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Exercises Graphs and straight lines

Example 4.36 from Elementary Algebra, 4.4 Understand Slope of a Line

Understand Slope of a Line: example 4.36

Graph the line with y-intercept 2 whose slope is $m = - \frac{2}{3}$ .

Work it out on paper first. Then open the solution one step at a time, and stop as soon as you can finish on your own.

Solution
Plot the given point, the y-intercept, $(0, 2)$ .

Identify the rise and the run. $m = - \frac{2}{3}$

$\frac{rise}{run} = \frac{−2}{3}$

$rise = −2$

$run = 3$

Table 4.38

Count the rise and the run. Mark the second point.

Connect the two points with a line.

You can check your work by finding a third point. Since the slope is $m = - \frac{2}{3}$ , it can be written as $m = \frac{2}{−3}$ . Go back to $(0, 2)$ and count out the rise, 2, and the run, $−3$ .

Your turn

The book's Try It right after this example: same idea, new numbers. Only the answer is given.

Graph the line with the y-intercept 4 and slope $m = - \frac{5}{2} .$

How did it go?

PreviousUnderstand Slope of a Line: example 4.34 Next Understand Slope of a Line: example 4.38

From Elementary Algebra (1st edition) by OpenStax (Rice University), section 4.4, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Original at openstax.org. We split the solution into steps; the words, numbers and figures are the book's. OpenStax doesn't endorse this site.