23 INCLINATION AND SLOPE OP A LINE

If the line slants to the left, as in Fig. 2-9,

− y 1− y 2 y 2− y 1
m=tan θ= =
x 1−x 2 x 2−x 1
Hence the slope is determined in the same way for lines slanting either to
the left or to the right.
THEOREM. The slope m of a line passing through two given points
P1 ( x 1, y 1,) and P2 ( x 2, y 2,) is equal to the difference of the ordinates divided by
the difference of the abscissas taken in the same order; that is
y 2− y 1
m¿
x 2−x 1
This formula yields the slope if the two points determine a slant line. If the line is
vertical, the denominator is zero. Hence a slope is not defined for a vertical line.
Conversely, if the denominator is equal to zero, the points are on a vertical line.
We observe, further, that either of the points may be regarded as P1 ( x 1, y 1,) and
the other as P2 ( x 2, y 2,) since
y 2− y 1 y 1− y 2
=
x 2−x 1 x1−x 2

EXAMPLE. Given the points A(-2,-l), B(4,0), C(3,3), and D(-3,2), show that
ABCD is a parallelogram!
Solution. We determine from the slopes of the sides if the figure is a
parallelogram
0−(−1) 1 3−0
Slope of AB = = Slope of BC = =−3
4−(−2) 6 3−4
2−3 1 2−(−1)
Slope of CD = = Slope of DA = =−3
−3−3 6 −3−(−2)
24 INCLINATION AND SLOPE OP A LINE

The opposite sides have equal slopes, and therefore ABCD is a parallelogram.

2-4 Angle between two lines. Two intersecting lines form four angles.
There are two pairs of equal angles, and an angle of one pair is the supple-ment of
an angle of the other pair. We shall show how to find a measure of each angle in
terms of the slopes of the lines. Noticing Fig. 2-10 and recalling that an exterior
angle of a triangle is equal to the sum of the two remote interior angles, we see
that
∅ +θ1=θ 2∨∅=θ 2−θ1
If we let m 2=tanθ 2 and m 1=tan θ 1, than we have:
m2−m1
tan ∅=
1+m1 m2
where m 2 is the slope of the terminal side, m 1is the slope of the initial side,and ∅ is
measured in a counterclockwise direction.
The angle x is the supplement of ∅, and therefore
m2−m1
tan x=−¿ tan ∅= ¿
1+m 1 m 2
This formula for tan x is the same as that for tan ∅ except that the terms in the
numerator are reversed. We observe from the diagram,however, that the terminal
side of x is the initial side of ∅and that the initial side of x is the terminal side of ∅
, as indicated by the counterclockwise arrows. Hence, in terms of the slopes of
initial and terminal sides, the tangent of either angle may be found by the same
rule. We state this conclusion as a theorem.
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