Q48 of 50 Page 220

Fill in the blanks

If the distance between the points (a, 2, 1) and (1, –1, 1) is 5, then a _______.

a = -3 or a = 5

Explanation:


Let P be the point whose coordinate is (a, 2, 1) and Q represents the point (1, -1, 1).


Given, PQ = 5


From distance formula-


PQ =



Squaring both sides-


a2 -2a + 10 = 25


a2 -2a - 15 = 0


a2 -5a + 3a - 15 = 0


a(a-5) + 3(a-5) = 0


(a + 3)(a – 5) = 0


a = -3 or a = 5


More from this chapter

All 50 →