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Teachers & SchoolsWith point-slope form, you can quickly plug in an x or y value and get your needed output. It's like magic. You go, you math magician you.
Algebra | Real Numbers and Quantities |
Language | English Language |
Garry needs to solve the equation of the line so he can find his way to freedom or else
risk getting blown to bits by the greenskeeper…[Dynamite explodes near Gopher on the golf course]
A line is in point-slope form when it looks like this:
y – y1 = m times x – x1
Here, m is the slope of the line and (x1, y1) is any fixed point on the line.
Let's use Garry's position as the fixed point (x1, y1), so x1 = -2 and y1 = 2: [Equation of point slop form on a chalkboard]
Looks like the greenskeeper also likes that point. [Greenskeeper dropping dynamite on the gophers position]
Now we need to calculate m, or slope.
We do this by finding the rise and run between the two points:
The run… the distance between the two x-points is 4…
… while the rise…the distance between the y-points… is negative six.
Slope equals rise over run, or negative 6 over 4. [equation for rise over run on a chalkboard]
This simplifies to negative three over 2.
Now we plug in the values we know. [Person plugging a lead into a port]
y1 = 2, m = -3/2, and x1= -2.
Which makes our equation y – 2 = -3/2 times x + 2 [Golf cart drives along the golf course and explodes]
He figured it out!
Looks like Garry will live to dig another day.