Lines in the Plane
The Slope of a Line
The Point-Slope Form of the Equation of a Line
This equation in the variables and can be rewritten in the point-slope form of the equation of a line.
Example:
Find an equation of the line that passes through the point (1, –2) and has a slope of 3.
Solution: y – y1 = m (x – x1)
y – (– 2) = 3(x – 1)
y + 2 = 3x – 3
y = 3x – 5
The point-slope form can be used to find an equation of a nonvertical line passing through two points
(x1, y1) and (x2, y2).
First, find the slope of the line. Then use the point-slope form to obtain the equation
This is sometimes called the two-point form of the equation of a line.
Sketching Graphs of Lines
Many problems in coordinate geometry are as follows.
1. Given a graph (or parts of it), find its equation.
2. Given an equation, sketch its graph.
The form that is better suited to graphing linear equations is the slope-int. form of the equation of a line,
y = mx + b.
Sketching Graphs of Lines
From the slope-intercept form of the equation of a line, you can see that a horizontal line (m = 0) has an
equation of the form y=b Horizontal line
This is consistent with the fact that each point on a horizontal line through (0, b) has a y-coordinate of b.
Similarly, each point on a vertical line through (a,0) has an x-coordinate of a So, a vertical line has an
equation of the form x=a Vertical line
This equation cannot be written in slope-intercept form because the slope of a vertical line is undefined.
However, every line has an equation that can be written in the general form Ax + By + C = 0
where A and B are not both zero.
Parallel and Perpendicular Lines
The slope of a line is a convenient tool for determining whether two lines are parallel or perpendicular.
Find the slope-intercept form of the equation of the line that passes through the point (2, –1) and is
parallel to the line 2x – 3y = 5.
Solution:
Begin by writing the equation of the given line in slope – intercept form.
2x – 3y = 5
–2x + 3y = –5
3y = 2x – 5
y=
𝟐
Therefore, the given line has a slope of m = 𝟑
𝟐
Any line parallel to the given line must also have a slope of 𝟑. So, the line through (2, –1) has the
following equation. y – y1 = m (x – x1)
Notice the similarity between the slope–intercept form of the original equation and the slope–intercept
form of the parallel equation
