Answer:
-17/5 is we are finding the slope slope of a line containing points:
(1,-6) and (-4,11).
Step-by-step explanation:
Line them up and subtract vertically, then put 2nd difference over first difference.
So you can do it like route 1 or 2 listed below:
Route 1)
( 1 , -6)
- (-4 , 11)
------------
Route 2)
(-4 , 11)
- (1 , -6)
-------------
Let's do Route 1 first:
( 1 , -6)
-(-4 , 11)
------------
5 -17
So the slope is -17/5.
Route 2:
(-4 , 11)
-( 1 ,-6)
------------
-5 17
So the slope is 17/-5 or -17/5 which is what we got doing it route 1 way.
So it doesn't matter which point you put on top.
You could also use this formula directly which is what we did without really stating it:
or
.
So using this formula directly, you could do either:
or
So first way gives 17/-5 whereas the second way gives -17/5.
You get the same number either way.