Question

A line has y intercept -6 and a x-intercept - 12. what is the equation of the line

Answer 1

`\boxed{y = -(1)/(2)x-6}}`

Explanation:

The equation for a straight line is

y = mx + b

where m is the slope of the line and b is the y-intercept.

The line passes through the points (-12, 0) and (0, 6)

(a) Calculate the slope of the line

`\begin{array}{rcl}m & =&(y_(2) - y_(1))/(x_(2) - x_(1))\\\\ & = &(6 - 0 )/(0 - (-12))\\\\& = &(6)/(-12)\\\\& = & -(1)/(2)\\\end{array}`

(b) Write the equation

The y-intercept is at x = -6.

`\text{The equation for the line is $\boxed{\mathbf{y = -(1)/(2)x-6}}$}`

The diagram shows the graph of the line passing through the two intercepts.