解:
(1)由勾股定理可得:
$AB^2 = 1^2 + 2^2 = 5,$
$BC^2 = 2^2 + 4^2 = 20,$
已知$AC=5,$故$AC^2=25,$
$\therefore AB^2 + BC^2 = AC^2,$
$\therefore △ ABC$是直角三角形,且$∠ ABC=90°。$
(2)设点$B$到直线$AC$的距离为$h。$
根据三角形面积的两种计算方式:
$S_{△ ABC} = \dfrac{1}{2} · AB · BC = \dfrac{1}{2} · AC · h,$
代入$AB=\sqrt{5},$$BC=\sqrt{20}=2\sqrt{5},$$AC=5,$得:
$\dfrac{1}{2} × \sqrt{5} × 2\sqrt{5} = \dfrac{1}{2} × 5 × h,$
化简得$5 = \dfrac{5}{2}h,$
解得$h=2。$
答:点$B$到直线$AC$的距离为$\boldsymbol{2}。$