3.

6 EQUATION OF A LINE
LESSON

A real world set of data can be presented through mathematical models. Working
with real-life data, more often than not, you know information about a line without
knowing its equation. You can use characteristics of the graph of data to write an equation
for a line. Writing an equation of a line can be done in various ways depending on the
information given.

A. TWO-POINT FORM
The two point form of a linear equation is

where and are points on the line.

EXAMPLE
Write the equation of the line passing through (1 , 2) and (3 , 6).

SOLUTION:
Substitute the values:
y 2− y 1
( y− y 1)= (x−x 1)
x 2−x 1

Let ( x 1 , y 1 ) =(1 , 2)

( x 2 , y 2 ) =(3 , 6)

Slope-intercept form

General form
 B. POINT-SLOPE FORM
The point slope form of a linear equation is

where is the slope of the line and is a point of the line.

EXAMPLE
Write an equation for the line with slope of −4 and contains (3 ,−5) .

SOLUTION:

Given: m=−3
(x ¿ ¿ 1 , y 1 )=(3 ,−5)¿
y− y1 =m( x−x 1)
y− (−5 )=−4(x −3)
y +5=−4 x +12
4 x+ y−7=0 general intercept form
4 x+ y=7 standard form
y=−4 x +7 slope-intercept form

C. SLOPE-INTERCEPT FORM
The slope intercept of a linear equation is where is the slope of the line
and is the intercept of the line.
 EXAMPLE
Write the equation of the line whose slope is 2 and y−intercept 6.

SOLUTION:

Given: slope(m)=2
y−¿ intercept b=6

EQUATION: y=mx+b
y=2 x +6 slope-intercept form
2 x− y +6=0 general form
2 x− y=−6 standard form

D. INTERCEPT FORM
The intercept form of a linear equation is

where is the intercept and is the of the line

EXAMPLE
Find the equation of the line with x−¿ intercepts 4 and y−¿ intercepts 5

SOLUTION:

Given: a=4 and b=5

By intercept form:
x y
+ =1
a b
x y
+ =1
4 5

20 ( x4 + 5y =1)
5 x+ 4 y =20 standard form
5 x+ 4 y −20=0 general form

SKILL BOOSTER!
A. Write an equation for each line described.

1
1) slope ¿ , y−¿ intercept ¿−10
4

2) slope ¿ 4 , passes through (3 , 2)

3) passes through (5 , 2) and (7 , 9)

4) with x−¿ intercept ¿ 2 and y−¿ intercept ¿ 4

5) horizontal line passing through (9 ,−2)

B) Complete the table below.

Intercepts Intercept Form Standard Form

a b
−6 3
x y
− =1
7 3
8 5

−3 x+ 5 y=15

4 x−5 y=20
 2x 3 y
+ =1
3 2

LET’S REMEMBER!

The different forms of the equation of a line are:

Two – Point Form

Point – Slope Form:
Slope – Intercept Form:
Intercept Form:
 3
CHAPTER
SUMMARY

The Cartesian Coordinate System is a plane formed by a horizontal and a vertical

number line drawn perpendicular to each other.
Slope is the steepness of a line.
The slope of a line is the ratio of the change in to the corresponding change in .
If two points have the coordinates and then the slope

An equation of the form can be written in the form is a linear equation in two
variables.
Graphing linear equations can be done through:
using any two points;
using the and intercepts; and
using the slope and intercept.
The different forms of the equation of a line are:
 MATHMINDER 3
A. Fill in the blanks

1) is an algebraic expression that is in fraction form wherein

the numerator is a polynomial and the denominator is a nonzero polynomial.

x+ 2
The domain of the expression is
2 x +4