Q. 2 - Precalculus Enhanced with Graphing Utilities

Question

If $-3$ and 5 are the coordinates of two points on the real number line, the distance between these points is _________.

Step-by-Step Solution

Answer

The distance between the given points is 8.

Step 1. Given information.

The given statement is:

If  and 5 are the coordinates of two points on the real number line, the distance between these points is _________.

Step 2. Determine the distance between two points.

Subtract the smaller number from the larger number.

$\begin{array}{rcl}5-(-3)& =& 5+3\\ & =& 8\end{array}$

We can use absolute value to calculate the distance between two points without being concerned about which is smaller.

$\begin{array}{rcl}\left|-3-5\right|& =& \left|-8\right|\\ & =& 8\end{array}$

Step 3. Conclusion.

The distance between the given points is 8.