1. What is the Line Segment Length Formula?

The line segment length formula calculates the distance between two points in a 2D coordinate system. It's derived from the Pythagorean theorem and provides the straight-line distance between point A (x1,y1) and point B (x2,y2).

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the distance formula:

Where:

• \( x_1, y_1 \) — Coordinates of the first point
• \( x_2, y_2 \) — Coordinates of the second point

Explanation: The formula calculates the horizontal and vertical distances between the points, squares them, sums them, and takes the square root of the result.

3. Importance of Line Segment Calculation

Details: Calculating line segment lengths is fundamental in geometry, computer graphics, physics, engineering, and many other fields where spatial relationships are important.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter the x and y coordinates for both points. The calculator will compute the straight-line distance between them. Coordinates can be positive, negative, or decimal values.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Can this be used for 3D coordinates?
A: No, this calculator is for 2D coordinates only. For 3D, you would need to add a z-coordinate term to the formula.

Q2: Does the order of points matter?
A: No, the distance is the same whether you calculate from A to B or B to A.

Q3: What units does this use?
A: The result is in the same units as your input coordinates. If you enter coordinates in meters, the result will be in meters.

Q4: Can I use this for geographic coordinates?
A: For small distances on Earth's surface, this works as an approximation. For larger distances, you would need to account for Earth's curvature.

Q5: How precise are the calculations?
A: The calculator shows results with 4 decimal places, but internal calculations use higher precision.