Lesson goal: The distance formula

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One of the first actual uses of the square root in math is in the distance formula, which is $$d=\sqrt{(x-x_0)^2+(y-y_0)^2}.$$ This formula will tell you the "straight line" distance between any two points on a cartesian coordinate system. As this formula is stated, one point will be $(x,y)$ and the other will be $(x_0,y_0)$. For example, if one point is at $(5,3)$ and the other point is at $(-3,17)$, the distance between them will be $d=\sqrt{(5-(-3))^2+(3-17)^2}$.

In this lesson, we'll see if you can program in the distance formula and have the computer calculate distances for you.

Now you try. Use the print statement to find the distance between two xy points.

Type your code here:


See your results here: