What is the slope of the line given by the equation y = -7x - 2?

1 Answer
Mar 30, 2015

All linear functions have an equation of y=mx+c

Slope is the change in y-axis over x-axis. "How the graph behaves for 1 unit of change in the x-axis"

To calculate the slope, we need 2 different points from the line.

Lets say A(a,b) and B(k,l)

Slope =(l-b)/(k-a)

Since l and b are y:

Slope = ((m*k +c) - (m*a+c)) / (k-a)

=(mk+c-ma-c)/(k-a)

=(m(k-a))/(k-a) = m

m being the slope of gradient
c being the y-intercept. Because the line intercepts y-axis when x=0

In this case, the Slope(m) is -7

The equation is given in the standard slope intercept for. The coefficient of x, indicates the slope of the line.