Question

How do you graph the equation of a line if the equation of the line is given in slope-intercept form? Use at least three sentences or bullet points to explain. Explain in the order that you would graph the line.

Answer 1

The strategy to graph a line actually doesn't depend on the form the equation is presented: it can be the standard form, the slope intercept form, or any other way to write it.

The key point is that you can draw a line if you know two of its points. In fact, all you have to do is draw and connect them.

To sample two points from the equation, just pick any two values for x, and compute the correspondent value for y.

For example, given the line y=3x-7, we can sample x=0 and x=1 (again, this is a totally arbitrary choice), and compute

`x=0 \mapsto y=3\cdot 0-7=-7`

`x=1 \mapsto y=3\cdot 1-7=-4`

So, the line passes through the points (0,-7) and (1,-4). Draw these two points and connect them, and you'll have the line.