Final answer:
The slope describes the steepness of a line while the y-intercept is where the line crosses the y-axis. In the equation y = a + bx, b is the slope and a is the y-intercept. This is fundamental knowledge in high school algebra.
Step-by-step explanation:
The slope and y-intercept can be derived from the equation of a straight line. In algebra, a common form for representing a straight line is y = mx + b, where m represents slope and b represents y-intercept. When you encounter an equation like y = a + bx, the coefficient b in front of the variable x is the slope and the constant term a is the y-intercept. Identifying the slope is essential as it describes the steepness of a line, while the y-intercept is the point where the line crosses the y-axis. An example of this is shown in Figure A1, where a straight line has a y-intercept of 9 and a slope of 3, indicating that for every unit increase in x, y increases by 3.