-
axis and the y-axis. A directional vector in this case is ⃗ v =⃗AB=( 0−a , b−0 ) =(−a , b ) .
So, the Cartesian equation using, for instance, point A, is,

x−a y−0 x −a y x −a y x y
= ⇒ = ⇒ + = ⇒ + =1
−a b −a b −a −a b a b

The last expression is what we call the intercept form equation of the line.

Note that a is the first coordinate of the x-intercept, and b is the second coordinate of
the y-intercept.

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A line does not have an intercept form equation in the following cases:

- A line parallel to the x-axis, which has the equation y=k .

- A line parallel to the y-axis, which has the equation x=k .

- A line that passes through the origin, which has equation y=mx .

Example 14 A line has an x-intercept of 5 and a y-intercept of 3. Find its equation.

Solution

x y
We just have to plug the values a= 5 and b= 3 into the formula + =1 , and
a b
x y
so we have + =1
5 3

Example 15 The line x−2 y+ 4=0 forms a triangle with the axes. Write the
equation of the line in the intercept form, and determine the area of the triangle.

Solution

x y
To write the equation in the intercept form + =1 we just need the values of
a b
a and b . Let's see two ways of finding them.

1st way

Since ( a ,0 ) and ( 0, b ) are points belonging to the line, we just have to plug
y= 0 and x= 0 into the equation of the line to find a and b :

y= 0⇒ a−2 · 0+ 4=0 ⇒ a=−4

x= 0 ⇒0−2b+ 4=0 ⇒b= 2

x y
So the equation in intercept form is + =1
−4 2

2nd way

We can directly transform the general equation of the line x−2 y+ 4=0 into the
intercept form equation:

x 2y −4 x y x y
x−2y+ 4=0 ⇒ x −2y=−4 ⇒ − = ⇒ + =1⇒ + =1
−4 −4 −4 −4 (−4 ) / (−2 ) −4 2

So, a=−4 and b= 2

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Finally, we can see from the picture that the line forms a right triangle with the
origin and its legs are the axes, so the area of the triangle is

base·height ∣−4 · 2∣
S= = =4
2 2

Note that we have to use the absolute value in the area formula to be sure that
the result is going to be a positive number.

4. Relative position of two lines

Two lines can be parallel lines, coincident lines or intersecting lines. Let's see the
following graphs:

Parallel lines are lines that

never intersect. Two Two lines that lie on top
Lines that intersect in a point
nonvertical lines are parallel if of one another are called
are called intersecting lines.
and only if they have the same coincident lines.
slope.

The graphs are not usually given, but the equations, so let's have a look at some
different ways to know what is the relative position of two lines depending on the type
of equation they are giving us.

Solving the system of the equations

Whatever the type of the equations, we can solve the system they form. In this case,
we have,

• If the lines are parallel, there is no solution of the system.

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• If the lines are coincident, there is an infinite number of solutions.

• If the lines are intersecting, there is just one solution of the system.

Example 1 Determine the relative position of the following pair of lines:

a) r : 2 x+ 3 y −1=0
s : 4 x+ 6 y−5=0

b) r : x−2 y +3=0
s :−2 x + 4 y−6=0

c) r : y −3 x=4
s : x=t , y=2 t

Solution

a) We can solve the system using, for example, the reduction method:

2 x+ 3 y−1=0
4 x+6 y −5=0

Multiplying the first equation by -2, we have

−4 x−6 y + 2=0
4 x+6 y −5=0

Adding both equations we get an absurd result

−3=0

So, there is no solution for this system, and the lines r and s must be parallel.

b) In this case, we can use the same method, and multiply the first equation by
-2:

−2 x +4 y−6=0
−2 x +4 y−6=0

If we add both equations, the result is obvious: 0=0

This means that any real number is a solution for the system, so there is an
infinite number of solutions: the lines r and s are coincident.

c) Since one of the lines is given with its parametric equation, to solve the
system we just have to substitute x=t and y=2t into the equation of the other
line:

y−3 x=4 ⇒ 2t−3t =4 ⇒−t=4 ⇒ t=−4

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We have found a value for t , and that means that there is a solution for the
system: the one we get plugging t=−4 into the equation of line s:

x =t ⇒ x=−4
y=2t ⇒ y=2· (−4 )=−8

So, both lines r and s intersect at the point (-4,-8)

Comparing the slopes and the y-intercepts

Let r : y=mx+n and s : y=m'x+n' be the point-intercept equations of the lines.

