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Graph: y = 4/3x + 4
m = 4/3, b = 4
Special Cases
Sometimes, our equations of lines don't look quite right. They may be missing
parts, sort of anyway.
Zero Slope
Zero Slope is just what is sounds like, the slope is 0.
Consider the line, y = 3. There is no "m" or "x" in the equation, just the "b", the
y-intercept.
You could re-write this equation as y = 0x + 3, then you could see that m = 0
and b = 3. Whenever we have an equation with a y = some number, we simply
move on the y-axis and draw a horizontal line. This seems counter-intuitive to
what we want to do, but really you are marking all the places on the graph where
y equals that number.
Graph: y = 3.
Simply move up 3 on the y-axis, plot your point and draw a horizontal line.
Graph: y = -8.
Move down 8 on the y-axis and draw a horizontal line.
Undefined Slope
Undefined slope occurs when we have an x= equation. Essentially we are
dividing our slope by zero, causing a vertical line. Whenever we have an x=
equation, we are showing on the graph all the places where x is equal to some
number. We need to move on the x-axis, plot our point and draw a vertical line.
Again, this seems to go against our intuition, but remember in order to see where
on the graph x is equal to some number, we must draw a vertical line.
Graph: x = -7
Move left 7 on the x-axis, plot your point and draw a vertical line.
Graph: x = 4.
Move right 4 on the x-axis, plot your point and draw a vertical line.
Text: Karen Cameron
Editing/Proofreading: Karen Cameron
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