Distance Dot Delight!
Here's the famous distance formula for calculating the distance between 2 dots on a graph:
d = √((x2 - x1)2 + (y2 - y1)2)
If the 4 variables are consecutive integers, then the distance will ALWAYS be equal to the square root of 8! (Or 2 square roots of 2!)
Examples:
You can even include negative integers & the math trick will still work!
By the way, zero(0) is neither positive nor negative; it's neutral.
Subtracting a negative number is the same as adding its additive inverse, so the minuses turn into pluses in this example.
The minuses at the left parentheses don't turn into pluses. Besides, even without a plus sign to the left of a numeral, the number is positive (or netural if it's zero(0)) by default.
This math trick even works if the integers are in backwards order!
Back to Index Page Back to Math Trick Menu
© Derek Cumberbatch