Two points defining a linear function are shown in the table below.

x
y
–14
–18
–10
–12

What is the slope of the function?
Two-thirds
Three-halves
2
6

1 answer

To find the slope of the linear function defined by the two points in the table, we first need to identify the points. The points given are:

  • Point 1: \((-14, -18)\)
  • Point 2: \((-10, -12)\)

The slope \(m\) of a linear function is calculated using the formula:

\[ m = \frac{y_2 - y_1}{x_2 - x_1} \]

Let’s assign values to \(x_1, y_1, x_2, y_2\):

  • \(x_1 = -14\)
  • \(y_1 = -18\)
  • \(x_2 = -10\)
  • \(y_2 = -12\)

Now we can plug these values into the slope formula:

\[ m = \frac{-12 - (-18)}{-10 - (-14)} \]

This simplifies to:

\[ m = \frac{-12 + 18}{-10 + 14} \] \[ m = \frac{6}{4} \] \[ m = \frac{3}{2} \]

Thus, the slope of the function is Three-halves.