3.

1 Distance and Midpoint Formulas;

Angles and Their Measures
(MAT 049-PreCalculus)

NESTOR G. ACALA, PhD

Mathematics Department
Mindanao State University Main Campus
Marawi City
[email protected]
As derived from the Greek words “trigonon" (triangle) and “metron” (measure),
the word trigonometry means “measurement of triangles.” Initially,
trigonometry dealt with relationships among the sides and angles of triangles and
was used in the development of astronomy, navigation, and surveying.
With the development of calculus and the physical sciences in the 17th century, a
different perspective arose-one that viewed the classic trigonometric relationships
as functions with the set of real numbers as their domains. Consequently, the
applications of trigonometry expanded to include a vast number of physical
phenomena involving rotations and vibrations. These phenomena include sound
waves, light rays, planetary orbits, vibrating strings, pendulums, orbits of atomic
particles, among others.
Distance and Midpoint Formulas

Distance Formula
Consider any two points P1 (x1 , y1 ) and P2 (x2 , y2 ) in the plane. We denote by
P1 P2 the line segment joining the points P1 and P2 and its length by |P1 P2 |. If
Q is the point with coordinates (x2 , y1 ), then the length of the horizontal line
segment P1 Q is the same as the distance of two numbers x1 and x2 on the real
line. That is,
|P1 Q | = |x2 − x1 | = |x1 − x2 |.
Similarly, the length of the vertical line segment P2 Q is

|P2 Q | = |y2 − y1 | = |y1 − y2 |.

Figure: Distance between two points
As can be seen in Figure 1, the points P1 , P2 , and Q form a right triangle. Thus,
by Pythagorean theorem

|P1 P2 |2 = |P1 Q |2 + |P2 Q |2

= |x 2 − x 1 |2 + |y 2 − y 1 |2
= (x2 − x1 )2 + (y2 − y1 )2 .

Taking the square root of both sides gives

p
|P1 P2 | = (x2 − x1 )2 + (y2 − y1 )2

which is the formula for the distance between P1 and P2 .

Theorem
Let P1 (x1 , y1 ) and P2 (x2 , y2 ) be any two points in the Cartesian plane. The
distance d (P1 , P2 ) between points P1 and P2 is defined to be the length of
the line segment P1 P2 joining P1 and P2 and is given by the formula
p
d (P1 , P2 ) = |P1 P2 | = (x2 − x1 )2 + (y2 − y1 )2 .
 Example. Find the distance between (4, −2) and (−3, 6).

Solution: Let (4, −2) be the point P1 and (−3, 6) be P2 . Then x1 = 4,

x2 = −3, y1 = −2, and y2 = 6. Using the distance formula, we get the distance
between P1 and P2 to be
p
|P1 P2 | = (−3 − 4)2 + (6 − (−2))2
p
= (−7)2 + (8)2
√
= 49 + 64
√
= 113 units.
 Example. Determine if the points (−4, 9), (8, 4), and (−9, −3) are vertices
of an isosceles triangle.

Solution: Let (−4, 9) be P1 , (8, 4) be P2 , and (−9, −3) be P3 . The three sides
of the triangle are represented by the line segments P1 P2 , P1 P3 , and P2 P3 .
Using the distance formula we get the length of each side as follows:
p
|P1 P2 | = (x2 − x1 )2 + (y2 − y1 )2
p
= (8 − (−4))2 + (4 − 9)2
p
= (12)2 + (−5)2
√
= 144 + 25
√
= 169 = 13
 p
|P2 P3 | = (x3 − x2 )2 + (y3 − y2 )2
p
= (−9 − 8)2 + (−3 − 4)2
p
= (−17)2 + (−7)2
√
= 289 + 49
√
= 338
√
= 13 2
 p
|P1 P3 | = (x3 − x1 )2 + (y3 − y1 )2
p
= (−9 − (−4))2 + (−3 − 9))2
p
= (−5)2 + (−12)2
√
= 25 + 144
√
= 169
= 13.

