Straight Lines

Formula Sheet 8

1. Basic Formulas

Concept Formula
Distance Formula
(Between $$ P(x_1, y_1) $$ & $$ Q(x_2, y_2) $$)
$$ PQ = \sqrt{(x_2 – x_1)^2 + (y_2 – y_1)^2} $$
Section Formula
(Internal Division m:n)
$$ \left( \frac{mx_2 + nx_1}{m+n}, \frac{my_2 + ny_1}{m+n} \right) $$
Area of Triangle $$ \frac{1}{2} | x_1(y_2 – y_3) + x_2(y_3 – y_1) + x_3(y_1 – y_2) | $$

2. Slope & Angles

Slope (m):

  • If angle $$ \theta $$ given: $$ m = \tan \theta $$
  • Two points given: $$ m = \frac{y_2 – y_1}{x_2 – x_1} $$

Angle Between Two Lines:

$$ \tan \theta = \left| \frac{m_1 – m_2}{1 + m_1 m_2} \right| $$

• Parallel: $$ m_1 = m_2 $$
• Perpendicular: $$ m_1 m_2 = -1 $$

3. Standard Equations

Form Name Equation
General Form $$ ax + by + c = 0 $$
Slope-Intercept $$ y = mx + c $$ (c is y-intercept)
Point-Slope $$ y – y_1 = m(x – x_1) $$
Two-Point Form $$ y – y_1 = \frac{y_2 – y_1}{x_2 – x_1}(x – x_1) $$
Intercept Form $$ \frac{x}{a} + \frac{y}{b} = 1 $$
Normal Form $$ x \cos \alpha + y \sin \alpha = p $$
Special Cases:
• X-Axis: $$ y = 0 $$  |  Y-Axis: $$ x = 0 $$
• Parallel to X-Axis: $$ y = b $$  |  Parallel to Y-Axis: $$ x = a $$

4. Advanced Concepts

Distance: Point to Line

Distance of $$ (x_1, y_1) $$ from $$ ax+by+c=0 $$:

$$ d = \left| \frac{ax_1 + by_1 + c}{\sqrt{a^2 + b^2}} \right| $$

Distance: Parallel Lines

Between $$ ax+by+c_1=0 $$ & $$ ax+by+c_2=0 $$:

$$ d = \left| \frac{c_1 – c_2}{\sqrt{a^2 + b^2}} \right| $$

Shifting of Origin:

If origin is shifted to $$ (h, k) $$, the new coordinates $$ (X, Y) $$ are related to old $$ (x, y) $$ by:

$$ x = X + h \quad \text{and} \quad y = Y + k $$