Question

A line is drawn so it passes through the points (11,-4) and (-5.9). What is the slope ofthe line? State your answer as a decimal rounded to the tenths place. If your answeris a whole number, include a zero in the tenths place. Example: 37 should be writtenas 37.0.

Answer 1

The slope of a line, also known as the gradient of a line is the ratio of the change in the vertical values to the horizontal values of the given points.

The points given are

`(11,-4)\text{ and (-5,9)}`

The horizontal values are

`x_1=11,x_2=-5`

The vertical values are

`y_1=-4,y_2=9`

We can now apply the formula to compute the slope

`\text{slope}=(y_2-y_1)/(x_2-x_1)`

Hence

`\text{slope}=(9-(-4))/(-5-11)`

Thus

`\text{slope}=(13)/(-16)=-0.8125`

Thus, the slope rounded to the nearest tenths place will be

`-0.8`

The slope is -0.8