Final answer:
Locating -2.5 on both horizontal and vertical number lines involves finding a point a specific distance from the origin; to the left on a horizontal line and below on a vertical line, regardless of the line's orientation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Locating -2.5 on a horizontal number line is similar to locating it on a vertical number line in that in both cases, you are identifying a position relative to a fixed point called the origin. On a horizontal number line, the origin is usually at the center, and numbers to the left are negative and to the right are positive. On a vertical number line, the origin is also central, with negative numbers extending downwards and positive numbers extending upwards. Therefore, -2.5 would be located to the left of the origin on a horizontal number line and below the origin on a vertical number line.
The process of identifying the position involves moving along the line in a linear fashion from the origin to the specified value, maintaining the same distance from the origin in either direction.
The concept of slope does not apply when locating a single point like -2.5 on the number line; slope describes the relationship between two variables in a graphical sense, not the position of a single point.