Question

Determine the equation of the line that passes through the given points. (If you have a graphing calculator, you can use the table feature to confirm that the coordinates of both points satisfy your equation.)

(2, 6) and (4, 16)

Answer 1


You can write the equation in point-slope form, which has the format y-ysubscript1=m(x-xsubscript1), with ysubscript1 and xsubscript1 being the y and x coordinates for a point on the line, and m being the slope.

Substitute a y and x coordinate into the equation so you have y-6=m(x-2)

Then find the slope so you can replace m. The slope formula is (ysubscript2-ysubscript1)/(xsubscript2-xsubscript1). Substitute the coordinates in so you have m=(16-6)/(4-2), which simplifies to 10/2 and then 5.

Now the equation is y-6=5(x-2)

If you want a different form, for example slope-intercept form, you can change it to that:

y-6=5(x-2)

y=5x-4