Question

A line passes through the points (4,-1) and (2, 3). What is the slope of this line?

A. -2
B. 1/2
C. 2
D. -1/2

Answer 1

The slope = rise / run That is the difference in y values / corresponding difference in x values = (3 - -1) / (2 - 4) = 4 / -2 = -2 (answer)

Its A

Answer 2

So, the way to find the slope from points is (y2-y1)/(x2-x1) (x1,y1) and (x2,y2)

So, we'll take the second coordinates, which was (2,3). This means that x2 is 2 and y2 is 3.
The first coordinates are (4,-1), meaning x1 is 4 and y1 is -1. Now lets plug that into our formula

(y2-y1)/(x2-x1) x1=4, y1=-1 x2=2, y2=3
(3-(-1))/(2-(4))
(3+1)/(2-4)
4/-2
-2

So, the slope is -2