• If m≠m' , then r and s have different directions, so they must be intersecting

lines.

• If m=m' and n≠n' , then both lines have the same direction, but they
intersect the y-axis at a different point, so r and s are parallel lines.

• If m=m' and n=n' , both equations are the same, and r and s are coincident
lines.

Example 2 Determine the relative position of the lines in each case:

r : 2 x=2 y−6
a) r : y=4 x−5 b) y x+ 3 c) r : y−3 x =4
s : y=−2 x +3 s: = s : x=t , y=3 t
2 2

Solution

a) Since both lines are given with the slope-intercept equation, we can directly
compare the slopes. In this case, mr =4 and m s=−2 , so r and s intersect at a
point; we can find the intersection point solving the system,

y =4 x −5
y=−2 x +3

4 1
The solution is x= ,y= .
3 3

b) Let's express both lines with the slope-intercept equation:

r : y=x+ 3
s : y=x+ 3

We can see both slope and y-intercept coincide, so r and s are coincident lines.

c) Again, let's find the slope-intercept equation of both lines:

r : y=3 x+ 4
s : y=3 x

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Now, comparing slopes and y-intercepts, we can see that mr =m s =3 , but n r =4

and n s =0 . So, r and s are parallel lines.

Comparing the directional vectors

Let ⃗r =( r 1 , r 2 ) and ⃗s =( s 1 , s 2 ) be the directional vectors of two lines r and s.

r1 r 2
• If ⃗r is not a scalar multiple of ⃗s , i.e.≠ , then both lines have different
s1 s2
directions, and they are intersecting lines.

r1 r 2
• If ⃗r is a scalar multiple of ⃗s , i.e. = , then both lines have the same
s1 s2
direction.

• If a point of r (any point) belongs to s, then both lines are coincident.

• If no point of r (again, you can try any point) belongs to s, then both lines are
parallel.

Recall that in the general equation Ax+By+C= 0 , the components of the directional
vector are the coefficients of x and y : v⃗ =(−B,A ) . So, if r and s are given by this
type of equation, their relative position can be determined just comparing A, B and C
in both equations.

Let r : Ax+By+C=0 and s : A'x+B'y+C'=0 be the general equations of the lines.

Then,

A B
• If ≠ , then r and s are intersecting lines.
A' B'

A B
• If = , then we have two cases,
A' B'

A B C
• If = = , then both lines are coincident.
A' B' C'

A B C
• If = ≠ , then both lines are parallel.
A' B' C'

Example 3 Determine which of the following lines are parallel or coincident:

a) 2 x +3 y−4=0 d) 4 x+6 y −8=0

b) x−2 y+1=0 e) 2 x−4 y−6=0

c) 3 x−2 y −9=0 f) 2 x +3 y +9=0

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Solution

Lines a) and d) are coincident because their coefficients are proportional:

2 3 −4
= =
4 6 −8

Lines b) and e) are parallel, and a) and f) are also parallel, because coefficients of
x and y are proportional, but not the independent term:

1 −2 1
= ≠
2 −4 −6
2 3 −4
= ≠
2 3 9

Example 4 Given the lines r : x+3 y +m=0 and s :2 x−ny +5=0 , calculate m
and n so that,

a) r and s are parallel

b) r and s intersect at the point P ( 2,1 )

c) r and s are coincident

Solution

a) r and s are parallel if the coefficients of the equations satisfy

1 3 m 5
= ≠ ⇒ n=−6, m≠
2 −n 5 2

b) The point P ( 2,1 ) must belong to both lines, so x= 2 and y=1 must be a
solution of both equations:

r :2+ 3· 1 +m=0 ⇒ m=−5

s :2· 2−n· 1+5=0 ⇒ n= 9

c) r and s are coincident if

1 3 m 5
= = ⇒ n=−6, m=
2 −n 5 2

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DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS Matemáticas I

5. Angle between two lines

We define the angle between two lines to be the acute angle determined by the
u and ⃗
direction vectors of the lines placed tail to tail. So, if ⃗ v are the direction
vectors of two lines r and s, the angle between the lines is

∣u⃗ · ⃗
v∣
α ( r , s )=α ( ⃗u , ⃗v )=arccos
∣⃗u∣∣⃗v∣

Notice that we have to use the absolute value of the dot

product to be sure that the quotient is going to be
positive, and consequently, the angle will be acute.

