3.

2 Slope of a Line (3-11) 131

67. x  2y  600 68. 3x  2y  1500

3.2 SLOPE OF A LINE

In Section 3.1 we saw some equations whose graphs were straight lines. In this sec-
In this tion we look at graphs of straight lines in more detail and study the concept of slope
section of a line.
Slope Slope
Using Coordinates to Find
Slope If a highway has a 6% grade, then in 100 feet (measured horizontally) the road rises
6 feet (measured vertically). See Fig. 3.10. The ratio of 6 to 100 is 6%. If a roof rises
Parallel Lines
9 feet in a horizontal distance (or run) of 12 feet, then the roof has a 912 pitch. A
Perpendicular Lines
roof with a 912 pitch is steeper than a roof with a 612 pitch. The grade of a road
Applications of Slope and the pitch of a roof are measurements of steepness. In each case the measure-
ment is a ratio of rise (vertical change) to run (horizontal change).

6% 9 ft
GRADE rise
6
100 12 ft
SLOW VEHICLES run
KEEP RIGHT

912 pitch
helpful hint
FIGURE 3.10
Since the amount of run is ar-
bitrary, we can choose the run
We measure the steepness of a line in the same way that we measure steepness
to be 1. In this case
of a road or a roof. The slope of a line is the ratio of the change in y-coordinate, or
rise
slope    rise. the rise, to the change in x-coordinate, or the run, between two points on the line.
1
So the slope is the amount of
change in y for a change of 1 Slope
change in y-coordinate rise
in the x-coordinate.This is why Slope    
rates like 50 miles per hour change in x-coordinate run
(mph), 8 hours per day, and
two people per car are all
slopes. Consider the line in Fig. 3.11(a) on the next page. In going from (0, 1) to (1, 3),
there is a change of 1 in the x-coordinate and a change of 2 in the y-coordinate,
132 (3-12) Chapter 3 Graphs and Functions in the Cartesian Coordinate System

y y

5 5
4 4
3 (1, 3) 3 (1, 3)
2 +2 2 2
(0, 1) (0, 1)
+1 1
4 3 2 1 2 3 4 x 4 3 2 1 2 3 4 x
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5

(a) (b)
FIGURE 3.11

or a run of 1 and a rise of 2. So the slope is 2 or 2. If we move from (1, 3) to (0, 1)
1
as in Fig. 3.11(b) the rise is 2 and the run is 1. So the slope is  2
 or 2. If we start
1
at either point and move to the other point, we get the same slope.

E X A M P L E 1 Finding the slope from a graph

Find the slope of each line by going from point A to point B.
a) y b) y c) y

5 5 5
4 4 4
A B
3 3 3
2 2 2
A
1 1 1 A
B
1 1 2 3 4 x 1 2 3 4 5 6 x 6 5 4 3 2 1 x
1 1 1
2 2 2
B
3 3 3

Solution
a) A is located at (0, 3) and B at (2, 0). In going from A to B, the change in y is 3
and the change in x is 2. So
3
slope  .
2
b) In going from A(2, 1) to B(6, 3), we must rise 2 and run 4. So
2 1
slope    .
4 2
c) In going from A(0, 0) to B(6, 3), we find that the rise is 3 and the run is
6. So
3 1
slope    .
6 2
 3.2 Slope of a Line (3-13) 133

Note that in Example 1(c) we found the slope of the line of Example 1(b) by
using two different points. The slope is the ratio of the lengths of the two legs of a
right triangle whose hypotenuse is on the line. See Fig. 3.12. As long as one leg is
vertical and the other leg is horizontal, all such triangles for a given line have the
same shape: They are similar triangles. Because ratios of corresponding sides in
similar triangles are equal, the slope has the same value no matter which two points
of the line are used to find it.
y

5 y
4
Hypotenuse (x 2, y2)
3 Rise
2
Rise
Run
y2 y1
5 4 3 2 1 2 3 x
1
Hypotenuse x
2
(x1, y1)
Rise (x 2, y1)
4 x 2 x1
5 Run
Run

FIGURE 3.12 FIGURE 3.13

Using Coordinates to Find Slope

We can obtain the rise and run from a graph, or we can get them without a graph by
subtracting the y-coordinates to get the rise and the x-coordinates to get the run for
two points on the line. See Fig. 3.13.

