Find the equation of a straight line given two of its points (1,3) and (-2,5). Write your answer in the form y = mx + c.

There are two main steps required to find the equation of a straight line: Finding the gradient of the line AND the slope intercept c. The gradient is the value "m" in the equation "y = mx + b". The formula for finding the gradient given two points (x1,y1) and (x2,y2) is GRADIENT=(y2-y1)/(x2-x1). In our case then the gradient=(5-3)/(-2-1)=(-2/3). (Note, it's important to remember that the x and y values have to be subtracted in the same order). Now our equation is y = (-2/3)x + c , the second main step is substituting in one of the points to find c. Let's choose the point (1, 3) as it does not have negatives so it's harder to make a mistake. We substitute this point into our equation which gives us: 3 = (-2/3) * (1) + c, which is just 3 = (-2/3) + c. Now we have to solve for c, to do this we add (2/3) to both sides to get rid of the (-2/3) on the right hand side. 3+(2/3)=(9/3)+(2/3)=(11/3)=c So our final answer is y=(-2/3)x+(11/3)

SC
Answered by Stanislaw C. Maths tutor

4578 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Write x^2 + 4x + 18 in the form (x + a)^2 + b, where a and b are constants to be determined.


A football pitch has a length of the xm. Its width is 25m shorter than the length. The area of the pitch is 2200m2. Show that x2 - 25x - 2200 =0 and work out the length of the football pitch.


A bag contains 10 apples. Three of the apples are green and seven of the apples are red. If an apple is pulled from the bag at random, what is the probability that the apple will be green?


Solve the Inequality X^2 - 2X - 8 < 0


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning