Use the coordinates of the plotted points to complete the calculation below.

Pay attention to negative signs.

On a coordinate plane, a line goes through points A (1, 4) and B (3, 2).
Clear Check
The slope of this line is
.

1 answer

To calculate the slope (\(m\)) of a line that passes through two points, we use the formula:

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

Given the points A (1, 4) and B (3, 2), we can assign:

  • \( (x_1, y_1) = (1, 4) \)
  • \( (x_2, y_2) = (3, 2) \)

Now, substituting these values into the formula:

\[ m = \frac{2 - 4}{3 - 1} = \frac{-2}{2} = -1 \]

Therefore, the slope of the line is \(-1\).