Given the coordinates of two points in the plane you can use either the distance formula or the pythagorean theorem to the distance between them true or false

The statement is true.

Explanation:
The distance formula is the derived from the Pythagorean theorem.
Let the two points in the plane have coordinates (x1, y1) and (x2, y2).
Draw a right triangle whose hypotenuse joins the two points.
The adjacent side has a length of x2 - x1.
The opposite side has a length of y2 - y1.
Let d =  length of the hypotenuse.

From the Pythagorean theorem,
d^2 = (x2 -x1)^2 + (y2 - y1)^2
Take the square root of each side to obtain the distance formula.