Type the coordinates of two points and this program gives you the straight-line distance between them.
Send it to your calculator
Plug the calculator into your computer with a USB cable, then use the button below.
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Open it on the calculator
Press the prgm key, in the middle of the keyboard a couple of rows below the arrow keys.
The PROGRAMMING menu opens with TI-Basic already highlighted. Press enter.
DISTANCE is in the program list. Press enter to pick it, which puts prgmDISTANCE on the home screen, then enter again to run it.
Find the distance between two points
The program asks for four numbers one at a time: the x and y of your first point, then the x and y of your second point.
Type each coordinate and press enter after it, using the (-) key for a negative. For the points (−2, 1) and (4, 9), the moment you enter the last number it answers Distance=10.
Good to know
- It's the distance formula, worked out for you. The program computes √((x₂ − x₁)² + (y₂ − y₁)²), the straight-line gap between your two points. That's the Pythagorean theorem with the horizontal and vertical distances as the two legs, so the Pythagorean Theorem program handles the same idea when you start from the sides of a triangle instead of two points.
- Negative coordinates work. Type them with the (-) key, not the subtraction key, and the program takes care of the subtraction. Points (−2, 1) and (4, 9) give Distance=10.
- Answers that aren't whole come out as decimals. Points (0, 0) and (1, 1) give 1.414213562 rather than the exact √2.
- Rerun it with one keypress. Pressing enter on the home screen repeats whatever you ran last, so right after a run a single enter starts a fresh set of prompts.
- A calculator reset removes it. TI-Basic programs live in RAM, so if the program disappears after a reset, just send it again from this page.