Question

x y
-6 -21
-2 -19
2 -17
8 -14
What is the slope of the line?
Write your answer as an integer or simplified fraction.

Answer 1

To find the slope \( m \) of the line defined by the points \((-6, -21)\) and \((8, -14)\), we can use the formula for the slope:

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

Here, we can assign the points as follows:
- \( (x_1, y_1) = (-6, -21) \)
- \( (x_2, y_2) = (8, -14) \)

Now we can plug the values into the slope formula:

\[
m = \frac{-14 - (-21)}{8 - (-6)}
\]

This simplifies as follows:

\[
m = \frac{-14 + 21}{8 + 6}
\]
\[
m = \frac{7}{14}
\]
\[
m = \frac{1}{2}
\]

Thus, the slope of the line is \(\frac{1}{2}\).