LINEAR EQUATIONS 15 Intuition suggests that we should be able to find the slope of line directly from its equation, without the use of a pair of points, and intuition here proves to be correct. To see why, consider the procedure followed when we are asked to find the equation of a line of slope m through some point, (p, g). Let us go through the entire process and, at the end, learn where m appears in the final equation. m z=p y—q=m(c — p) y-q=mz—mp y = mz + (q— mp) The key fact of interest in the last expression is the appearance of the slope number m as the coefficient of z. We may state in gen- eral that if a straight-line equation is solved for y, the coefficient of z is the slope of the line. Return to the equation 2 —y+3=0 whose slope we have already shown to be 2. If we solve for y, we find yu wets The slope of the line is the coefficient of 2, which is 2. ‘As another example: Be dy =7 is seen to have a slope of —3/4 in the next expression: 3 x wets Furthermore, if we set z= 0 in the last equation, we find y = 7/4, so that the y intercept is 7/4. In general, when a straight-line equation is solved for y in the form just shown, namely: yome+d the coefficient of z is the slope, and the constant in the position oc- cupied by b is the y intercept. The last-written equation is said to be in the slope-intercept form. Problem Set 4 Graph the following lines, using intercepts: lLet+y=6 2. 384 — 2y = 12 Google ERE OF MGHEAY16 MATHEMATICS 2r + By my 72 + 6y—3=0 What is the slope of each of the following lines? 32 —2y= zt+y 2r — 6y y= 1or+y 11. What is the equation of the line which has a slope of 2 and a y inter- cept of —6? 12. If a straight-line equation is in the form on cans ax+by+c=0 then the slope is —a/b, that is, the negative of the ratio of the co- efficient of x to the coeflicient of y. Why is this statement true? INTERPRETIVE EXERCISE: COST-OUTPUT The purpose of this exercise is to relate the mathematical terminology of linear equations to a real-world situation. To this iC (TOTAL COST) (NUMBER, OF UNITS) FIG. 1-6 end, we shall assume that C is the total factory cost of production of a product when Q (for quantity) units of the product are made. We assume that the relationship between C and Q is linear, as shown by the line segment LM in Figure 1-6. When making interpretations from Figure 1-6, keep in mind that a vertical distance represents a cost, a horizontal distance a quantity (number of units). Thus, segment PT represents the total Google itLINEAR EQUATIONS 17 cost of producing OP units of product, and UMM is the total cost of producing OU units of product. The distance OL, the vertical intercept, corresponds to the cost of operation when zero units are produced, the reasoning here being that some costs (such as insurance on the plant) exist even when no product is being made. Borrowing an accounting term, we interpret OL as fied cost, that is, the component of cost which does not vary with the number of units made. In Figure 1-6, fixed cost is OL = PS=UR If we make OP units of product, the total cost is PT. PT, in turn, is the sum of PS and 87. PS is fixed eost; ST we shall call the variable cost when OP units are made. The term variable cost re- fers to the component of cost which changes as the number of units produced changes. Thus, ST is variable cost when OP units are made; RM is the (larger) variable cost when OU units are made. At each level of output, total cost is the sum of fixed and variable cost. Consider the ratio RM/LR. RM is the variable cost when LR (or OU) units are made. The ratio Variable cost ‘Number of units made is the variable cost per unit of product made. By definition, RM/LR is the slope of LM, and the slope of a straight-line segment is con- stant. Consequently, variable cost per unit is constant. We may say that if costs are linearly related to output, then variable cost per unit is constant, and conversely. Economie terminology leads to another description of the slope of line LM in Figure 1-6. Economists speak of the change in total cost when one more unit is made as marginal cost. This is the verti- cal change for a horizontal change of one. It is the slope of the line. We may say that when total cost is linearly related to output, marginal cost is constant. For further practice, observe that UM is VM greater than PT, which means that it costs VM more dollars to produce OU units than to produce OP units. TV, on the other hand, represents how many more units can be produced for UM dollars than for PT dollars. We have said that when total cost is linearly related to output. then variable cost per unit is constant. Average cost per unit, de- fined as total cost over number of units produced, is not constant. Google waieRere ve