Solution 4.1:4a

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If we draw in the points in a coordinate system, we can see the line between the points as the hypotenuse in an imaginary right-angled triangle, where the opposite and adjacent are parallel with the \displaystyle x - and \displaystyle y -axes.

Using Pythagoras' theorem, we can then calculate the length of the hypotenuse, which is also the distance between the points:


\displaystyle \begin{align} & d=\sqrt{\left( \Delta x \right)^{2}+\left( \Delta y \right)^{2}}=\sqrt{4^{2}+3^{2}} \\ & =\sqrt{16+9}=\sqrt{25}=5 \\ \end{align}


NOTE: In general, the distance between two points \displaystyle \left( x \right.,\left. y \right) and \displaystyle \left( a \right.,\left. b \right) is given by the formula


\displaystyle d=\sqrt{\left( x-a \right)^{2}+\left( y-b \right)^{2}}