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COORDINATE GEOMETRY
This topic is very important especially in paper 2 options. The principles
of coordinate geometry are tested in paper 1 questions, statistics,
algebraic functions, linear programming and Transformations. You will
be tested to draw a line and plot points on a Cartesian plane.
I will try to provide a simple guidance on the topic.
 1. LENGTH OF A LINE
To find length of a line, we use the coordinates at the start and the end of
the line. The formula for finding length of line is

length = √
where coordinates are (x1 ; y1) and (x2 ; y2)
Examples
i) A straight line starts from a point P (3;-4) and Q(-1;2).
Find the length of a line.

Solution:
Using the formula, using P as (x2 ; y2) and Q as (x1 ; y1)
l=√
=√
=√
=√
You can leave your answer in surd form or to 3 s.f. as per
requirements of the question
= 7,21 to 3 s.f.
 2. MIDPOINT OF A LINE
To find mid-point of a line, we use the formula

m=( )

where the coordinates of two end points are (x1 ; y1) and (x2 ; y2)

Example
A straight line connects P (3; -4) and Q ( -1; 2). Find the midpoint of the
line PQ.
Solution:

m=( )

m=( )

midpoint = (1; -1)

 3. GRADIENT OF A LINE
The equation of a line is given by y = mx + c, where m is the gradient
and c is the y-intercept (a point where the line cuts the y-axis).
However, we can use coordinates to find the gradient of the line. The
formula of the gradient is;

m=

Example
i) Find the gradient of a straight line which passes through P(3; -4)
and Q(-1; 2).
Solution
Using the formula
m=

= -1
 4. EQUATION OF A LINE
The equation of a line is given by
y = mx + c
where m is the gradient of the straight line and ‘c’ is the point where the
line cuts the y-axis.
This means we must find
a) The gradient of the line
b) The y-intercept
to come up with the equation of a line.
There are two ways to find an equation. Its either you use the gradient
formula or the equation. I will highlight both.
Lets dive into an example
Example
i) A is the point (0; 6) and B is the point (4; 2). Find
a) The gradient of line AB
b) The equation of line AB
Solution
a) Using the formula
m=
=

m = -1
 b) Method 1 : Using Gradient formula
Take any of the coordinates, in this case I will use A(0; 6)
Since m = -1,

= -1

Then multiply both sides by (x – 0) to remove a fraction

y – 6 = -1(x – 0)
y – 6 = -x + 0
y–6=-x
y = -x + 6
[leaving it in the form y = mx + c]

Method 2: Using the equation

y = mx + c
y = -1x + c
y = -x + c
[to find c, take one of the coordinates and substitute values for x and y]
Taking coordinates of B(4;2)
2=-4+c
[you can see that I substituted x for 4 and y for 2 according to my
coordinates values]
Find the value of ‘c’
 2+4=c
6=c
Therefore, if we replace ‘c’ with 6, our equation becomes
y = -x + 6

ii) A straight line passes through (-3 ; -2) and (6 ; 2). Find the
equation of the line in the form ay = bx + c

Solution:
Lets first find a gradient.
m=

Now let’s use our gradient to find the equation, taking

coordinates (6; 2)

Cross multiplication gives

9(y – 2) = 4(x – 6)

9y – 18 = 4x – 24
9y = 4x – 24 + 18
9y = 4x – 6
 5. PARALLEL LINES
Parallel lines have the same gradient but

 Different equations
 Pass through different coordinates
To find the equation of a parallel line we use the gradient of another
parallel line. Let’s see this
Examples
i) a) Write down the gradient of the line whose equation 3x + 2y =
18
b) find the equation of the straight line which is parallel to the
line 3x + 2y = 18 and passes through (-2; 3)
Solution
a) re arrange the equation to y = mx + c
2y = -3x + 18
y= x+9
Therefore m =
b) using the gradient and coordinates of the parallel lines
=

Cross multiplication gives

2(y – 3) = -3(x + 2)
2y – 6 = -3x – 6
2y = -3x – 6 + 6
 2y = - 3x
2y + 3x = 0

ii) The equation of a straight line is given as 3y – 2x – 6 = 0

Find
(a) the gradient of line
(b) coordinates of the point where the line crosses the y – axis,
(c) the equation, in the form ax + by = c, of a straight line
parallel to line 3y – 2x – 6 = 0 and passing through (-5; 2).

Solution:
a) re-arrange the equation in the form y = mx + c
3y = 2x + 6
y = x+2
therefore, gradient of the line is

b) y – intercept is the ‘c’ on the equation y = mx + c

taking from the re-arranged equation of the line
c=2
coordinates of the point line crosses the y-axis is (0; 2)

c) Use the gradient of the original line and the given coordinates

=
Cross multiplication
3(y – 2) = 2(x + 5)
3y – 6 = 2x + 10
3y – 2x = 10 + 6
3y – 2x = 16
 6. DRAWING A STRAIGHT LINE
This is the most important concept if you are going to chose graphical
topics in Section B of paper 2. Straight lines is widely used in
transformation when reflecting shapes, in Functional graphs when
solving simultaneous equations and equations of line of symmetry,
linear programming in drawing inequalities.
Lets have an example
i) Draw a line y = x + 2 for values – 6 ≤ x ≤ 6
Solution:
The first step is to create a functional table for the given values

x - 6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6
y - 4 -2 0 2 4 6 8
Then plot and draw the line on a Cartesian plane
You can also use zero values to find points where the line cuts across
both the x and y-axis. Also Note that this method can be tricky if dealing
with lines like y = x
 7. DIAGRAMS
When given a diagram with a sketch of a straight line, you must be able
to interpret the diagram, find coordinates and gradient of the line.
Example:
y
y= mx + c

A (0; 2)

x
0

B (5; -3)

The diagram shows the graph of y = mx + c, which passes through the

points A(0; 2) and B(5; -3).
(a) Find the value
i) c
ii) m
(b) Calculate the length of AB, leaving your answer in surd form

Solution
(a) Find the gradient using coordinates and identify the value of c
on the diagram
i) Line is crossing y axis on A(0;2) , therefore c = 2
ii) m= = = -1
(b) length = √

= √

= √

=√
Lets now express in surd form

=√

= 5√

This marks the end of our tutorials on Coordinate Geometry

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WhatsApp Author +263 733 796 118
Admire Chatsakarira