Question

Write the equation of the line passing through the points (-5,3) and (1,-3) in slope intercept form. SHOW WORK!

Answer 1

Any straight line on the coordinate plane can be described by the equation

y=mx+b

Where:

x,y are the coordinates of any point on the line

m is the slope of the line

b is the intercept (where the line crosses the y-axis)  .

The slope m can be found beetween two points:

$m=\frac{y_2-y_1}{x_2-x_1} = \frac{-3-3}{1-(-5)} = -1$

m and one of the known points is inserted in the equation y=mx+b

$3=-1*-5+b$ ⇒ $1\cdot \:5+b=3$ ⇒ $5+b-5=3-5$ ⇒$b=-2$

Then the equation is:

y = mx + b ⇒$y=-x-2$