How to get the proportion by which a point divides a line. Say I have a points $a=(1,1), b=(5,5), c=(4,4)$.
I know that point $c$ is $3/4$ of the way along segment $\overline{ab}$, but how would I work this out?
I know that the section formula can tell me where point $c$ is if I already have the ratio by which it divides line segment $\overline{ab}$, but I need to go the other way around.
 A: Given a line segment with endpoints $a = (x_a, y_a),  b = (x_b, y_b),\;$ and a point $c = (x_c, y_c\;$ lying on the line segment between end points $a$ and $b$ (assuming we're talking about points in the Cartesian plane):
You'll need to compute the distance $d_{a\to b}$ between points $a, b$, using the formula for Euclidean distance in $\mathbb R^2$): $$d_{a \to b}\sqrt{(x_a - x_b)^2 + (y_a - y_b)^2}$$
You'll then need to compute, in the same manner, the distance $d_{a\to c}$ between points $a$ and $ c,\;$ but with $x_c, y_c$ replacing the coordinates for point $d$ above to get $\;d_{a \to c}$
Then you need to divide: $\dfrac{d_{a \to c}}{d_{a \to b}}$. That will give you the ratio you need ratio.
A: Consider the two points $P=(a,b)$ and $Q=(c,d)$. The points $(x,y)$ on the line segment joining $P$ and $Q$ have parametric representation 
$$x= a(1-t)+ct,\qquad y=(1-t)b+td,$$
where $t$ ranges from $0$ to $1$. To find the point which is $\frac{3}{4}$ of the way from $P$ to $Q$, use $t=\frac{3}{4}$.
If the points are already given to you, and you want to find the ratio, you need $t$. This can be found from either of the two equations above. For example, if we know the coordinates $(u,v)$ of our "partway" point, we set $u=a(1-t)+ct$, and find that $t=\frac{u-a}{c-a}$.
A: Instead of points "$a,b,c$" let's call them $P_1=(x_1,y_1),P_2=(x_2,y_2),P_3=(x_3,y_3)$
 then for the ratios we have (suppose $x_3$ is between the $x_1,x_2$) :
$$x_3=\dfrac {w_1x_1+w_2x_2}{w_1+w_2}$$ solving for $w_1,w_2$ we get $$\dfrac {w_1}{w2}=\dfrac{x_2-x_3}{x_3-x_1}$$ in the case $x_1=1,x_2=5,x_3=4$ 
we get: $\dfrac {w_1}{w2}=\dfrac{x_2-x_3}{x_3-x_1}=\dfrac{5-4}{4-1}=\dfrac{1}{3}$
One can repeat the above process for $y_k$'s and get the same answer for $\dfrac {w_1}{w_2}$ or not, depending if the 3rd point is on the same line or not.
PS : Above I assumed $P_3$ is between $P_1,P_2$, but that was only to help with visualisation, there is no need for $P_3$ to be between $P_1,P_2$. Consider the case where $P_3$ is not on the same line, but the formula for the ratios is still valid.
