One of the properties of lines will be discussed.

It will be applied in graphing and solving

problems related to rate of change. The term used for the property is slope and it is described as
the steepness of lines.

1. Find the slope of a line through two points.

2. Write various forms of linear equations in two variables.
3. Use slope to identify parallel and perpendicular lines; and
4. Use slope and linear equations in two variables to solve problems.

What does it mean by the term “slope”?

How are parallel lines different from perpendicular lines?
How can we apply slope and linear equations in problem solving?

In analytic geometry you can come across with lines graph in a cartesian plane. Here are
some guide questions that will help you understand the
importance of the properties of lines.
1. What is the formula used to find the slope of a line?
2. Why do we need to look for the slope of a line?
3. Is the slope of a line can be used in writing the
equation of a line in different forms?
4. Is the slope of parallel lines different from
perpendicular lines?
5. When does a slope of a line became zero or
undefined?
Figure 33.
A line from geogebra.org

We will try to answer these questions in our discussion.

SLOPE
A nonvertical line is our point of interest on this point forward. Any nonvertical straight line
has a number associated with it that specifies its direction, called its slope (Simmons, 1996). The
slope tells us the direction (uphill and downhill) and steepness of a line (Thomas & Finney, 1996).
Why are we talking here about nonvertical lines? How about vertical lines? Do vertical lines
have slopes also? I will let you think about it.
To derive the formula of a slope, we need to consider two points 𝑃1 (𝑥1 , 𝑦1 ) and 𝑃2 (𝑥2 , 𝑦2 )
as illustrated in the figure 33. Recall your knowledge in
finding the horizontal and vertical distance, we simply
subtract the y-values to find the vertical distance same
as subtracting the x-values to find for the horizontal
distance. Looking at the figure ∆𝑦 = 𝑦2 − 𝑦1 indicates a
vertical distance, it is also known as delta 𝑦 , “change in
𝑦" or “rise” between 𝑃1 to 𝑃2 .Similarly, ∆𝑥 = 𝑥2 − 𝑥1 ,
indicates a horizontal distance or known as delta 𝑥,
“change in 𝑥" or “run” between 𝑃1 to 𝑃2 .The formula for
the slope (m) is the ratio
Figure 34. SLOPE DERIVATION

∆𝑦 𝑦2 −𝑦1 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒
𝑚= = =
∆𝑥 𝑥2 −𝑥1 𝑟𝑢𝑛
This formula can be applied to any nonvertical line 𝑃1 𝑃2 .
The subscripts of y can be interchange also like 𝑦1 − 𝑦2 together with 𝑥1 − 𝑥2 . However,
make it sure that once you ought to change the order of 𝑦 you will also change the order of 𝑥.
Always be consistent to avoid errors in the value of your slope.
Slope of a line as mentioned above, tells us the direction and steepness of the line. It is
important for you not to be confused when graphing equations of lines. The direction of a positive
slope rises from left to right while the direction of a negative slope falls from left to right. In
addition, slopes can also be equal to 𝟎. How does it look like? Do you have any idea? I want you
to try looking for a solution including slopes that are undefined.

Illustrative Example 25. Finding the Slope of a Line

Find the slope of a line passing through the points (3, −4) and (5,2).
SOLUTION:
We let our first point to be (𝑥1 , 𝑦1 ) and our second point to be (𝑥2 , 𝑦2 ). Thus, 𝑥1 = 3, 𝑦1 =
−4 and 𝑥2 = 5, 𝑦2 = 2. Substituting the values in our formula,
𝑦 −𝑦 2−(−4) 2+4 6
𝑚 = 𝑥2−𝑥1 = = = 2 = 3 or
2 1 5−3 2

