Question

Find the distance between P and Q if P lies on the y - axis and has an ordinate 5 while Q lies on the x - axis and has an abscissa 12 .

Answer 1

P lies on y-axis and has ordinate

∴ P (0 , 5)

Q lies on x-axis and has  an abscissa

∴ Q (12 , 0)

`therefore "PQ" = sqrt ((12 - 0)^2 + (0 - 5)^2)`

`= sqrt (144 + 25)`

`= sqrt 169`

= 13 units.