SAT Math : How to find the midpoint of a line segment

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #11 : How To Find The Midpoint Of A Line Segment

What is the midpoint of a line segment that begins at (0, -1) and ends at (4, 10)? 

Possible Answers:

None of the given answers. 

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The midpoint of a line segment can be found by averaging the x-values and y-values of the given ordered pairs. In other words,

.

Take the average of the given x- and y-values of our ordered pairs.

Example Question #12 : Midpoint Formula

Find the midpoint between the point  and the center of the given circle.

Possible Answers:

None of the given answers

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Remember that the general equation for a circle with center  and radius  is 

With this in mind, the center of our circle is 

To find the midpoint between our two points, use the midpoint formula. 

Example Question #13 : Midpoint Formula

The following coordinates represent the vertices of a box. Where does the center of the box lie? 

Possible Answers:

None of the given answers

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To solve this, we need to choose two points that lie diagonally across from each other. Let's use  and . Now, we can substitute these points into the Midpoint Formula.

Example Question #14 : Midpoint Formula

Give the coordinates of the midpoint, in terms of , of a segment on the coordinate plane whose endpoints are   and .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The coordinates  of the midpoint of the line segment with endpoints  and  can be calculated using the formulas

and

.

Setting  and , and substituting:

Setting  and , and substituting:

The coordinates of the midpoint, in terms of , are 

Example Question #12 : How To Find The Midpoint Of A Line Segment

The two endpoints of a line segment are  and . Find the midpoint. 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In order to find the midpoint of a line segment, you need to average the x and y values of the endpoints.

The midpoint formula is

 

After plugging in the values you get

 for x 

and  for y 

Therefore, the midpoint is at

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