The Distance Between Two Points

A robot must be programmed to compute the distance between two points in three dimensional space:

d = [(x2 - x1)² + (y2 - y1)² + (z2 - z1)²]½

Find the distance between two points in three-dimensional space.

Subject: Mathematics
Topics: Algebra
Grades: 6 - 12
Knowledge and Skills:
- Can interpret (x,y,z) notation as the position of a point in three-dimensional space
- Can find the distance between two points in three-dimensional space

Download Teacher Guide: Distance Between Two Points (PDF)
Download Student Lesson: Distance Between Two Points (PDF)

An Engineer and Her RobotAn Engineer and Her Robot:

What do you do if you're building a space station and happen to let go of a $250,000 tool that you had forgotten to tie down? Somebody is going to need to take a spacewalk to retrieve it. If you're lucky, you can give that dangerous task to "Arnie"--the robot.
Running time 2:36 minutes.

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