Question

Find the slope of the line that goes through the points (14.-9) and (-6,12)

Answer 1

`-(21)/(20)` or -1.05

Explanation:

Slope describes the rate of change for a line.

Finding the Slope

One way to find the slope when given 2 points is using the slope formula. The slope formula is as follows:

• 
  `\displaystyle(y_(2)-y_(1) )/(x_(2)-x_(1) )`

To find the slope, just plug in the x and y values from each coordinate pair. Remember that in a coordinate pair, the order is (x-value, y-value).

• 
  `(12-(-9))/(-6 - 14)` =
  `-(21)/(20)`

This shows that the slope is -21/20. This can be rewritten as -1.05.

Interpreting Slope

Slope is often described as rise over run. This means that slope is the change in y divided by the change in x. On a graph, a slope of -21/20 means that the graph goes down 21 units and right 20 units between each point. This can be seen in the points we are given. Point (14, -9) is 21 units below and 20 units to the right of (-6, 12)