𝑦1 − 𝑦2 −4 − 2 −6
𝑚= = = =3
𝑥1 − 𝑥2 3−5 −2
even though we change the order of the 𝑥 and 𝑦 values, we still come up with the same answer.
EQUATION OF LINES
The general equation of a line is the formula 𝐴𝑥 + 𝐵𝑦 + 𝐶 = 0, where in 𝐴, 𝐵 and 𝐶 are all
constants but 𝐴, 𝐵 ≠ 0 and 𝑥 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦 are the variables. Equation of a line can be written in different
forms based on the given.
1. TWO-POINT FORM
A line passing through (𝑥1 , 𝑦1 ) and (𝑥2 , 𝑦2 ) has the equation given by
𝒚𝟐 − 𝒚𝟏
(𝒚 − 𝒚𝟏 ) = ( ) (𝒙 − 𝒙𝟏 )
𝒙𝟐 − 𝒙𝟏

2. POINT-SLOPE FORM
Obviously in this form, one point (𝑥1 , 𝑦1 ) is given and the slope (m). Hence, equation of
the line is given by
(𝒚 − 𝒚𝟏 ) = 𝒎(𝒙 − 𝒙𝟏 )

3. SLOPE-INTERCEPT FORM
In this form, you are given with a slope (m) and a y-intercept (b) with the coordinates
(0, 𝑏). Thus, the equation of the line is given by
𝒚 = 𝒎𝒙 + 𝒃
4. INTERCEPT FORM
Given the x-intercept a with the coordinates (𝑎, 0) and the y-intercept b with the
coordinates (0, 𝑏). The equation of the line is given by
𝑥 𝑦
+ =1
𝑎 𝑏

Illustrative Example 26. Finding the Equation of a Line

Find the equation of the line;
a) through (2, −3) with slope −4
b) through (−4, 2) and (3, −1)
2
c) with slope and y-intercept −4
3
d) through (3,0) and (0, −5)

Solution:
a) The given is a point and a slope, so we will use the POINT-SLOPE FORM. The
point (2, −3) will be our 𝑥1 = 2 and 𝑦1 = −3 then the slope is 𝑚 = −4. Thus, the
equation will be
(𝒚 − 𝒚𝟏 ) = 𝒎(𝒙 − 𝒙𝟏 )
(𝒚 − (−𝟑)) = (−𝟒)(𝒙 − 𝟐)
(𝒚 + 𝟑) = (−𝟒)(𝒙 − 𝟐)
some people tend to accept this form but some wanted to transform it into the
general equation of a line, it’s possible. I will leave it as your exercise.

b) Since two points are given, we will use the TWO-POINT FORM. The point (−4, 2)
will be (𝑥1 , 𝑦1 ) and the other point (3, −1)will be (𝑥2 , 𝑦2 ). So, the equation is,
 𝒚𝟐 − 𝒚𝟏
(𝒚 − 𝒚𝟏 ) = ( ) (𝒙 − 𝒙𝟏 )
𝒙𝟐 − 𝒙𝟏
−𝟏 − 𝟐
(𝒚 − 𝟐) = ( ) (𝒙 − (−𝟒))
𝟑 − (−𝟒)
−𝟑
(𝒚 − 𝟐) = ( ) (𝒙 + 𝟒)
𝟑+𝟒
𝟑
(𝒚 − 𝟐) = − ( ) (𝒙 + 𝟒)
𝟕

Again, you can still convert it to the general equation of the line, but in my case, I
will accept answers like these in our course subject.

2
c) A slope 𝑚 = and an y-intercept 𝑏 = −4 is given, thus we will use the SLOPE-
3
INTERCEPT FORM.
𝒚 = 𝒎𝒙 + 𝒃
𝟐
𝒚 = ( )𝒙 + (−𝟒)
𝟑
𝟐 𝟐𝒙
𝒚 = ( ) 𝒙 − 𝟒 or 𝒚 = ( ) − 𝟒
𝟑 𝟑

d) Two points are given, but as you can see both of the points contain 0 either x -
coordinate or y-coordinate. These two points are the ordered pairs for x and y-intercepts thus, we
will use the INTERCEPT FORM. The x-intercept is 𝑎 = 3 and the y-intercept is 𝑏 = −5. The
equation is,

