An arc can be approximated by dividing it into many small line segments and calculating the distance between each point using the distance formula. A rectifiable curve is one that has a finite arc length and is continuous with a smooth graph. The arc length of a curve y=f(x) between values a and b is calculated by taking the integral from a to b of the square root of 1 plus the derivative of f with respect to x, squared. Similarly, for a curve given by x=g(y), the arc length is calculated by taking the integral from c to d of the square root of 1 plus the derivative of g with respect to y, squared.