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distance of a line ax+by+c=0 from (0,0)

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by kishore » Wed Jun 04, 2008 10:49 am
formula for distance of a line ax+by+c=0 from (0,0) is
dist = Mod(c/sqrt(a^2+b^2))

or

dist = |c/sqrt(a^2+b^2)|
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by Ian Stewart » Wed Jun 04, 2008 10:55 am
Yeah, I just derived the formula, and that's correct (with the absolute value included).

I can't imagine a situation where you'd need this on the GMAT, however.
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Re: distance of a line ax+by+c=0 from (0,0)

by gabriel » Wed Jun 04, 2008 11:33 am
netigen wrote:Can someone confirm this formula

formula for distance of a line ax+by+c=0 from (0,0) is
dist = c/sqrt(a^2+b^2)
That is the formula for the perpendicular distance of (0,0) from the line.
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Re: distance of a line ax+by+c=0 from (0,0)

by getneonow » Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:22 am
gabriel wrote:
netigen wrote:Can someone confirm this formula

formula for distance of a line ax+by+c=0 from (0,0) is
dist = c/sqrt(a^2+b^2)
That is the formula for the perpendicular distance of (0,0) from the line.
when you say distance between a point and a line , it is implied that the distance is the perpendicular distance..

anyways it always helps to have clarity on things..

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by gmatinjuly » Mon Jun 09, 2008 4:13 am
Just adding some extra info here.

Dist formula from my point (x1,y1) for a line ax+by +c = 0 is

Mod [ (ax1+by1+c)/(sqrt (a^2+b^2) ]

Here x 1 = 0 and y1 = 0

so

Mod [ c/(sqrt (a^2+b^2) ]
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