ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos


Plane Geometry Videos 30 videos

ACT Math 1.5 Plane Geometry
297 Views

ACT Math: Plane Geometry Drill 1, Problem 5. If two polygons have the same shape and size, they are what?

ACT Math 3.5 Plane Geometry
394 Views

ACT Math: Plane Geometry Drill 3, Problem 5. How long would it take for the wheel to make two rotations?

ACT Math 4.3 Plane Geometry
361 Views

ACT Math: Plane Geometry Drill 4, Problem 3. What is the measure of each angle in the figure?

See All

Finding the Distance Between Two Points 2065 Views


Share It!


Description:

Talk about math being applicable to real life.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:06

Finding the distance between points, a la Shmoop.

00:10

Meet Bossy. Any time Bossy and company come back to the

00:13

pasture after a night out at their favorite Indian restaurant…

00:16

…Bossy sets up camp at her chosen spot… … and orders the other cows to move as far

00:21

away from her as possible. Honestly, it’s for their own good.

00:24

If we imagine the cows’ situation on a coordinate plane…

00:27

…it might look something like this. Plus, it’s much more appetizing to view

00:31

it as a graph than to see the actual field. Trust us on this one.  

00:36

So which cow is going to be in Bossy’s good graces?

00:39

In other words, which cow is farthest away from Bossy, and her… leftovers?

00:44

To figure it out, we’re going to have to rely on one of those coordinate geometry formulas

00:48

we love so much. In this case, we want to find the distance

00:51

between two foul-smelling points, so we’ll need…

00:56

… “distance equals the square root of x1 minus x2 squared, plus y1 minus y2 squared.”

01:05

We may also need some nose plugs. Ever heard of a cow pie?

01:09

Well, we can find the distance between Bossy and each of the five cows by substituting

01:14

“x2, y2 equals zero, zero” into the distance formula…

01:21

…because Bossy is at the origin, or “zero, zero.”

01:26

Basically, it's like “x2, y2” doesn't even exist.

01:31

Then it’s just a matter of plugging in each cow’s coordinates.

01:36

Which would be easier if each of them was equipped with a GPS.

01:41

The coordinates of point A are (-2,3).  So when we plug those coordinates into our formula,

01:49

it gives us the distance from that cow to Bossy which equals… the square root of 13.

01:58

The coordinates of point B are (2, 2)… making the distance the square root of 8.

02:12

Point C is (-3, -3), which gives us the square root of 18…

02:20

…Point D at (0, -4) gives us 4… …and point E at (2, -1) gives us the square

02:36

root of 5. The largest of those is the square root of

02:41

18… or three square root of two… …which means that Betty, the cow at Point

02:49

C, is the farthest from Bossy. Lucky Betty. Let’s just hope she’s not

02:54

downwind.

Related Videos

Surface Area of Cylinders
14741 Views

Haven't you always wondered how much cardboard it takes to encase a trunk warmer for your pet elephant?

Perimeter of Irregular Shapes
4864 Views

Want to figure out the area and perimeter of irregular shapes? Break them down into regular shapes. For example, a flower can be broken down into s...

Introduction to 3D Geometry
55503 Views

It's one thing when all those shapes are sitting flat on the page. But when they start popping out and invading our personal space bubble, we get a...

An Introduction to 3D Geometry
815 Views

Does thinking about 3D Geometry get you bent out of shape? Never fear! Watch this video and figure out some fun new shapes to bend back into. We're...

ACT Math 3.5 Plane Geometry
394 Views

ACT Math: Plane Geometry Drill 3, Problem 5. How long would it take for the wheel to make two rotations?