Final answer:
The value of y is 1 for the point (2, y) on the line with a slope of -1 containing the points (1, 2) and (2, y), since the y-coordinate decreases by 1 with every unit increase in the x-coordinate.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the value of y for a line that contains the points (1, 2) and (2, y) with a slope of -1, we can use the concept of slope, which is the ratio of the rise to the run between any two points on a line. In this case, since the slope is -1, for every increase of 1 on the x-axis, there is a decrease of 1 on the y-axis. Starting from point (1, 2), if we increase the x-coordinate by 1 to get to x=2, we must decrease the y-coordinate by 1 to maintain the slope of -1. Therefore, the value of y at x=2 would be 2 - 1 = 1.