Conic Sections: Introduction to Conic Sections

Midpoint Formula

You can also find the coordinate of the midpoint between two points by using the Midpoint Formula.

The coordinates of the midpoint, M, between two points, P(x1, y1) and Q(x2, y2) are:

point M with coordinates x 1 plus x 2 divided by 2 and y 1 plus y 2 divided by 2

For example, suppose you are given the points (4, 6) and (0, 5) and are asked to find the midpoint.

The first step is to identify your x and y values.

x1 = 4
x2 = 0
y1 = 6
y2 = 5

The next step is to insert these values into the Midpoint Formula.

point M with coordinates 4 plus 0 divided by 2 and 6 plus 5 divided by 2 equals the coordinates 2, eleven-halves

This means the coordinate of the midpoint between points (4, 6) and (0, 5) is 2, eleven-halves.