I believe the fastest way to solve this problem is to take any two of the given points and to find the slope and y-intercept of the line connecting those two points.
Let's choose the 2 given points (-3,16) and (-1,12).
Going from the first point to the second, the increase in x is 2 and the increase in y is actually a decrease: -4. Thus, the slope of the line connecting these two points is m = -4/2, or m = -2.
Now use the slope-intercept formula to find the y-intercept, b.
One point on the line is (-3,16), and the slope is m = -2.
Thus, the slope-intercept formula y = mx + b becomes 16 = -2(-3) + b.
Here, b comes out to 10.
So now we have the slope and the y-intercept. Write the equation:
y = mx + b becomes y=-2x+10. Which of the four given answer choices is the correct one?
Since M divides segment AB into a ratio of 5:2, we can say that M is 5/(5+2) of the length of AB. Therefore 5/7 × AB.
distance of AB = d
5/7×(x2 - x1) for the x and 5/7×(y2 - y1) for the y
5/7×(8 - 1) = 5/7 (7) = 5 for the x
and 5/7×(16 - 2) = 5/7 (14) = 10 for the y
But remember the line AB starts at A (1, 2),
so add 1 to the x: 5+1 = 6
and add 2 to the y: 10+2 = 12
Therefore the point M lies exactly at...
A) (6, 12)
Answer: The median for set a is greater
Step-by-step explanation: