Coordinate Geometry Notes and Worksheet

Note that the equation of a straight line is usually given in one of two forms: the slope/intercept form y = mx + c where m is the slope and c is the intercept on the y axis, or standard form Ax + By + C = 0 where A, B and C are integers (whole numbers) and A > 0. These are both called linear equations. To obtain the equation of a line when you know the slope and a point on the line, use either the point/slope form of the equation y y1 = m(x x1) or A Ax + By = Ax1 + By1 where the slope = . B If two lines y1 = m1x + c1 and y2 = m2x + c2 are: (a) parallel, then m1 = m2 or (b)

! perpendicular then m1.m2 = 1

Exercises 1. On graph paper, draw a neat sketch of the coordinate plane, for 10 x 10, 10 y 10, on which the following points are marked and clearly labelled : A (6, 4) F (8, 7) 2. B (6, 2) G (10, 4) C (1, 6) H ( 3, 5) D (3, 0) K ( 1, 7) E (0, 7) L (5, 6).

Write down the slope of the line joining the points (i) A and B (ii) C and L (iii) E and A (iv) D and H

3.

Find the coordinates of the mid-point of each of the following lines: (i) AD (ii) BH (iii) DE (iv) GL (v) CK (vi) FH

4.

Find the distance between the points (i) A and K (ii) C and L (iii) B and D (iv) E and H

5.

Explain why (i) (ii) (iii)

DF and AK are perpendicular DH and AB are parallel DB and BF are perpendicular.

If the equation of a line is in the form y = mx + b, the value of m gives the gradient (or slope) of the line and b is called the y-intercept. By replacing y by 0, it is fairly easy to find the x intercept. If the equation is in the form Ax + By + C = 0, it is possible, without necessarily rearranging the equation every time, to write down the slope and both the y and the x intercepts. 6. For each of the following lines, write down (i) (ii) (iii) (a) (d) (g) the gradient the y-intercept the x-intercept Ax + By + C = 0 2x + 3y = 12 x 5y + 2 = 0 b) (e) (h) y = 2x 3 y x+4 2x 3y 5 = 0
3 =2

(c) (f) (i)

x 3y 9 = 0 3x 2y = 8 x 4y 8 = 0

To find the length of a line segment joining any 2 points in the plane, we use the Pythagorean theorem, provided the points are on a line that is not parallel to either axis. By making a right triangle with the line segment joining the points as hypotenuse and the line segments parallel to the axes as legs, we obtain the distance formula which gives the distance between any 2 points in the plane:
d = (x 2 " x 1 )2 + (y2 " y1 )2

In this formula we choose the positive square root since we are concerned only with the magnitude of the length of the line segment. ! 7. For each of the following pairs of points, find (i) (ii) (a) (d) 8. the slope of the line joining them the distance between the points A (2 , 3 ) B ( 6 , 1 ) G ( 2 , 2 ) H(5,6) (b) (e) C ( 5 , 1 ) D ( 1 ,7 ) (c) K (3 , 2 ) L ( 4 ,3 ) E ( 1 , 7 ) F (5 , 1 )

A line passes through the points A (1 , 3 ) and B ( 7, 1 ). (a) (b) (c) (d) Write down the slope of the line AB. Write down the equation of this line. Write down the slope of the line through A and C (7, 6). Explain clearly why the equation of BC must be the same as the equation of AB.

9.

A ( 2, 3), B ( 1, 10), C (6, 1) are the vertices of a triangle. (a) (b) (c) Show that D (2, 2) lies on AC Show that BD and AC are perpendicular Find the area of triangle ABC.

10.

What kind of figure is each of the following quadrilaterals: (i) (ii) (iii) ABCD where PQRS where EFGH where A ( 1, 4) P ( 2, 3) E (4, 7) B (4, 6) Q (3, 7) F (8, 4) C (2, 7) R (9, 5) G (2, 4) D ( 3, 5) S (2, 5) H ( 2, 1)

11.

What kind of figure is each of the triangles with vertices given as follows: (i) (iii) A ( 5, 6), B ( 1, 2), C (7, 7) P ( 2, 0), Q (2, 12), R ( 5, 9) Find the point of intersection of the lines 2x + 5y 19 = 0 and 3x 4y + 6 = 0. Find the equation of the line through this point and parallel to the line with equation 4x y = 8. (ii) D ( 1, 2), E (3, 4), F (7, 4)

12.

(a) (b)