Question

The points (3, – 2) and (a, – 3) fall on a line with a slope of 1/10 . What is the value of a?

Answer 1

a = - 7

Explanation:

calculate the slope m joining the 2 points using the slope formula and equate to
`(1)/(10)`

m =
`(y_(2)-y_(1) )/(x_(2)-x_(1) )`

let (x₁, y₁ ) = (3, - 2 ) and (x₂, y₂ ) = (a, - 3 )

substitute these values into the formula for m

m =
`(-3-(-2))/(a-3)` =
`(-1)/(a-3)` , then

`(-1)/(a-3)` =
`(1)/(10)` ( cross- multiply )

a - 3 = - 1 × 10 = - 10 ( add 3 to both sides )

a = - 7