Gina Wilson all things math 2014
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The solution to a system of (linear) equations is the point where the graphs intersect. Consider two parallel lines. By definition, two parallel lines never intersect each other, but all pairs of non-parallel lines will eventually intersect. That means they will also have a solution.
Let's consider what makes a line parallel to another line. It basically looks identical, having the same steepness (slope), but the graph is just shifted over. That is, a parallel line would have the same slope and a different y-intercept. For our equation
, or 
in slope-intercept form, a parallel line will be of the form 
.
That describes the form of a parallel line, which we do not want. Any other line, however, will give a solution to our system, so we merely want a line where the slope does not equal 2.
We can have any equation of the form
.
Let's consider what makes a line parallel to another line. It basically looks identical, having the same steepness (slope), but the graph is just shifted over. That is, a parallel line would have the same slope and a different y-intercept. For our equation
That describes the form of a parallel line, which we do not want. Any other line, however, will give a solution to our system, so we merely want a line where the slope does not equal 2.
We can have any equation of the form