How do you write the equation in point slope form given ( -2 , 5 ) , ( 4 , -3 )?

1 Answer
Y
Jun 1, 2017

Answers: #y-5=-4/3(x+2)# or #y+3=-4/3(x-4)#

Explanation:

Write point-slope form of a linear equation given points #(-2,5)# and #(4,-3)#.

Note that the general form of point-slope form is:
#y-y_1=m(x-x_1)# where #m# is the slope of the line and #(x_1,y_1)# is a point on the line.

First, we need to find the slope, m:
We know that #m=(y_2-y_1)/(x_2-x_1)# with points #(x_1,y_1)# and #(x_2,y_2)#
So, we can plug in our given values:
#m=(5-(-3))/(-2-4)#
#m=8/(-6)#
#m=-4/3#

Now, we choose one of the points to write the equation in point slope form, (I will write both possible equations in point-slope form):
For #(-2,5)#
#y-5=-4/3(x+2)#

For #(4,-3)#
#y+3=-4/3(x-4)#

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