Calculating the length of a line segment | Maths | Quizalize & Oak National Academy

Starter quiz

The coordinates (3, 8) translate to (7, 8). What is the change to the $x$ -coordinate?

'4' ✓
The coordinates (3, -8) translate to (7, 8). What is the change to the $y$ -coordinate?

'16' ✓
Work out the length of the hypotenuse, for this right-angled triangle.

'101 cm' ✓
Work out the length of the edge marked $x$ , for this right-angled triangle.

'42 cm' ✓
M is the midpoint of a line segment AB. Given that A(4, 8) and B(6, 20), what are the coordinates of the midpoint M?

M(4, 14)

M(5, 10)

M(5, 14) ✓

M(6, 12)

M(1, 6)
M is the midpoint of a line segment AB. Given that A(5, 9) and M(8, 5), what are the coordinates of B?

B(6.5, 7)

B(3, -4)

B(2, 13)

B(11, 1) ✓

B(1, 11)

Put the length of these line segments in order, starting with the shortest.

1

⇔

c

2

⇔

a

3

⇔

b
What is the length of the line segment AB, to 1 decimal place?

'7.6 units' ✓
What is the length of the line segment AB, to 1 decimal place?

'5.8 units' ✓
Given that A(4, 7) and B(7, 11), what is the length of the line segment AB?

'5 units' ✓
Given that A(-9, -9) and B(3, -4), what is the length of the line segment AB?

'13 units' ✓
Find the length of line segment CD starting at the origin with midpoint (4, 2). Give your answer to 2 decimal places.

'8.94 units' ✓

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Any line segment can be turned into a right-angled triangle by adding two lines which meet at 90°
Calculating the horizontal distance gives the length of one side
Calculating the vertical distance gives the length of the other side
These two shorter sides lengths can be used to calculate the length of the line segment
This can be done using Pythagoras' theorem

Pupils may think that direction matters when determining the distance between two points.

Direction matters when dealing with displacement, not distance.

Hypotenuse - The hypotenuse is the side of a right-angled triangle which is opposite the right angle.
Pythagoras' theorem - Pythagoras’ theorem states that the sum of the squares of the two shorter sides of a right-angled triangle is equal to the square of the hypotenuse.