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Question 100461: write an equation for the line containing each pair of points
(-2,-4) , (5,-1)
Answer by edjones(8007)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! (-2,-4) (5,-1)
| 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 
So the slope is
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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)
 Rewrite  as 
 Rewrite  as 
 Distribute 
 Multiply and  to get 
 Subtract  from both sides to isolate y
 Combine like terms and to get  (note: if you need help with combining fractions, check out this solver)
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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.
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