how do i tell if my graph is linear or nonlinear...
2 answers
Linear means the points lie on a straight line.
If you are given the (x,y) coordinates of points, then you can proceed as follows:
Say you are given these four points. Is the graph of these points linear?
(1,1) (2,2) (3,3) (4,5)
First fit a line to two of the points (any two, I will take the first two)
y = 1 x + 0 or y = x goes through the first two. (I will let you figure out why :)
Now if the other two points are on that line, the graph is linear.
So try the third point
3 = 3 sure enough, so the graph of the first three points would be linear, but the fourth has to be on the line as well.
5 = 4 Whoops, no, that point does not fit our line at all! Therefore the graph of the four points is NOT linear.
Say you are given these four points. Is the graph of these points linear?
(1,1) (2,2) (3,3) (4,5)
First fit a line to two of the points (any two, I will take the first two)
y = 1 x + 0 or y = x goes through the first two. (I will let you figure out why :)
Now if the other two points are on that line, the graph is linear.
So try the third point
3 = 3 sure enough, so the graph of the first three points would be linear, but the fourth has to be on the line as well.
5 = 4 Whoops, no, that point does not fit our line at all! Therefore the graph of the four points is NOT linear.
3 answers