Pearson Algebra 1 Common Core, 2011
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Pearson Algebra 1 Common Core, 2011 View details
1. Rate of Change and Slope
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Exercise 35 Page 299

The Slope Formula is m= y_2-y_1x_2-x_1.

Slope: 0
Graph:

Does the Slope Match the Direction of This Line? Yes, because the slope is 0 and the line is horizontal.

Practice makes perfect
We want to use the Slope Formula to find the slope of the line that passes through the given points. m = y_2-y_1/x_2-x_1 In the above formula, m represents the slope, and (x_1,y_1) and (x_2,y_2) two points on the line.

Calculating the Slope

In this exercise, we are given the points (- 12, 47) and ( 8, 47). Note that when substituting these values into the Slope Formula, it does not matter which point we choose to use as ( x_1, y_1) or ( x_2, y_2). m=47- 47/8-( - 12) or m=47- 47/- 12- 8 Both will give the same result. Here, we will use the points in the given order and solve for the slope m.
m = y_2-y_1/x_2-x_1
m=47- 47/8-( - 12)
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Simplify right-hand side
m=47- 47/8+ 12
m=47- 47/8*22+ 12
m=47- 47/162+ 12
m=0/172
m=0
The slope of the line that passes through the given points is 0. This means that as x increases, y neither increases nor decreases. Therefore, we have a horizontal line.

Check by Graphing

Finally, let's plot the given points and connect them with a line to check if the direction of the slope matches what we calculated above.

a pair of points connecting with a line graph

Observing the graph, we can confirm that as x moves in the positive direction, y does not move in the positive or negative direction.