SOLUTION: Find an equation of the line that passes through the points (1, 4) and ( -7, -4)

Algebra.Com
Question 954297: Find an equation of the line that passes through the points (1, 4) and ( -7, -4)
Answer by MathLover1(20850)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!

Solved by pluggable solver: Finding the Equation of a Line
First lets find the slope through the points (,) and (,)


Start with the slope formula (note: (,) is the first point (,) and (,) is the second point (,))


Plug in ,,, (these are the coordinates of given points)


Subtract the terms in the numerator to get . Subtract the terms in the denominator to get




Reduce



So the slope is







------------------------------------------------


Now let's use the point-slope formula to find the equation of the line:




------Point-Slope Formula------
where is the slope, and (,) is one of the given points


So lets use the Point-Slope Formula to find the equation of the line


Plug in , , and (these values are given)



Distribute


Multiply and to get . Now reduce to get

Add to both sides to isolate y


Combine like terms and to get

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Answer:



So the equation of the line which goes through the points (,) and (,) is:


The equation is now in form (which is slope-intercept form) where the slope is and the y-intercept is


Notice if we graph the equation and plot the points (,) and (,), we get this: (note: if you need help with graphing, check out this solver)


Graph of through the points (,) and (,)


Notice how the two points lie on the line. This graphically verifies our answer.



RELATED QUESTIONS

Find an equation of the line that passes through the points (1, 4) and ( -7,... (answered by MathLover1)
Find an equation of the line that passes through the points (-1, -2) and (4,... (answered by MathLover1)
Find an equation for the line that passes through the points (5, -4) and (1,... (answered by jim_thompson5910)
Find the equation, in slope-intercept form, of the line that passes through the points... (answered by checkley71)
Find the equation, in slope intercept form, of the line that passes through the points... (answered by funmath)
Find an equation of the line that passes through the points (1,6) and... (answered by solver91311)
Find the equation of the line that passes through the points (2, 4) and (1, 2). (answered by Alan3354,nerdybill)
Find equation of the line that passes through points (-4,-3) and... (answered by checkley71)
Find the equation of the line that passes through the point (-2, 4) and is perpendicular... (answered by josgarithmetic)