Question 1111481: What is the slope of (-4,7) and (-6,-4)?
Found 3 solutions by stanbon, ikleyn, greenestamps:
Answer by stanbon(75887)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! What is the slope of (-4,7) and (-6,-4)?
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slope = (7--4)/(-4--6) = 11/2
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Cheers,
Stan H.
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Answer by ikleyn(52926)  (Show Source):
Answer by greenestamps(13216)  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
It is far too easy to get the wrong answer for a slope by being careless with the formal formula  .
Instead of blindly plugging numbers into a formula, think about the meaning of the slope.
Slope tells you how far you go up or down each time you move 1 to the right.
It's like the slope of a path you are walking along when you go hiking: It is how much your elevation changes (up or down) each time you take a step forward.
So I always advise students to picture (at least in their mind, but on paper is better) walking left to right from one point to the other.
That means first determining which of the two points is farther to the left; that of course means the one with the lesser x coordinate.
Then, from that first point, determine how far you move to the right to get to the second point, and determine how much you go up or down.
The ratio of the two numbers is the slope.
In your example, the point (-6-4) is farther to the left, because -6 is less than -4. So you start at (-6,-4).
To get from (-6,-4) to (-4,7), you move 2 to the right (from -6 to -4); in the process, you move up 11 (from -4 to 7).
Moving up 11 units when moving 2 units to the right means the slope is 11/2.
Explaining how to find the slope by this process takes a long time. But if you try using it, you will be far less likely to get a wrong answer than if you just plug numbers into a formula.
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