What is the slope of the line passing through the following points: #(5, 3), (4, -1) #?

1 Answer
Apr 2, 2018

The slope is #4#.

Explanation:

We will use the slope formula to find the slope of this line. The formula is essentially:

#"slope" = "change in y"/"change in x"#

The actual formula is:

#m = (y_2 - y_1)/(x_2 - x_1)#

We will call #(5,3)# Point 1 so:
#x_1 = 5#
#y_1 = 3#

We will call #(4,-1)# Point 2 so:
#x_2 = 4#
#y_2 = -1#

Now substitute those values into the equation:

#m = (-1 - 3)/(4 - 5)#

#m = (-4)/(-1)#

#m = 4#

The slope of this line is #4#.