(Perpendicular) Distance from a Point to a Line

The perpendicular length of the shortest segment from a given point to a given line

Distance from point (𝒙𝟏 , 𝒚𝟏 ) to the line (in general form) 𝑨𝒙 + 𝑩𝒚 + 𝑪 = 𝟎

𝑨𝒙𝟏 + 𝑩𝒚𝟏 + 𝑪
𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 = | |
√𝑨𝟐 + 𝑩𝟐

(Perpendicular) Distance between Two (Parallel) Lines

The shortest distance between two parallel lines is the length of the perpendicular segment between
them. It doesn’t matter which perpendicular line you choose, as long as the two points are on the lines.
Recall that there are infinitely many perpendicular lines between two parallel lines.

When the lines (in general form) are given by

𝑨𝒙 + 𝑩𝒚 + 𝑪𝟏 = 𝟎
𝑨𝒙 + 𝑩𝒚 + 𝑪𝟐 = 𝟎
the distance between the can be expressed as
𝑪 𝟐 − 𝑪𝟏
𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 = | |
√𝑨𝟐 + 𝑩𝟐