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Midpoint formula

Walk through writing a general formula for the midpoint between two points.
The midpoint of the points (x1,y1) and (x2,y2) is given by the following formula:
(x1+x22,y1+y22)
In this article, we're going to derive this formula!

Deriving the midpoint formula

Let's start by plotting the points (x1,y1) and (x2,y2).
The midpoint is the point halfway between each of the points:
An expression for the x-coordinate of the midpoint is x1+x22:
Similarly, an expression for the y-coordinate of the midpoint is y1+y22:
That's it! We derived the following formula for the midpoint!
(x1+x22,y1+y22)
Interestingly, a lot of people don't memorize this exact formula. Instead, they remember that to find the midpoint, you take the average of the x-coordinates and the average of the y-coordinates.

Practice problem

Point A is at (6,8) and point B is at (6,7).
What is the midpoint of line segment AB?
(
  • Your answer should be
  • an integer, like 6
  • a simplified proper fraction, like 3/5
  • a simplified improper fraction, like 7/4
  • a mixed number, like 1 3/4
  • an exact decimal, like 0.75
  • a multiple of pi, like 12 pi or 2/3 pi
,
  • Your answer should be
  • an integer, like 6
  • a simplified proper fraction, like 3/5
  • a simplified improper fraction, like 7/4
  • a mixed number, like 1 3/4
  • an exact decimal, like 0.75
  • a multiple of pi, like 12 pi or 2/3 pi
)

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