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42 votes
42 votes
(1,-4) (-2,5) in slope intercept form

User Jacob Lauritzen
by
2.9k points

1 Answer

12 votes
12 votes

We want the equation of the line through the points (1, -4) and (-2, 5)

So we start by finding the slope of the segment that joins those two points using the formula for slope:

slope = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1)

slope = (5 - -4) / (-2 - 1) = 9 / (-3) = -3

Then the slope is -3

Now we use the general slope-intercept form of a line:

y = m x + b

with m = -3

y = -3 x + b

and request one of the points to be on the line in order to determine "b"

-4 = -3 (1) + b

- 4 = -3 + b

add 3 to both sides to isolate b on the right

- 4 + 3 = b

then b = -1

Then the equation of the line is:

y = -3 x - 1

User Sertorio Noronha
by
3.1k points
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