Question

What is the slope of this line?

Answer 1

Answer:

$m=-\frac{8}{5}$

Step-by-step explanation:

Let

$A(-1,4),B(4,-4)$

we know that

The formula to calculate the slope between two points is equal to

$m=\frac{y2-y1}{x2-x1}$

substitute the values

$m=\frac{-4-4}{4+1}$

$m=\frac{-8}{5}$

$m=-\frac{8}{5}$

Answer 2

Answer: $-\frac{8}{5}$

Remember: RISE/RUN (y/x). Lines that are increasing have a positive slope, and lines that are decreasing have a negative slope.

You can find the slope in two ways:

1. Useful if the line is graphed: count the units between 2 points on the line.

• Let's use the points (-1, 4) and (4, -4).

• (-1, 4) is 8 units higher than (4, -4) and 5 units to the left of (4, -4).

• Because the line is decreasing, the slope is negative.

• Therefore, the slope is $-\frac{8}{5}$.

2. Useful if the line is not graphed: find the difference between the y-coordinate values divided by the difference of the x-coordinate values.

• Let's use the points (-1, 4) and (4, -4).
• $\frac{-4 - 4}{4 - (-1)} = \frac{-8}{5}$

• Therefore, the slope is $-\frac{8}{5}$.