Question

Identify the slope of the line in the graph below:a slope=5b slope=undefined c slope=0d slope=1

Answer 1

Given the vertical line, the slope of a straight line is expressed as;

`m\text{ = }\frac{y_2-y_1}{x_2-x_{1_{}}}`

From the line, we can choose any two coordinates, using the coordinates (5, 0) and (5, 5)

x1 = 5, y1 = 0, x2 = 5 and y2 = 5

Substitute into the formula as shown;

`\begin{gathered} m\text{ = }(5-0)/(5-5) \\ m\text{ = }(5)/(0) \\ m\text{ =}\infty \end{gathered}`

Any value divided by zero always tends to infinity. Hence the slope of the line is undefined.

Note that the slope of any vertical line does not exist.