Question 61615: This one has me stumped. Graph the line that has a slope of -3 and passes through the point P(0,3) Answer by junior403(76) (Show Source):
In order to see this maybe it would be easier if we understood what a slope is.
If we call the slope m
we can say that:
That is to say that the slope of a line is proportionate to:
how far a line rises or falls by (divided by) how far it goes left or right (on a graph)
So, if your slope is -3 we can say that it is or,
it falls (since its a negative number) -3 points at the same time that it moves to the right (because its a positive number) 1 point.
We could also say that for every point on the graph that the line moves to the right it falls 3 points.
To garaph this you can start by finding point (0,3) where x = 0 and y = 3.
Then, since your slope is equal to remember,
go 3 points down and 1 point to the right and make a second point.
Now draw a line between the two points you have made and that is your graph.
Just to see this principle, continue down from your second point that you made with the same pattern (3 down, 1 right) and you will see that the line you have drawn will always follow that pattern.
I hope this helps,
Good Luck!
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