Which linear function equation would contain the points below?

(-6,-8) and (12,4)

1 answer

To find the linear function that contains the points \((-6, -8)\) and \( (12, 4)\), we can start by finding the slope of the line connecting these two points. The slope \(m\) is calculated using the formula:

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

Substituting the coordinates of the points \((-6, -8)\) and \( (12, 4)\):

  • \( (x_1, y_1) = (-6, -8) \)
  • \( (x_2, y_2) = (12, 4) \)

Now we plug these values into the slope formula:

\[ m = \frac{4 - (-8)}{12 - (-6)} = \frac{4 + 8}{12 + 6} = \frac{12}{18} = \frac{2}{3} \]

Now that we have the slope, we can use the point-slope form of the linear equation:

\[ y - y_1 = m(x - x_1) \]

Using one of the points, let’s use \((-6, -8)\):

\[ y - (-8) = \frac{2}{3}(x - (-6)) \] \[ y + 8 = \frac{2}{3}(x + 6) \]

Now we can simplify this equation:

\[ y + 8 = \frac{2}{3}x + 4 \] \[ y = \frac{2}{3}x + 4 - 8 \] \[ y = \frac{2}{3}x - 4 \]

Thus, the equation of the linear function that contains the points \((-6, -8)\) and \((12, 4)\) is:

\[ y = \frac{2}{3}x - 4 \]