Slope Using Coordinates

The slope m of the line containing the points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) is given by
y2  y1
m  , provided that x2  x1  0.
x2  x1

E X A M P L E 2 Finding slope from coordinates

Find the slope of each line.
a) The line through (2, 5) and (6, 3)
b) The line through (2, 3) and (5, 1)
study tip c) The line through (6, 4) and the origin
Dont expect to understand a Solution
new topic the first time that a) Let (x1, y1)  (2, 5) and (x2, y2)  (6, 3). The assignment of (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) is
you see it. Learning mathe-
arbitrary.
matics takes time, patience,
y2  y1 3  5 2 1
and repetition. Keep reading m       
the text, asking questions, and x2  x1 62 4 2
working problems. Someone b) Let (x1, y1)  (5, 1) and (x2, y2)  (2, 3):
once said, All mathematics is
y2  y1 3  (1) 4
easy once you understand it. m     
x2  x1 2  (5) 3
134 (3-14) Chapter 3 Graphs and Functions in the Cartesian Coordinate System

c) Let (x1, y1)  (0, 0) and (x2, y2)  (6, 4):

40 4 2
m      
6  0 6 3

CAUTION Do not reverse the order of subtraction from numerator to

denominator when finding the slope. If you divide y2  y1 by x1  x2, you will get
the wrong sign for the slope.

E X A M P L E 3 Slope for horizontal and vertical lines

Find the slope of each line.
a) y b) y

4 5
3 4
helpful hint 3
( 3, 2) 1 (4, 2) 2 (1, 2)
Think about what slope
means to skiers. No one skis 1
5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 x
on cliffs or even refers to them 1
2 1 2 3 4 5 x
as slopes. 2 1
2
3
4 (1, 4)
5
Zero slope
Solution
a) Using (3, 2) and (4, 2) to find the slope of the horizontal line, we get
22
m 
3  4
Small slope 0
   0.
7
b) Using (1, 4) and (1, 2) to find the slope of the vertical line, we get x2  x1  0.
Because the definition of slope using coordinates says that x2  x1 must be
nonzero, the slope is undefined for this line.
Since the y-coordinates are equal for any two points on a horizontal line,
y2  y1  0 and the slope is 0. Since the x-coordinates are equal for any two points
Larger slope
on a vertical line, x2  x1  0 and the slope is undefined.

Horizontal and Vertical Lines

The slope of any horizontal line is 0.
Slope is undefined for any vertical line.

CAUTION Do not say that a vertical line has no slope because no slope
could be confused with 0 slope, the slope of a horizontal line.
Undefined slope As you move the tip of your pencil from left to right along a line with positive
slope, the y-coordinates are increasing. As you move the tip of your pencil from
 3.2 Slope of a Line (3-15) 135

left to right along a line with negative slope, the y-coordinates are decreasing. See
Fig. 3.14.

4
Increasing
3
y-coordinates
2
1 Positive slope y
4 3 2 1 2 3 4 x
1 4
3
1
2 Slope
y 3
1
Decreasing
4 y-coordinates 4 3 1 2 3 4 x
3 1
2
Negative slope 1 1
Slope
3
4
4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 x
1 5

FIGURE 3.14 FIGURE 3.15

Parallel Lines
Consider the two lines shown in Fig. 3.15. Each of these lines has a slope of 1, and
3
these lines are parallel. In general, we have the following fact.

Parallel Lines
Nonvertical parallel lines have equal slopes.

Of course, any two vertical lines are parallel, but we cannot say that they have equal
slopes because slope is not defined for vertical lines.

E X A M P L E 4 Parallel lines
Line l goes through the origin and is parallel to the line through (2, 3) and (4, 5).
Find the slope of line l.
Solution
y
The line through (2, 3) and (4, 5) has slope
5  3 8 4
m      .
4  (2) 6 3
(1, 3)
4 4
1
Slope Because line l is parallel to a line with slope 3, the slope of line l is 3 also.
2
1

3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 x Perpendicular Lines
1
1
2 The lines shown in Fig. 3.16 have slopes 2 and 2. These two lines appear to be
Slope 2
perpendicular to each other. It can be shown that a line is perpendicular to another
FIGURE 3.16 line if its slope is the negative of the reciprocal of the slope of the other.
 136 (3-16) Chapter 3 Graphs and Functions in the Cartesian Coordinate System

Perpendicular Lines
Two lines with slopes m1 and m2 are perpendicular if and only if
1
m1  .
m2

Of course, any vertical line and any horizontal line are perpendicular, but we cannot
give a relationship between their slopes because slope is undefined for vertical lines.

