Question

What is the slope of the line that passes through the points (7, -9) and (15,−29)? Write your answer in simplest form.

Answer 1

Answer:

Depends on which point is the starting point.

If (7, -9) is the starting point, the slope is -19/4, or -4 and 3/4.

However, if (15, -29) is the starting point, the slope is -5/2, or -2 and 1/2.

Step-by-step explanation:

If (7, -9) is the starting point:

$\frac{y_2 - y_1}{x_2 - x_1}$

$= \frac{-29 - 9}{15 - 7}$

$= \frac{-38}{8}$

$= -\frac{19}{4}$

The slope of the line is -19/4, or -4 and 3/4.

If (15, -29) is the starting point:

$\frac{y_2 - y_1}{x_2 - x_1}$

$= \frac{9 - (-29)}{7 - 15}$

$= \frac{20}{-8}$

$= -\frac{5}{2}$

The slope of the line is -5/2, or -2 and 1/2.

Hope this helped!