Find the equation of the line that has the indicated properties.

Question

Passes through (-1,7) and has a slope -5.

Answer 1

y=mx + b , where y and x are the coordinates of a given point on the line, m is the slope, and b is the y intercept.

 

You have y, x and m, so you need to find b.

 

7=-5(-1) + b

7 = 5 + b

b = 2

 

Because the x and y coordinates change at every point on the line, x and why stay variables and you fill in m and b to get

 

y = -5x + 2