How to Find Horizontal Distances

The horizontal distance on a graph is the distance between two points along the x-axis. Finding the horizontal distance is one step in measuring the distance of a segment of a straight line. The horizontal distance is also a prime factor in discovering the slope, or rise, in the line, which illustrates the line's rate of growth based on the x- and y-coordinates. Learning to find the horizontal distances on a graph can help you better understand the basics of graphing and geometric lines.

Instructions

1. Subtract one x-coordinate on the graph from another. For example, if one point's x-coordinate is 3, and the other's is 1, then subtracting 1 from 3 is -2.

2. Square the difference of the two x-coordinates. For the example, -2 squared is 4.

3. Find the square root of the squared difference. For the example, the square root of 4 is 2. This is also the same as finding the absolute value of the difference, which means finding the positive representation of the number. Hence, the absolute value of -2 is 2. This value (2 in this case) is the measure of the horizontal distance.

References

• "Basic Math and Pre-Algebra"; Jerry Bobrow; 1995
• Province of British Columbia: Ministry of Education, Mathematics Appendix
• Cliffs Notes: Geometry, Distance Formula
• University of Washington Astronomy Department: Distance Formula