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Cartesian grid distance at an angle

This skill teaches how to calculate the distance between two points on a Cartesian grid that lie at an angle to the axes. Using the changes in the x and y coordinates, one forms a right triangle and applies the Pythagorean theorem to find the distance (hypotenuse).

Learn cartesian grid distance at an angle

Teaching Transcript

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What is the distance between these two points?

Let's draw them on a grid to understand them a bit better. We can see they are at an angle to the grid.

We know that 'X' changes by 3 so the horizontal line is length 3

We know that 'Y' changes by 4 so the vertical line is length 4

So we have a right triangle with sides 3 and 4. We can calculate the hypotenuse length using pythagoras. 3 squared plus 4 squared is 25, and the root of 25 is 5, so the distance between the points is 5.

Skill Practice

Cartesian grid distance at an angle

Test your understanding of cartesian grid distance at an angle by practicing it! Work through the below exercises to use it in practice.