E X A M P L E 5 Perpendicular lines
Line l contains the point (1, 6) and is perpendicular to the line through
(4, 1) and (3, 2). Find the slope of line l.
Solution
The line through (4, 1) and (3, 2) has slope
1  (2) 3 3
m      .
4  3 7 7
3
Because line l is perpendicular to a line with slope 7, the slope of line l is 7.
3

Applications of Slope
When a geometric figure is located in a coordinate system, we can use slope to
determine whether it has any parallel or perpendicular sides.

E X A M P L E 6 Using slope with geometric figures

Determine whether (3, 2), (2, 1), (4, 1), and (3, 4) are the vertices of a
rectangle.
Solution
y Figure 3.17 shows the quadrilateral determined by these points. If a parallelogram
5
has at least one right angle, then it is a rectangle. Calculate the slope of each side.
D (3, 4)
2  (1) 1  1
A (3, 2) mAB   mBC  
3  (2) 2  4
C (4, 1)
1 3 2 1
   3    
5 3
1
1 3 5 x 1 6 3
B ( 2, 1)
14 24
3 mCD   mAD  
43 3  3
FIGURE 3.17 3 2 1
   3    
1 6 3
Because the opposite sides have the same slope, they are parallel, and the figure is
a parallelogram. Because 1 is the opposite of the reciprocal of 3, the intersecting
3
sides are perpendicular. Therefore the figure is a rectangle.

The slope of a line is a rate. The slope tells us how much the dependent variable
changes for a change of 1 in the independent variable. For example, if the horizon-
tal axis is hours and the vertical axis is miles, then the slope is miles per hour (mph).
 3.2 Slope of a Line (3-17) 137

If the horizontal axis is days and the vertical axis is dollars, then the slope is dollars
per day.

E X A M P L E 7 Slope as a rate
Worldwide carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have increased from 14 billion tons in
1970 to 24 billion tons in 1995 (World Resources Institute, www.wri.org).

24

(in billions of tons)

CO2 emission

14

1970 1995
Year
FIGURE FOR EXAMPLE 7

study tip
Finding out what happened in
class and attending class are
not the same. Attend every
class and be attentive. Dont
just take notes and let your
mind wander. Use class time
as a learning time.
a) Find and interpret the slope of the line in the accompanying figure.
b) Predict the amount of worldwide CO2 emissions in 2005.
Solution
a) Find the slope of the line through (1970, 14) and (1995, 24):
24  14
m    0.4
1995  1970
The slope of the line is 0.4 billion tons per year.
b) If the (CO2) emissions keep increasing at 0.4 billion tons per year, then in 10 years
the level will go up 10(0.4) or 4 billion tons. So in 2005 CO2 emissions will be
28 billion tons.

WARM-UPS
True or false? Explain your answer.
1.
Slope is a measurement of the steepness of a line. True
2.
Slope is run divided by rise. False
3.
The line through (4, 5) and (3, 5) has undefined slope. False
The line through (2, 6) and (2, 5) has undefined slope. True
4.
5.
Slope cannot be negative. False
2
The slope of the line through (0, 2) and (5, 0) is 5. False
6.
The line through (4, 4) and (5, 5) has slope 5. False
7.
4
8.
If a line contains points in quadrants I and III, then its slope is
positive. True
2
9. Lines with slope 2 and 3 are perpendicular to each other. False
3
10. Any two parallel lines have equal slopes. False
138 (3-18) Chapter 3 Graphs and Functions in the Cartesian Coordinate System

3. 2 EXERCISES
Reading and Writing After reading this section, write out the 4. Why is slope undefined for vertical lines?
answers to these questions. Use complete sentences. Slope is undefined for vertical lines because the run is zero
1. What does slope measure? and division by zero is undefined.
Slope measures the steepness of a line. 5. What is the relationship between the slopes of perpendicu-
2. What is the rise and what is the run? lar lines?
The rise is the change in y-coordinates and run is the If m1 and m2 are the slopes of perpendicular lines, then
change in x-coordinates. m1  1.
m2
3. Why does a horizontal line have zero slope? 6. What is the relationship between the slopes of parallel lines?
A horizontal line has zero slope because it has no rise. If m1 and m2 are the slopes of parallel lines, then m1  m2.
Determine the slope of each line. See Example 1.
7. y 8. y 9. y

