A civil engineer is drawing a plan for the location and length of a new underground sewer pipe on a coordinate grid. The pipe on the plan will run from point N(a, -2) to point P(1, b) on the coordinate grid. Which expression represents the shortest distance between N and P in units? *

If the pipe on the plan runs from point N(a, -2) to point P(1, b), the expression that represents the shortest distance between N and P in units, is expressed using the formula;

D = √(x₂-x₁)²+(y₂-y₁)²

Given the coordinates N(a, -2) and P(1, b);

x₁ = a, y₁ = -2, x₂ = 1 and y₂ = b

NP = √(1-a)²+(b+2)²

Hence the expression that represents the shortest distance between N and P in units is √(1-a)²+(b+2)² units

joaobezerra joaobezerra · Answer 2 · 2021-12-21T11:46:23+01:00

Using the distance between two points, it is found that the expression that represents the shortest distance between N and P in units is:

[tex]d = \sqrt{(1 - a)^2 + (b + 2)^2}[/tex]

Considering two points, [tex](x_1,y_1)[/tex] and [tex](x_2,y_2)[/tex], the distance between them is given by:

[tex]d = \sqrt{(x_2 - x_1)^2 + (y_2 - y_1)^2}[/tex]

In this problem, the points are N(a, -2) and P(1,b), hence, their distance is:

[tex]d = \sqrt{(1 - a)^2 + (b - (-2))^2}[/tex]

[tex]d = \sqrt{(1 - a)^2 + (b + 2)^2}[/tex]

To learn more about the distance between two points, you can take a look at https://brainly.com/question/18345417