Since two sides P1 P2 and P1 P3 are of the same length, we conclude that the
given points are vertices of an isosceles triangle.
Midpoint
Now, given a line segment determined by the points P1 (x1 , y1 ) and P2 (x2 , y2 ) in
the cartesian plane, the point which is one-half of the distance from P1 to P2 is
called the midpoint M (x , y ) of the line segment P1 P2 . Figure 2 helps us
analyze how to find the coordinates of the midpoint. First, we recall from plane
geometry that if three or more parallel lines intersect two transversals, then they
cut off the transversals proportionally.
Figure: Midpoint
Consider the three vertical lines passing through the points P1 , M, and P2 and
the transversals passing through P1 , P2 and P1 , R. Since M is the midpoint of
the line segment P1 P2 , then S is the midpoint of the line segment P1 R whose
coordinates are (x , y1 ). The x-coordinate of S is shown to be
1
x = x1 + (x2 − x1 )
2
1 1
= x1 + x2 − x1
2 2
x1 + x2
= .
2
Similarly, T is the midpoint of the line segment P2 R. The y -coordinate of T is
y1 + y2
y= .
2
The Midpoint Formula
Let P1 (x1 , y1 ) and P2 (x2 , y2 ) be any two points in the Cartesian plane. The
midpoint M (x , y ) of the line segment P1 P2 is given by
 
x1 + x2 y1 + y2
, .
2 2
 Example. Find the midpoint between the points (7, 3) and (−1, −5).

Solution: Using the midpoint formula, we get

   
x1 + x2 y1 + y2 7 + (−1) 3 + (−5)
M (x , y ) = , = ,
2 2 2 2
 
6 −2
= ,
2 2
= (3, −1).
Exercise:
1. One endpoint of a line segment is (2, −4). Find the coordinates of the
other endpoint if the midpoint of the line segment is (−1, 1).
2. Point A has coordinates (−3, y1 ) and point B has coordinates (x2 , 5). If
the midpoint of the line segment from A to B is (− 32 , 2), find y1 and x2 .
3. Use the distance formula to determine if the points (−4, 0), (−1, −2),
(1, 1), and (−2, 3) are vertices of a square.
4. Use the distance formula to determine if the points (0, 2), (3, 5), and
(7, 1) are vertices of a right triangle.
Angles and Their Measures

An angle is determined by rotating a ray (half line) about its endpoint. The
starting position of the ray is the initial side of the angle, and the position after
rotation is the terminal side, as shown in Figure 3 (a). The endpoint of the ray
is the vertex of the angle. This perception of an angle fits a coordinate system
in which the origin is the vertex and the initial side coincides with the positive
x-axis. Such an angle is in standard position, as shown in Figure 3 (b).
Positive angles are generated by counterclockwise rotation, and negative
angles by clockwise direction, as shown in Figure 4. Angles are usually labeled
with Greek letters such as α, β and θ, as well as uppercase letters such as A, B ,
and C. Angles having the same initial and terminal sides are called coterminal
angles (see Figure 5). There is an unlimited number of angles coterminal with a
given angle.
Figure: An angle and angle in standard position
Figure: Positive and negative angles
Figure: Coterminal angles
Measuring Angles

Let the circumference of a circle of radius 1 (also called a unit circle) be divided
into 360 equal parts. The measure of one such part is defined as one degree,
written 1◦ . Each degree is divided into 60 minutes, written 600 , and each minute
is divided into 60 seconds, written 6000 .
The measure in degrees of an angle AOB is the measure in degrees of the
arc PQ intercepted by the angle on a unit circle with center at O.
Example: A right angle has measure 90◦ , and a straight angle (formed when
rays OA and OB are collinear) has measure 180◦ .
Example: An angle in standard position with measure 30◦ is one-third of a
90◦ -angle, and a 45◦ angle is one-half of a 90◦ -angle.
The angles 0◦ , 90◦ , 180◦ and 270◦ and all the angles coterminal with them are
called quadrantal angles.
Coterminal angles for any given angle can be found by adding integer multiples of
360◦ to the degree measure of the given angle. An angle θ is said to be an acute
angle if its angle measure is between 0◦ and 90◦ . It is said to be an obtuse
angle if its measure is between 90◦ and 180◦ . Quadrantal angles and acute
angles with measure 30◦ , 45◦ and 60◦ (including coterminal angles) are
commonly known as special angles.