COORDINATE

GEOMETRY
CAIE1 (A AND B)
WEEK 2
 In this Lesson we will discuss
• The gradient of a line
• The distance between two points and the midpoint

LESSON 1 Gradient – is a numerical expression of how steep a slope is

or rate of change.

Length – is the distance between two points.

Mid point – is the mid-point between two points.

THE CARTESIAN COORDINATE SYSTEM
The Cartesian coordinate system is named after the French
mathematician René Descartes (1596 – 1650).
Points in the (x, y) plane are defined by their perpendicular
distance from the x- and y-axes relative to the origin, O.
The coordinates of a point P are
written in the form P(x, y).
The x-coordinate, or abscissa, tells us
the horizontal distance from the y-axis
to the point.
The y-coordinate, or ordinate, tells us
the vertical distance from the x-axis to
the point.
 THE GRADIENT OF A LINE
• Slant of a line is called the slope/gradient.
• Gradient is a value that tells us about the steepness of a line.
• Gradient is the ratio of the change in the y-value over the change
in the x-value.

Gradient =
THE GRADIENT OF A LINE
• You can work out the gradient of a line if you know 2
points on it.
• Let the first point be (x1,y1) and the second be (x2,y2).
The following formula gives the gradient:

The change in the y values, divided by the change in the

x values
EXPLANATION OF GRADIENT LINE
• The rate at which line rises (or falls) vertically for every
unit.
y
Gradient line
Q(x2,y2) : P(x1,y1) ,Q (x2,y2)

m
(y2-y1)
P(x1, y1)

(x2-x1)
x
Where..
0
POSITIVE GRADIENT
y
Gradient line of PQ :

Q(6,5)

θ
P(2,2)
x
0

If θ < 90, m is positive

 EXAMPLE 1:

•Given two points, P = (0, –1) and Q = (4,1), on the

line we can calculate the slope\gradient of the line.
Slopes =
 NEGATIVE GRADIENT
Gradient line of MN :
y

M (2,7)

N (5,2)
x
0

If θ > 90, m is negative

 EXAMPLE 2:

• Consider the two points, R(–2, 3) and S(0, –1) on

the line. What would be the slope of the line?
Slopes =
 ZERO GRADIENT
y

m=0
P Q

X
0
-If the line PQ is parallel with the x-axis,
θ = 0° OR θ = 180° ….Hence, m = 0
HOW ABOUT PARALLEL & PERPENDICULAR LINE ??
WHAT ARE THEIR GRADIENT ??....

1.) Two lines are parallel if and only if both

have the same gradient ;

m1 = m2

2.) Two lines with m1 and m2 gradient are

perpendicular if and only if

m2 m1 = -1
SLOPES OF
PARALLEL
LINES
 y

Q(6,5)
S (8,5)

P(2,2) R (4,2)

Gradient line of PQ : 0
x Gradient line of RS :

mPQ // mRS
 QUESTION…

1.) Does the straight-line AB and CD below parallel??....

A(1,9) , B(5,8) , C(5,2) ,D(1,3)

mAB = mCD…….hence, AB // CD
GRADIENT OF
PERPENDICULAR LINES

• Two lines are perpendicular if the product of

their gradient (m) is –1
• The line y= ½ x-1
perpendicular to
y= -2x-1
Because:
½ x (-2) = -1
 y

P(4,6) R (9,5)

Q (6,3)

Gradient line of PQ : x
0 Gradient line of RS :

𝟑− 𝟔
𝟔−𝟒

−𝟑
𝐦𝐩𝐪 =
𝟐
mPQ mRS
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS AND THE
MIDPOINT

• Distance between two points A(x1,y1) and

B(x2,y2):

• Coordinates of the midpoint (X) of two points

A(x1,y1) and B(x2,y2):
 THE DISTANCE
BETWEEN TWO POINTS

•Given the coordinates of two points, A

and B, we can find the distance between
them by adding a third point, C, to form
a right-angled triangle. We then use
Pythagoras’ theorem.
GENERALIZATION FOR THE DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO
POINTS
What is the distance between two general points with
coordinates A(x1, y1) and B(x2, y2)?
The horizontal distance between the points is x2 – x1 .
The vertical distance between the points is y2 – y1 .
Using Pythagoras’ Theorem, the square of the distance
between the points A(x1, y1) and B(x2, y2) is

The distance between the points A(x1, y1) and B(x2, y2) is
Example :
Given the coordinates of two points we can use the formula

to directly find the distance between them. For example:

What is the distance between the points

A(5, –1) and B(–4, 5)?
x1 y 1 x2 y 2
A(5, –1) B(–4, 5)
FINDING THE MID-POINT OF A LINE SEGMENT
GENERALIZATION FOR THE MID-POINT OF A LINE
In general, the coordinates of the mid-point of the line
segment joining (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) are given by:

y
(x2, y2)
is the mean of the
x-coordinates.
(x1, y1)
is the mean of the
y-coordinates.
0 x
FINDING THE MID-POINT OF A LINE SEGMENT
The mid-point of the line segment joining the point (–3, 4)
to the point P is (1, –2). Find the coordinates of the point P.

Let the coordinates of the points P be (a, b). We can then write

(1, –2)

Equating the x-coordinates: Equating the y-coordinates:

4 + b = –4
–3 + a = 2 b = –8
a=5
The coordinates of the point P are (5, –8)
 Homework
1. The line joining the point P(3, −4) to Q(q, 0) has a gradient of 2. Find the value of q.

2. For the following pairs of points A and B, calculate:

(a)  the gradient of the line AB
(b)  the midpoint of the line joining A to B
(c)  the distance AB
(d)  the gradient of the line perpendicular to AB.

(i) A(0, 1) B(2, −3) (ii) A(3, 2) B(4, −1) (iii) A(−6, 3) (v) B(6, 3)

(iv) A(5, 2) B(2, −8) (v) A(4,3) B(2,0)