Question

Find the slope of the line that passes through the pair of points (17, 9) and (5, 29)

Answer 1

1. insert points (17,9) and (5,29) into y = mx + b
29 = 5m + b
9 = 17m + b

2. Isolate b in each equation:
b = 29 - 5m
b = 9 - 17m

3. Set b = b
29 - 5m = 9 - 17m

4. Use inverse operations to place like terms on the same side:
29 - 9 = 5m - 17m
20 = -12m

5. Isolate m:
20/-12 = m
-3/5 = m

6. Find b by inserting m into one of the equations in step 2:
b = 29 - 5(-3/5)
b = 29 + 3
b = 32

7. Insert the values of m and b into y = mx + b:
y = (-3/5)x + 32

8. You're done

Answer 2

just use \[m=\frac{ Y _{2}-Y _{1} }{ X _{2}-X _{1} }=\frac{ 29-9 }{ 5-17 }=\frac{ 20 }{ -12 }=\frac{ -5 }{ 3 }\]