Question

What is the slope of the line that passes through the pair of points `A(-2, -4), B(2, 4)`?

Answer 1

Slope = 4

Explanation:

Remember that Slope can also be expressed as `(rise)/(run)`. First we are going to find the change in Y (rise), then we'll find the change in X (run), then we'll put them together to have our answer.

Our two Y values are -4 and 4 (remember that each point is (x,y). To find the CHANGE we'll subtract

`-4 - 4 = -8`

That's our change in Y

Our two X values are -2 and 2 (remember that each point is (x,y). To find the CHANGE we'll subtract

`-2 - 2 = -4`

That's our change in X

Next step is to put them into our `(rise)/(run)` format.

`(-8)/(-4)`

Last, we need to simplify, remember that our two negatives will cancel out in the first step.

`(-8)/(-4) = 8/4 = 4/1 = 4`

If you only have a negative in the numerator your answer will be negative! This just means the line is descending on the graph when tracing is left to right.