A line passes through (–7, –5) and (–5, 4).

a. Write an equation for the line in point-slope form.
b. Rewrite the equation in standard form using integers.

1 answer

To find the equation of the line that passes through the points \((-7, -5)\) and \((-5, 4)\), we will first calculate the slope of the line, and then formulate the equation in point-slope form and standard form.

a. Point-Slope Form

  1. Calculate the slope (m):

    The slope \( m \) between two points \((x_1, y_1)\) and \((x_2, y_2)\) is given by: \[ m = \frac{y_2 - y_1}{x_2 - x_1} \] Using the points \((-7, -5)\) and \((-5, 4)\): \[ m = \frac{4 - (-5)}{-5 - (-7)} = \frac{4 + 5}{-5 + 7} = \frac{9}{2} \]

  2. Use point-slope form:

    The point-slope form of a line is given by: \[ y - y_1 = m(x - x_1) \] Using point \((-7, -5)\) and the slope \( m = \frac{9}{2} \): \[ y - (-5) = \frac{9}{2}(x - (-7)) \] Simplifying this: \[ y + 5 = \frac{9}{2}(x + 7) \] So, the equation in point-slope form is: \[ y + 5 = \frac{9}{2}(x + 7) \]

b. Standard Form

To convert the point-slope form equation into standard form, we can start with: \[ y + 5 = \frac{9}{2}(x + 7) \]

  1. Clear the fraction by multiplying through by 2: \[ 2(y + 5) = 9(x + 7) \] Which simplifies to: \[ 2y + 10 = 9x + 63 \]

  2. Rearrange into standard form \(Ax + By = C\):

    Move all terms to one side: \[ -9x + 2y = 63 - 10 \] This simplifies to: \[ -9x + 2y = 53 \]

  3. Multiply through by -1 to make the leading coefficient positive (if required): \[ 9x - 2y = -53 \]

In standard form, we have: \[ 9x - 2y = -53 \]

Final Answers:

a. Point-slope form: \( y + 5 = \frac{9}{2}(x + 7) \)
b. Standard form: \( 9x - 2y = -53 \)