How do you find the midpoint of the line segment joining the points #P(-4, 6)# and #Q(-8, -12)#?

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Answer 1 · 2017-06-17T12:47:18

See a solution process below:

The formula to find the mid-point of a line segment give the two end points is:

#M = ((color(red)(x_1) + color(blue)(x_2))/2 , (color(red)(y_1) + color(blue)(y_2))/2)#

Where #M# is the midpoint and the given points are:

#(color(red)(x_1), color(red)(y_1))# and #(color(blue)(x_2), color(blue)(y_2))#

Substituting the values from the points in the problem gives:

#M = ((color(red)(-4) + color(blue)(-8))/2 , (color(red)(6) + color(blue)(-12))/2)#

#M = (-12/2 , -6/2)#

#M = (-6, -3)#