CK12 - Geometry

Eachof the drawingsaboveshowdifferentpathsbetweenpoints and. Take a momentto calculate
the length(in units)of eachpath.

Path 1: 6 units

Path 2: 6 units

Path 3: 6 units

Eachof thosedistancesis equal,eventhoughthe pathsare different.The pointis that the shortestdistance

between and is 3 unitsto the right and 3 unitsup. Since3 + 3 = 6, this is consistentwith the findings
above.Whatyou can learnfrom this is that it doesn’tmatterthe orderin whichyou moveup or over. As
long as you do not backtrack,the lengthwill alwaysbe the same.

Note that the taxicabgeometrysystemlooksfamiliar—infact it is the sameas the -coordinategrid system,
with the addedrule that you can only travelup and downor right and left.

Example 1

In the grid below, eachverticaland horizontalline representsa streeton a map.The streetsare evenly
spaced.

Juneridesher bike from hometo schooleachday alongthe roadsin her town.How far, in feet, doesJune
ride her bike to get to school?

This is a taxicabgeometryquestion,as Juneonly ridesher bike on the streets.Counthow manyunitsto
the right Junetravels—8units.Now counthow may unitsup Junetravels—4units.Add thesetwo values.