complete the equation of the line through (-10, 3) and (-8, -8)

Question

what does y = in this equation?

Answer 1

Hi Margaret!

When you are given two points and asked to find the equation of the line passing through them, you can use the following approach:

Your goal is to find an equation of the form y = mx + b that passes through the two points. The variable m is the slope of your line. Recalling the definition of slope, we know that

m = (y1 - y2)/(x1 - x2) (in english, this is rise/run!)

Since you are given two points, you can use them to directly calculate m.

What about finding b? Well, since you already know m, if you plug in either of your two points into y = mx + b - making sure to include the value you found for m - you can solve for b. You can also use this to check for any careless errors, by testing both your points and making sure you get the same value for b.

Hope this is helpful!

Answer 2

Let y = ax+b, plug in the points and solved for a and b

y=-5.5X-52