Question

10 pts The equation y=mx + b goes through the points (6,-2) and (-6, -8). What is the value of m? (-6,-8) What is the value of b?​

Answer 1

Answer: m=1/2; b=-5

Step-by-step explanation:

We can use the given points to find slope, then use the y=mx+b equation to find the y-intercept. The formula for slope is $m=\frac{y_{2}-y_{1} }{x_{2}-x_{1} }$.

$m=\frac{-8-(-2)}{-6-6}=\frac{-6}{-12} =\frac{1}{2}$

Now that we know m=1/2, we can use that in y=mx+b to find the y-intercept. We can use any given point to plug into x and y.

y=1/2x+b                [plug in x and y]

-2=1/2(6)+b            [multiply]

-2=3+b                   [subtract both sides by 3]

b=-5

Now, we know that b=-5.