Coordinate Geometry

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Why should
you care
about
Coordinate
Geometry?
 Why should you care??
● Digital World: Whenever you open a PDF file or Text file, where the images
and texts are modified with the use of coordinate geometry. Consider a PDF
file with images, words, different shapes, they’re placed in a 2D coordinate
plane of X and Y axes.
● Describing position of an object: Say, a book is placed above 10 m from the
ground, 20 m from the place the observer is sitting. The width of room is 30
m. So, using this information, it’s easy to find the coordinates and distance
from observer and the object, i.e., book.
● Location of Airplanes or other Areal transports: We have all seen the planes
and it is all on Coordinate Geometry that the planes reaches their destination
correctly. The RADAR technology is combined with Coordinate Geometry
to get the correct position and make it reach exact destination.
● Map Projections: All of us use Apple or Google Maps every day to navigate
and commute. We see the graph like lines before loading the maps. So, easily
we can tell Coordinate Geometry is used. We also have 2D and 3D maps, all
accurate. Thanks to Coordinate Geometry.
● Latitude and Longitudes
● Global Positioning System(GPS)
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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 4

the x-axis to the point.

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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.

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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
( x2  x1 ) 2 + ( y2  y1 )2

The distance between the points A(x1, y1) and B(x2, y2) is
( x2  x1 ) 2 + ( y2  y1 )2 7
Worked example

Given the coordinates of two points we can use the formula

( x2  x1 )2 + ( y2  y1 )2
to directly find the distance between them. For example:

What is the distance between the points

A(5, –1) and B(–4, 5)?
x1 y1 x2 y2
A(5, –1) B(–4, 5)

( 4  5)2 + (5  1)2 = ( 9)2 + 62

= 81+ 36 = 117 = 3 13 8
Problem

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Problem

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Problem

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Problem

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Problem

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Problem

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Problem

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Problem

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Section of a line segment: Section Formula

● To find out the coordinates of a point, which divides a line

segment joining two points in a given ratio.

● Division: Internal vs. External

● Mid Point of a line segment

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Internal divisions

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External divisions

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Problem

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Problem

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Problem

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Problem

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Mid-point of a line segment

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Finding the mid-point of a line segment

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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:
 x1 + x2 y1 + y2 
 , 
 2 2 

y
(x2, y2)
x1 + x2 is the mean of the
2 x-coordinates.
(x1, y1)  x1 + x2 y1 + y2 
 , 
 2 2  y1 + y2 is the mean of the
2 y-coordinates.
0 x 41
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
 3 + a 4 + b 
 ,  = (1, –2)
 2 2 
Equating the x-coordinates: Equating the y-coordinates:
3 + a 4+b
=1 = 2
2 2
–3 + a = 2 4 + b = –4
a=5 b = –8
The coordinates of the point P are (5, –8)
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 Problem

The midpoint of a line segment with endpoints (A+2,2B−1) and

(B+4,2A+1) is (8,10). Solve for B.

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Solution

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 Problem
Find the midpoint of the points (2,9) and (4,3).

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Solution

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Problem

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Calculating gradient (slope)

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Finding the gradient from two given points

If we are given any two points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) on a line we
can calculate the gradient of the line as follows:

change in y y
the gradient = (x2, y2)
change in x
y2 – y1
Draw a right-angled triangle (x1, y1)
between the two points on x2 – x1
the line as follows:

y2  y1
the gradient, m = 0 x
x2  x1 50
Problem

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Problem

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Problem

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Problem

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Problem

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Problem

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The equation of a straight line

The equation of a straight line can be written in several forms.

You are probably most familiar with the equation written in the
form y = mx + c.
The value of m tells us the gradient
y
of the line.
The value of c tells us where the
m line cuts the y-axis.
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c
This is called the y-intercept and it
has the coordinates (0, c).
For example, the line y = 3x + 4 has
0 x
a gradient of 3 and crosses the 64

y-axis at the point (0, 4).

The equation of a straight line

A straight line can be defined by:

one point on the line and the gradient of the line
two points on the line
If the point we are given is the y-intercept and we are also
given the gradient of the line, we can write the equation of that
line directly using y = mx + c. For example:

A line passes through the point (0, –4) and has a

gradient of 52 . What is the equation of the line?
Using y = mx + c with m = 2
5 and c = –4 we can write the
equation of the line as 2
y= x4 65

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 Finding the equation of a line given a point on the line
and the gradient
Suppose we are given the gradient of a line but that the point
given is not the y-intercept. For example:

A line passes through the point (2, 5) and has a

gradient of 2. What is the equation of the line?
Let P(x, y) be any point on the line.
y
We can then write the gradient as P(x, y)
y 5 A(2, 5) y–5
x2 x–2
But the gradient is 2 so 0 x
y 5
=2 66

x2
Finding the equation of a line

Rearranging:
y 5
=2
x2
y – 5 = 2(x – 2)

y – 5 = 2x – 4

y = 2x + 1

So, the equation of the line passing through the point (2, 5)
with a gradient of 2 is y = 2x + 1.
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Now let’s look at this for the general case.
Finding the equation of a line
Suppose a line passes through A(x1, y1) with gradient m.
y Let P(x, y) be any other point on the
P(x, y) line.
A(x1, y1) y  y1
y – y1 The gradient of AP =
x – x1 x  x1
y  y1
0 x So =m
x  x1
This can be rearranged to give y – y1 = m(x – x1).
In general:

The equation of a line through A(x1, y1) with gradient m is

y – y1 = m(x – x1) 68
Finding the equation of a line
Finding the equation of a line given two points on the
line
A line passes through the points A(3, –2) and
B(5, 4). What is the equation of the line?

Let P(x, y) be any other point on the line.

y  ( 2)
y The gradient of AP, mAP =
P(x, y) x3
B(5, 4)
4  ( 2)
The gradient of AB, mAB =
0 x 53
A(3, –2)
But AP and AB are parts of the
same line so their gradients must 69

be equal.
Finding the equation of a line

Putting mAP equal to mAB gives the equation

y  ( 2) 4  (2)
=
x3 53
y+2
= 3
x3
y + 2 = 3(x – 3)
y + 2 = 3x – 9
y = 3x – 11
So, the equation of the line passing through the points A(3, –2)
and B(5, 4) is y = 3x – 11.
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Now let’s look at this for the general case.

Finding the equation of a line
Suppose a straight line passes through the points A(x1, y1) and
B(x2, y2) with another point on the line P(x, y).
y The gradient of AP = the gradient of AB.
P(x, y)
B(x2, y2) y  y1 y2  y1
A(x1, y1) So =
x  x1 x2  x1
y  y1 x  x1
Or =
0 x y2  y1 x2  x1

The equation of a line through A(x1, y1) and B(x2, y2) is

y  y1 x  x1
=
y2  y1 x2  x1 71
The equation of a straight line

One more way to give the equation of a straight line is in the

form
ax + by + c = 0.
This form is often used when the required equation contains
fractions. For example, the equation
y = 34 x  21
can be rewritten without fractions as
4y – 3x + 2 = 0.
It is important to note that any straight line can be written in
the form ax + by + c = 0.
Note: Here the gradient is -a/b and the y-intercept is -c/b 72
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