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How to Calculate Distance Between 2 Lines

Finding the distance between two lines is a necessary task in many algebra classes as well as in career fields such as landscaping, building design and roadway engineering. Since lines are continuous figures, you must decide on points from which you want to measure distance. From there, you only need to follow a simple algebraic formula to calculate the distance between the two lines.

Graph of the two lines
Calculator

Instructions

- 1
  Plot a point on each of the lines. For instance, a point on line A might be 1,1, and a point on line B might be 3,4. (Remember, the first coordinate is the X coordinate and the second is the Y coordinate.)
- 2
  Subtract the first X coordinate from second S coordinate: 3 - 1 = 2
- 3
  Subtract the first Y coordinate from the second Y coordinate: 4 - 1 = 3
- 4
  Add the answer from step 2 to the answer from step 3: 2 + 3 = 5
- 5
  Take the square root of the answer from step 4. The square root of 5 is 2.236, which is the distance between the two lines as measured from these specific points.