𝑥 𝑦
+ =1
𝑎 𝑏
𝑥 𝑦
+ =1
3 −5
𝒙 𝒚
− =𝟏
𝟑 𝟓
PARALLEL AND PERPENDICULAR LINES
a) Given two distinct nonvertical lines with slopes 𝑚1 and 𝑚2 are said to be parallel if
and only if
𝑚1 = 𝑚2
b) Given two distinct nonvertical lines with slopes 𝑚1 and 𝑚2 are said to be perpendicular
if and only if their slopes are negative reciprocal with each other, as represented by
1 1
𝑚1 = − or 𝑚2 = − or 𝑚1 𝑚2 = −1
𝑚2 𝑚1

Illustrative Example 27. Finding Parallel and Perpendicular Lines

a) Find an equation of the line through the point (4,5) parallel to the 𝑥 − 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠.

b) Find an equation of the line through the point (2,6) perpendicular to the line 𝑦 = 1.
Solution:
a) First is we need to find the slope of the x – axis, and we know that it is a horizontal
line. The slope of a horizontal line is always equal to zero. By definition of parallel
lines, the slope of another line is also 0. Thus, a slope 𝑚 = 0 and a point (4,5) are
the given, so the equation of the line will be

(𝒚 − 𝒚𝟏 ) = 𝒎(𝒙 − 𝒙𝟏 )
(𝒚 − 𝟓) = (𝟎)(𝒙 − 𝟒)
𝒚=𝟓

b) The line 𝑦 = 1 is a horizontal line, thus the slope is equal to 0, considering the
concept of perpendicular lines that the slopes are negative reciprocal with each
other. And so, the slope of another line that passes through (2,6) is undefined.
Lines with undefined slopes are vertical lines. Hence, the equation will be

𝒙=𝟐
APPLICATION PROBLEMS

SLOPE AS RATE OF CHANGE

When a line is used to model the relationship between two quantities, the slope of the line
is the rate of change of one quantity with respect to the other (Stewart, Redlin & Watson, 2012).
In addition, Larson and Edwards (2010) define slope as a rate of change when the x- and y-axes
have different units of measure, otherwise the slope has no units and is a ratio. For instance, in
this ramp

8 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑡

12 feet

Figure 35. A Ramp

8 𝑓𝑡 2
The slope of this ramp is = with no units of measure, its simply as a ratio.
12 𝑓𝑡 3

Illustrative Example 28. Slopes as Rate of Change

a) The population of the Philippines was 3,567,435 in 2000 and 5,995,000 in 2005. Over
this 5-year period, the average rate of change of the population was
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 =
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠
5,995,000 − 3,567,435
𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 =
2005 − 2000
2427565
=
5
 = 485, 513 people per year
If the Philippines population continues to increase at this same rate for the next five
years, it will have a 2010 population of 8,422,565.
b) A dam is built on a river to create a reservoir. The water level 𝒘 in the reservoir is
given by the equation
𝑤 = 5.5𝑡 + 30
where t is the number of years since the dam was constructed and w is measured in
feet.

i Sketch a graph of this equation.

ii What do the slope and w-intercept of this graph represent?
SOLUTION:
i The equation is linear hence, the graph is a line. So, we need to plot two
points that passes through the line.
When 𝑡 = 0, then 𝑤 = 5.5(0) + 30 = 30 then, (0, 30) is on the line
When 𝑡 = 4, then 𝑤 = 5.5(4) + 30 = 52 then (4, 52) is on the line.
Thus, the line is determined by these two points.
ii The slope implies the rate of change of water level with respect to time. Since
𝑚 = 5.5, we can say that the water in the reservoir increases 5.5 ft per year.
The w -intercept is 30 and occurs when 𝑡 = 0 , so it represents the water level
when the dam was constructed.