Final answer:
The equation of the linear function with a slope of 1/2 and a y-intercept of -4 is y = (1/2)x - 4.
Step-by-step explanation:
The equation of a linear function can be expressed in the slope-intercept form, which is y = mx + b. In this form, m represents the slope of the line, and b represents the y-intercept, which is the value of y when x is zero. Therefore, if we have a slope of 1/2 and a y-intercept of -4, we can plug these values into the slope-intercept form. This gives us the linear equation:
y = (1/2)x - 4
This equation shows that for every increase by 1 on the horizontal axis (x), the value of y increases by 1/2, and the line will cross the vertical axis (y-axis) at -4.