Answer:
yes; the sign of a value being squared is irrelevant
Step-by-step explanation:
You want to know if the formula d = sqrt((x_{1} - x_{2})^2 + (y_{1} - y_{2})^2) can be used to find the distance between (x_1, y_1) and (x_2, y_2).
Distance formula
The formula for the distance between two points is usually written ...
[tex]d=\sqrt{(x_2-x_1)^2+(y_2-y_1)^2}\qquad\text{distance between $(x_1,y_1)$ and $(x_2,y_2)$}[/tex]
We know that ...
[tex](x_2-x_1)^2 = (x_1-x_2)^2 = x_1^2+x_2^2-2x_1x_2[/tex]
That is, the sign of the difference between corresponding coordinates is irrelevant.
Tavon is correct.