4 4 4
3 3 3
2 2
1 1 1

5 3 2 1 1 2 3 x 5 4 3 1 1 2 3 x 3 2 1 1 3 4 5 x
1 1 1
2 2
3 3 3
4 4 4

2 2
  Undefined
3 3
10. y 11. y 12. y

4 4 4
3 3 3
2 2
1 1 1

4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 x 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 x 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 x
1 1 1
2 2 2
3 3 3
4 4 4

0 1 1
13. y 14. y 15. y

4 4 5
3 3 4
2 3
1 1
1
3 2 1 1 3 4 5 x 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 x
1 1
4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 x
2 2 1
3 3 2
4 3

3
 3 1
2
 3.2 Slope of a Line (3-19) 139

16. y 41. Line l goes through (2, 5) and is parallel to the line through
(3, 2) and (4, 1). 3
5 7

4 42. Line l goes through the origin and is parallel to the line
3 through (3, 5) and (4, 1). 4
7
43. Line l is perpendicular to a line with slope 4. Both lines
5
1 contain the origin. 5
4
4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 x 44. Line l is perpendicular to a line with slope 5. Both lines
1
contain the origin. 1
2 5
Solve each geometric figure problem. See Example 6.
3
45. If the opposite sides of a quadrilateral are parallel, then it is
1 a parallelogram. Use slope to determine whether the points

2 (6, 1), (2, 1), (0, 3), and (4, 1) are the vertices of a
Find the slope of the line that contains each of the following parallelogram. Yes
pairs of points. See Examples 2 and 3. 46. Use slope to determine whether the points (7, 0), (1, 6),
5 (1, 2), and (6, 5) are the vertices of a parallelogram. See
17. (2, 6), (5, 1)  18. (3, 4), (6, 10) 2 Exercise 45. No
3
4 47. A trapezoid is a quadrilateral with one pair of parallel sides.
19. (3, 1), (4, 3)  20. (2, 3), (1, 3) 2 Use slope to determine whether the points (3, 2), (1, 1),
7 11
21. (2, 2), (1, 7) 5 22. (3, 5), (1, 6)  (3, 6), and (6, 4) are the vertices of a trapezoid. No
4
48. A parallelogram with at least one right angle is a rectangle.
5 1
23. (3, 5), (0, 0)  24. (0, 0), (2, 1)  Determine whether the points (4, 4), (1, 2), (0, 6), and
3 2 (3, 0) are the vertices of a rectangle. Yes
3
25. (0, 3), (5, 0)  49. If a triangle has one right angle, then it is a right triangle.
5 Use slope to determine whether the points (3, 3), (1, 6),
10 and (0, 0) are the vertices of a right triangle. No
26. (3, 0), (0, 10) 
3 50. Use slope to determine whether the points (0, 1), (2, 5),
2 and (5, 4) are the vertices of a right triangle. See Exer-
  
3 1 1
27. , 1 , ,   cise 49. Yes
4 2 2 5
Solve each problem. See Example 7.
28. , 2, , 
1 1 1
6 51. Pricing the Crown Victoria. The list price of a new
2 4 2
Ford Crown Victoria four-door sedan was $20,115 in
29. (6, 212), (7, 209) 3 1993 and $21,135 in 1998 (Edmunds New Car Prices,
9 www.edmunds.com).
30. (1988, 306), (1990, 315) 
2 a) Find the slope of the line shown in the figure. 204
31. (4, 7), (12, 7) 0 b) Use the graph to predict the price in 2005. $22,500
32. (5, 3), (9, 3) 0 c) Use the slope to predict the price of a new Crown
33. (2, 6), (2, 6) Undefined Victoria in 2005. $22,563
34. (3, 2), (3, 0) Undefined
List price (in thousands of dollars)

22
35. (24.3, 11.9), (3.57, 8.4) 0.169
(1998, 21,135)
36. (2.7, 19.3), (5.46, 3.28) 2.767 21

 
  
