Distance = Hypotenuse of a Right Triangle
Legs: and , then Pythagoras. Reflex: Subtract coordinates in the same order in both brackets.
Legs: and , then Pythagoras. Reflex: Subtract coordinates in the same order in both brackets.
Average the x's, average the y's. Reflex: Add and halve — nothing gets subtracted.
Gradient , and in the triangle standing on the -axis, — the same fraction, so gradient . Here θ is the acute angle the line makes with the positive -axis. Reflex: Need θ? Use .
Similar triangles form, so horizontal and vertical pieces split in the same ratio . Reflex: Solve the x-equation and y-equation separately, on their own.
Faster than since you skip solving for . Reflex: Have a gradient and ANY point? Go straight to .
Parallel lines have the same gradient. To find where two lines intersect, solve their equations simultaneously.
Reflex: See "parallel to" → copy that line's gradient.
Perpendicular gradients multiply to . Flip the fraction, change the sign. Reflex: , — flip & flip sign.
Midpoint gives the point; negative reciprocal of gives the gradient. Then form the equation. Reflex: Sub in the MIDPOINT — never or .
↘ products are added, ↗ products subtracted; the modulus of half the total is the area. Reflex: List vertices anti-clockwise, repeat the first point at the end.
Parallelogram: diagonals share the same midpoint. Rhombus: same, plus diagonals perpendicular. Kite: diagonals perpendicular, axis bisects the other diagonal.
Reflex: Bisect → equate midpoints; perpendicular → negative-reciprocal gradients.
Common exam pair: part (i) find the area by shoelace; part (ii) "hence" find the perpendicular distance from to . Same triangle, so rearrange the area formula: double the area, then divide by the length (distance formula). Reflex: After an area, "hence find the distance" means .