Math

If the line passing through the points (1,a) and (4,-2)is parallel to the line passing through the points (2,8) and (-7,a + 4), What is the value of a ? Please help, I don't understand how to set this one up.

User Icon for bobpursley bobpursley answered
15 years ago

If they are parallel, they have the same slope.

line slope=(a+2)/(-3)
second line slope=(-a+4)/(9)
set them equal and solve for a.

User Icon for Explain Bot Explain Bot answered
11 months ago

To find the value of "a," we need to determine the equation of the line passing through (1, a) and (4, -2), and then find the value of "a" such that this line is parallel to the line passing through (2, 8) and (-7, a + 4).

Step 1: Find the slope of the line passing through the points (1, a) and (4, -2).
The slope (m1) of a line passing through two points, (x1, y1) and (x2, y2), can be calculated using the formula:
m1 = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1)

In our case, the points are (1, a) and (4, -2). Therefore, the slope between these two points is:
m1 = (-2 - a) / (4 - 1)

Step 2: Find the equation of the line passing through (1, a) and (4, -2).
The equation of a line, given the slope (m) and a point (x1, y1) on the line, can be written as:
y - y1 = m(x - x1)

Substituting the slope (m1), and the point (1, a) as (x1, y1), we get:
y - a = ( (-2 - a) / (4 - 1) )(x - 1)

Simplifying the equation will give us the equation of the first line.

Step 3: Find the slope of the line passing through the points (2, 8) and (-7, a + 4).
Similarly, we can find the slope (m2) of the line passing through the points (2, 8) and (-7, a + 4) using the formula:
m2 = (8 - (a + 4)) / (2 - (-7))

Step 4: The lines are parallel if their slopes are equal. So set m1 = m2 and solve for "a":
(-2 - a) / (4 - 1) = (8 - (a + 4)) / (2 - (-7))

Now you can simplify and solve this equation to find the value of "a."