Question

What is the slope of the line that passes through the points (6, -5) and (-6, -5)?

Write your answer in simplest form.

Answer 1

The slope of the line is 0

Explanation:

Since the y-value is not changing, y = -5 for x = 6 and for x = -6, the slope is 0

Finding it in a more rigorous way,

Using slope-intercept form,

y = mx + b

where m is the slope and b is the y-intercept

Since the line passes through the points (6, -5) and (-6,-5),

These points satisfy the above equation y = mx + b,

so,

-5 = m(6) + b (i)

-5 = m(-6) + b (ii)

Subtracting (ii) from (i), we get,

-5 - (-5) = 6m + b -(-6m + b)

-5 + 5 = 6m + 6m + b - b

0 = 12m

m = 0

Hence the slope is 0

Answer 2

The slope is:

m = 0

In-depth explanation + Solution

Let's use the slope formula:

`\stackrel{slope}{\boxed{\boxed{\bf{m=(y_2-y_1)/(x_2-x_1)}}}}`

where m = slope.

Plug in the data:

`\sf{m=(-5-(-5))/(-6-6)`

Simplify:

`\sf{m=(-5+5)/(-12)}`

`\sf{m=(0)/(12)}`

`\sf{m=0}`

Hence, m = 0.