We are asked to find the distance between the two points $(1, -6)$ and $(-8, -4)$ and round the answer to the nearest tenth, if necessary.

1. Problem Description

We are asked to find the distance between the two points $(1, -6)$ and $(-8, -4)$ and round the answer to the nearest tenth, if necessary.

2. Solution Steps

We use the distance formula to find the distance between two points $(x_1, y_1)$ and $(x_2, y_2)$, which is given by:

$d = \sqrt{(x_2 - x_1)^2 + (y_2 - y_1)^2}$

In this case, $(x_1, y_1) = (1, -6)$ and $(x_2, y_2) = (-8, -4)$. Plugging these values into the distance formula, we get:

$d = \sqrt{(-8 - 1)^2 + (-4 - (-6))^2}$

$d = \sqrt{(-9)^2 + (2)^2}$

$d = \sqrt{81 + 4}$

$d = \sqrt{85}$

Now, we need to find the square root of 85 and round it to the nearest tenth.

$\sqrt{85} \approx 9.2195$

Rounding to the nearest tenth, we get $9.2$.

3. Final Answer

The distance between the two points is approximately $9.2$.