To write the equation of the line in slope-intercept form, which is y = mx + b, where m is the slope and b is the y-intercept, we need to determine the slope first and then use one of the points to find the y-intercept.
Step 1: Find the slope (m)
The slope of a line passing through two points, (x1, y1) and (x2, y2), can be calculated using the formula:
m = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1)
Given our points (6, 8) and (3, -9), we can substitute them into our formula:
x1 = 6, y1 = 8
x2 = 3, y2 = -9
m = (-9 - 8) / (3 - 6)
m = (-17) / (-3)
m = 17/3
m = 5.666666666666667 (rounded to 5.67 for simplicity)
Step 2: Find the y-intercept (b) using one of the points
Next, we can use the point-slope form of a line equation, which is:
y - y1 = m(x - x1)
We will use the first point (6, 8) and the slope m = 5.67 that we calculated.
Substitute the point and the slope into the point-slope form equation:
8 - y1 = 5.67(6 - x1)
Since we know that (x1, y1) is (6, 8), this simplifies to:
8 - 8 = 5.67(6 - 6)
b = 8 - 5.67(6)
Now, we do the multiplication and subtraction:
b = 8 - 34.02
b = -26
So now we have our y-intercept, which is b = -26.
Step 3: Write the equation in slope-intercept form
Now that we have both m and b, we can write the equation of the line:
y = mx + b
Substitute m and b into the equation:
y = 5.67x - 26
This is the equation of the line in slope-intercept form that passes through the points (6, 8) and (3, -9). For exact calculations, you may want to use the more precise value of the slope (5.666666666666667) in the equation:
y = 5.666666666666667x - 26
By doing so, we obtain a more accurate representation of the line's equation.