Big Ideas Math Integrated I, 2016
BI
Big Ideas Math Integrated I, 2016 View details
4. Proofs with Perpendicular Lines
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Exercise 12 Page 525

What defines the distance from a point to a line?

The distance from point C to AB is 8 centimeters.

Practice makes perfect
The distance from a point to a line is defined as the shortest distance, which is trough the perpendicular segment from the point to the line. Let's consider the given diagram.

We see that the segment that measures 12 centimeters is not perpendicular to AB. Conversely, the segment that is perpendicular to AB measures 8 centimeters. The distance from point $C$ to AB is 8 cm.