7.

COORDINATE GEOMETRY 2
Distance, Midpoint and Gradient

Let A (x1, y1) and B (x2, y2) be the end-points of a line segment.

(a) Distance between A and B = ( x 2 − x1 ) 2 + ( y 2 − y1 ) 2

 x1 + x 2 y1 + y 2 
(ii) Midpoint of AB =  , 
 2 2 
y 2 − y1
(iii) Gradient of AB, m =
x 2 − x1
The gradient of a horizontal line is ____________________.
The gradient of a vertical line is ____________________.
If two lines are parallel, their gradients are ____________________.

A straight line can be represented by

y = mx + c

where m is the gradient of the line and c is the y-intercept of the line.

Special forms of linear graphs.

(i) x = c This is a perpendicular line which crosses the x –axis at (c, 0).
Examples: x = 1, x = -2.
The equation of the y-axis is x = 0.
(ii) y = c This is a horizontal line which crosses the y-axis at (0, c).
Examples: y = 1, y = -2.
The equation of the x-axis is y = 0.
(iii) y = mx This is a line that cuts through the origin and has a gradient m.
If m is positive, the line is like a forward slash: /
If m is negative, the line is like a negative slash: \
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Examples:
1. The equation of a straight line is 3x + 2y + 6 = 0. Find
(a) the gradient of the line,
(b) the coordinates of the point where the line intersects the y-axis.
(c) the coordinates of the point at which the line intersects the line
2x + 3y – 1 = 0,
(d) the equation of the line, parallel to the given line, which passes
through the point (6, 10)

2. Sketch out the statement below in order to see a clear view of the
coordinates. P is the point (0, 3), Q is the point (8, 6), R is the midpoint
of the line segment PQ and O is the origin. Find
(a) the coordinates of R,
(b) the length of line segment PQ,
(c) the equation of the perpendicular vertical line which passes through R.

3. The equation of a straight line is 5x + 6y + 30 = 0. The line cuts the x and

y axes at P and Q respectively.
(a) Calculate the coordinates of P,
(b) Calculate the coordinates of Q.
(c) Sketch the line 5x + 6y + 30 = 0 cutting through point P and Q.

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7.2 Equation of a straight line [Finding the equation]

The diagram shows three points A(-2, 7), B(-2, 2) and C(6, -4).

1) Given the points A and C, find the equation of the line AC.

2) State the equation of the line AB.

3) The points B and C are (-2, 2) and (6, -4) respectively. Find the equation of the line BC.

4) Calculate the length AB, BC and CA.

5) Find the equation of the line parallel to line BC when given that the gradient is the SAME and
passing through the point (3, 2).

6) Given that the gradient of the line AB is 2 and passing through point A at (2 , 3). Show that the
equation of the line AB is y = 2x - 1.
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Name: ________________________________________ Class: _______ Date: ______________

Exercise 7: Coordinate Geometry.

1) The points A and B are (-2, 1) and (6, -5) respectively. Calculate
a) the gradient of the line AB. [2]

b) the equation of the line passing through A and B. [2]

c) the coordinate of midpoint of AB. [2]

d) the equation perpendicular to line AB. [2]

e) the line parallel to AB which passes the point (2, 0). [2]

f) the length AB. [2]

g) the length AC, given that point C is at (0, 2½). [2]

h) the length BC. [2]

i) the area of triangle ABC. [2]

2) Sketch the triangle ABC from 1 (f) - (i) and label all the points including the x and y axis. [4]

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