Elementary Geometry for College Students (5th Edition)

Published by Brooks Cole
ISBN 10: 1439047901
ISBN 13: 978-1-43904-790-3

Chapter 10 - Section 10.1 - The Rectangular Coordinate System - Exercises - Page 456: 4

Answer

a=-2 and 8

Work Step by Step

As we know that the pair of points have x coordinate common so the distance between the two points can be found by getting the absolute value of the difference between the two non common coordinate points. Therefore, |3-a|=5 |x| =a so it can be x=-a or x=a |3-a| = 5 so, 3-a = 5 or 3-a = -5 3-5=a or 3+5 =8 -2 = a or 8 =a Therefore the possible values of a are -2 and 8.
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