37. , 1 , , 0 1.273
4 2 20 (1993, 20,115)

 
  
38. , 1 , , 0 1.910
3 6
93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00
In each case, make a sketch and find the slope of line l. See Year

Examples 4 and 5.
FIGURE FOR EXERCISE 51
39. Line l contains the point (3, 4) and is perpendicular to the
line through (5, 1) and (3, 2). 8 52. Depreciating Monte Carlo. In 1998 the average retail
3
40. Line l goes through (3, 5) and is perpendicular to the price of a one-year-old Chevrolet Monte Carlo was
$13,595, whereas the average retail price of a 3-year-old
line through (2, 6) and (5, 3). 7
3 Monte Carlo was $11,095 (Edmunds Used Car Prices).
140 (3-20) Chapter 3 Graphs and Functions in the Cartesian Coordinate System

a) Use the graph on the next page to estimate the average

retail price of a 2-year-old car in 1998. $12,000 60. Writing. Is it possible for a line to be in only one quadrant?
b) Find the slope of the line shown in the figure. 1250 Two quadrants? Write a rule for determining whether a line
c) Use the slope to predict the price of a 2-year-old car. has positive, negative, zero, or undefined slope from know-
$12,345 ing in which quadrants the line is found.
Every line goes through at least two quadrants. A nonhor-
15
Selling price (in thousands of dollars)

(1, 13,595) izontal, nonvertical line that misses quadrant II or IV or

(3, 11,095) both has a positive slope. A nonhorizontal, nonvertical
10 line that misses quadrant I or III or both has a negative
slope.
5 61. Exploration. A rhombus is a quadrilateral with four equal
sides. Draw a rhombus with vertices (3, 1), (0, 3),
(2, 1), and (5, 3). Find the slopes of the diagonals of the
0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5
Age (in years)
rhombus. What can you conclude about the diagonals of
this rhombus?
FIGURE FOR EXERCISE 52
2, 1, perpendicular
2
MISCELL ANEOUS
62. Exploration. Draw a square with vertices (5, 3),
53. The points (3, ) and ( ,7) are on the line that passes
(3, 3), (1, 5), and (3, 1). Find the slopes of the diagonals
through (2, 1) and has slope 4. Find the missing coordinates
of the square. What can you conclude about the diagonals of
of the points. (3, 5), (0, 7)
this square?
54. If a line passes through (5, 2) and has slope 2, then what is
3 2, 1, perpendicular
2
the value of y on this line when x  8, x  11, and x  12?
4, 6, 6 23
55. Find k so that the line through (2, k) and (3, 5) has GR APHING C ALCUL ATOR
slope 1. 5 EXERCISES
2 2
56. Find k so that the line through (k, 3) and (2, 0) has slope 3. 63. Graph y  1x, y  2x, y  3x, and y  4x together in
3 or 1 the standard viewing window. These equations are all of
57. What is the slope of a line that is perpendicular to a line the form y  mx. What effect does increasing m have on
with slope 0.247? the graph of the equation? What are the slopes of these four
4.049 lines?
58. What is the slope of a line that is perpendicular to the line Increasing m makes the graph increase faster. The slopes of
through (3.27, 1.46) and (5.48, 3.61)? these lines are 1, 2, 3, and 4.
1.726 64. Graph y  1x, y  2x, y  3x, and y  4x
together in the standard viewing window. These equations
GET TING MORE INVOLVED are all of the form y  mx. What effect does decreas-
59. Writing. What is the difference between zero slope and ing m have on the graph of the equation? What are the
undefined slope? slopes of these four lines?
A horizontal line has a zero slope and a vertical line has un- Decreasing m makes the graph decrease faster. The slopes
defined slope. of these lines are 1, 2, 3, and 4.

3.3
THREE FORMS FOR THE
In this EQUATION OF A LINE
section In Section 3.1 you learned how to graph a straight line corresponding to a linear
Point-Slope Form equation. The line contains all of the points that satisfy the equation. In this section
Slope-Intercept Form
we start with a line or a description of a line and write an equation corresponding to
the line.
Standard Form
Using Slope-Intercept Form Point-Slope Form
for Graphing
Figure 3.18 shows the line that has slope 2 and contains the point (3, 5). In Sec-
Linear Functions 3
tion 3.2 you learned that the slope is the same no matter which two points of the line