What is the distance between points (-5, 9) and (3, -3)?

Graphically, it looks like this:

AB is the segment of interest.....notice that the "distance" is just the hypoteneuse of a right triangle.......!!!!

First, subtract the x values - in any order - and square the result

(-5-3)² = (-8)² = 64

Then, subtract the y values - in any order - and square the result

(-3-9)² = (-12)² = 144

Add the two results

64 + 144 = 208

Take the square root of this

√208 =√( 4*52) = √(4*4*13) = √(16*13) = 4√13 ....or......about 14.42, if you prefer...

What does this look like graphically?