Wren recorded an outside temperature of –2°F at 8 a.m. When she checked the temperature again, it was 4°F at 12:00 p.m. If x represents the time and y represents the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit, what is the slope of the line through these two data points?

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SmokeyBrown · Answer

Hi jasmine, and welcome to QuestionCove!
We can think of this problem in terms of the change in temperature compared to the change in time. From 8 am to 12 pm (noon?) is a 4 hour change. From -2 degrees to 4 degrees is a 6 degree change.
So, in 4 hours, the temperature goes up by 6 degrees. We can simplify this as a rate: 6 degrees/ 4 hours. And if we simplify this rate, we get 1.5 degrees/hour.
Incidentally, this would also be the slope of a line from the two points.