find the slope of the line passing through the points (-5,-4) and (3,-4)

Answer 1

Slope is another way of saying “rate of change.” It looks at the change of the y-values divided by the change in the x-values. Since y-values are vertical and x-values are horizontal, that’s how we get the more commonly known, “rise over run.”

The formula for slope is (y₂-y₁)/(x₂-x₁).

x₁ is the x-value from the 1st point

y₁ is the y-value from the 1st point

x₂ is the x-value from the 2nd point

y₂ is the y-value from the 2nd point

For this problem:

x₁ = -5

x₂ = 3

y₁ = -4

y₂ = -4

(-4 - -4)/ (3 - -5)

(-4 + 4)/ (3 + 5)

0/8 = 0

If we were to graph both of these points, we would see that they are on the same horizontal line. Therefore, it has no rise, but it has a run. So it has a slope of zero.