Question

What is the equation in point slope form that passes through the points (2, 1) and (-3, -6)?

Answer 1

`y - 1 = 7/5(x - 2)`

or

`y + 6 = 7/5(x + 3)`

Explanation:

Point slope form is written as `y - y_1 = m(x - x_1)`

Use the slope formula with the two given points to find the slope of the line.

`m = (1 - (-6))/(2 - (-3)) = 7/5`

Now that we have our m, we can insert the x and y values of either point to create our line. We'll use (2, 1).

`y - 1 = 7/5(x - 2)`

To check it, we can use the other point, (-3, -6)

`-6 - 1 = 7/5(-3 - 2)`

`-7 = 7/5 * -5`

`-7 = -7`

We can also say `y + 6 = 7/5(x + 3)` and check with (2,1)

`1 + 6 = 7/5(2 + 3)`

`7 = 7`