Question 88025
To find the slope going from (1,4) to (7,2) we are going to calculate the change in y over the change in x, or the rise over the run. The change is the difference between the two coordinates. So if the y-coordinate of a point goes from 4 to 2, the change in these numbers is -2 (since {{{2-4=-2}}}). If the x-coordinate changes from 1 to 7, then the change is 6 (since {{{7-1=6}}}). So to calculate the slope we use this formula: 

 Slope:

{{{m=(change_in_y)/(change_in_x)=rise/run}}} where m is the slope

So now we let {{{y[2]=2}}},{{{y[1]=4}}},{{{x[2]=7}}},{{{x[1]=1}}}Now plug these numbers into the slope formula:

{{{m=(y[2]-y[1])/(x[2]-x[1])=(2-(4))/(7-(1)) = -2/6}}}


 Which reduces to {{{m=-1/3}}}


So the slope is {{{m=-1/3}}}