Question 136435
First you need to fine the slope of this line.  You do this using the formula for slope which is:<br>

m = (y2-y1)/(x2-x1)where
x1 = -3
y1 = -2
x2 = -7
y2 = -1<br>

now plugging in you get<br>

m = (-1-(-2))/(-7-(-3))
m = (-1+2)/(-7+3)
m = 1/-4
m = -1/4<br>

now that we know the slope we can find the equation of the line in two ways.<br>

Method 1: solving y=mx+b for b<br>

Now that we have numbers for y,m, and x we can plug those into the slope-intercept formula and solve for b.<br>

y = mx + b
-1 = -1/4(-7) + b
-1 = 7/4 + b
-11/4 = b<br>

y = -1/4x - 11/4<br>

Method 2: use the point slope formula and solve for y<br>

There is another formula you may not have used yet, its call the point slope formula.  It looks like this:<br>

y-y1=m(x-x1)where
x1 = -3
y1 = -2<br>

now plugging in you get<br>

y-(-2)=-1/4(x-(-3))
y+2 = -1/4(x+3)
y = -1/4x - 3/4 -2
y = -1/4x - 11/4<br>

Either method you use will give you the same line so really its personal preference(or what ever way your teacher specifies).