The total distancebetweentown1 and town3 is 13 miles.Distanceson a Grid
In algebrayou mostlikelyworkedwith graphinglines in the coordinategrid. Sometimesyou can find
the distancebetweenpointson a coordinategrid usingthe valuesof the coordinates.If the two pointsline
up horizontally, look at the changeof valuein the -coordinates.If the two pointsline up vertically, look at
the changeof valuein the -coordinates.The changein valuewill showthe distancebetweenthe points.
Rememberto use absolutevalue,just like you did with the ruler. Lateryou will learnhow to calculatedistance
betweenpointsthat do not line up horizontallyor vertically.
Example 5
Whatis the distancebetweenthe two pointsshownbelow?The two pointsshownon the grid are at (2,9) and (2,3).As thesepointsline up vertically, look at the differencein the -values.
So, the distancebetweenthe two pointsis 6 units.Example 6
Whatis the distancebetweenthe two pointsshownbelow?The two pointsshownon the grid are at and Thesepointsline up horizontally, so look at
the differencein the -values.Rememberto take the absolutevalueof the differencebetweenthe values
to find the distance.