Distance between two points - Collinear
Last updated at August 17, 2026 by Teachoo
Transcript
Example 4 Show that the points P (โ2, 3, 5), Q (1, 2, 3) and R (7, 0, โ1) are collinear. If three points are collinear, then they lie on a line. Let first calculate distance between the 3 points i.e. PQ. QR and PR Calculating PQ P ( โ 2, 3, 5) Q (1, 2, 3) Hence , PQ = โ((๐ฅ2โ๐ฅ1)2+(๐ฆ2โ๐ฆ1)2+(๐ง2 โ๐ง1)2) PQ = โ((1โ(โ2))2+(2โ3)2+(3โ5)2) = โ((1+2)2+(2โ3)2+(3โ5)2) = โ(32+(โ1)2+(โ2)2) = โ(9+(โ1)2+(โ2)2) = โ(9+1+4) = โ๐๐ Calculating QR Q ( 1, 2, 3) R (7, 0, โ1) QR = โ((x2โx1)2+(y2โy1)2+(z2 โz1)2) Here , x1 = โ 2, y1 = 3, z1 = 5 x2 = 1, y2 = 2, z2 = 3 QR = โ((7โ1)2+(0โ2)2+(โ1โ3)2) = โ((6)2+(โ2)2+(โ4)2) = โ(36+4+16) = โ56 = โ(14 ร 2 ร 2) = 2โ๐๐ Calculating PR P (โ2, 3, 5), R (7, 0, โ1) PR = โ((x2โx1)2+(y2โy1)2+(z2 โz1)2) Here, x1 = โ2, y1 = 3, z1 = 5 x2 = 7, y2 = 0, z2 = โ 1 PR = โ((7โ(โ2))2+(0โ3)2+(โ1โ5)2) = โ((7+2)2+(โ3)2+(โ6)2) = โ((9)2+9+36) = โ(81+9+36) = โ126 = โ(14 ร 3 ร 3) = ๐โ๐๐ Thus, PQ = โ๐๐ , QR = 2โ๐๐ & PR = 3โ๐๐ So, PQ + QR = โ14 + 2โ14 = 3โ14 = PR Thus, PQ + QR = PR So, if we draw the points on a graph, with PQ + QR = PR We see that points P, Q, R lie on the same line. Thus, P, Q and R all collinear