Example 1 Determine the angle α formed by two

lines r and s if their directional vectors are ⃗r =(−2,1 ) and ⃗s =( 2,−3 ) .

Solution

∣(−2,1 ) · ( 2,−3 )∣ ∣−4−3∣ ∣−7∣ 7 7

cos α= = = = ⇒α =arccos =29º44 '
∣(−2,1 )∣·∣( 2,−3 )∣ √ 4+1 · √ 4 +9 √5 · √ 13 √ 65 √ 65

There is an alternative formula to find the angle between two lines using their slopes
instead of their directional vectors:

α=arc tan
∣ m1 −m2
1+ m1 · m2 ∣
Again, we need the absolute value to be sure that the resulting angle is going to be
acute.

Example 2 Find out the angle formed by the lines r : y=3 x+5 and s : y=−2 x +1

Solution

In this case, it is very easy finding the slopes of the lines: mr =3 and m s=−2 ,
so we will use the second formula we have seen to calculate the angle.

α=arc tan
∣ 3−(−2 )
1+3 · (−2 ) ∣
=arc tan
5
−5 ∣ ∣
=arc tan1=45º

6. Distance between points and lines

In this section we'll look at how to find

• the distance between two points

• the distance between a point and a line

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DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS Matemáticas I

• the distance between two lines

Distance between two points

If we have two points A ( a 1 , a2 ) and B ( b1 , b2 ) , the distance between them is the

magnitude of the vector ⃗ AB :

√
AB∣= ( b 1−a1 )2 + ( b 2 −a 2 ) 2
d ( A , B ) =∣⃗

Distance between a point and a line

The distance from a point, A, to a line, r, is the smallest

distance from the point to one of the infinite points on the
line. This distance corresponds to the perpendicular line
from the point to the line, i.e., the distance from A to A'.

This distance is given by the following formula, where

Ax+By+C= 0 is the general equation of the line r, and ( a,b ) are the coordinates of
the point A:

∣Aa+Bb+C∣
d ( A,r )=
√ A2 +B 2
6
Example 1 Find the distance from the point (-3, 7) to the line y= x+ 2 .
5

Solution

We first need to express the given line in general form.

6
y= x + 2⇒ 5 y=6 x +10 ⇒6 x−5 y +10=0
5

Using the formula for the distance from a point to a line, we have:

∣Aa+Bb+C∣ ∣6 · (−3 )−5 · 7+10∣ ∣−18−35+10∣ ∣−43∣ 43

d ( A,r )= = = = =
√ A2 +B 2 √ 6 2+(−5 )2 √36+ 25 √ 61 √ 61
Distance between two lines

Let's consider three cases:

 The lines intersect: the distance is 0.

 The lines are coincident: the distance is 0 again.

 The lines are parallel: we find a specific point on one of these lines, and then
find the distance from that specific point to the other line. So, if the lines are r
and s, and P is any point belonging to r, we have

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DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS Matemáticas I

d ( r,s ) =d ( P,s )

Example 2 Find out the distance between the lines r : 2 x+ 3 y +5=0 and
s : 4 x+ 6 y+ 7=0 .

Solution

2 3 5
Since = ≠ , we are sure the lines are parallel, so we can calculate the
4 6 7
distance between them.

We take a point from one of the lines, say r. To do that, we just have to give any
value for one of the variables. Say x=−1 , so

r : 2 x+3 y +5=0 ⇒2 · (−1 )+ 3 y +5=0⇒ 3 y+3=0 ⇒ y=−1

So the point P (−1,−1 ) lies on r. Now, we just have to calculate the distance
between that point and s.

∣4 · (−1 )+6 · (−1 )+ 7∣ ∣−4−6+7∣ ∣−3∣ 3

d ( r,s ) =d ( P,s )= = = =
√ 42 +62 √ 16+36 √ 52 √52

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