Slopes of Lines G7

Introduction:

The slope of a line is a measure of how steep a line is. It is computed using the formula m equals y2-y1/x2-x1 where (x1,y1) and (x2,y2) are two points lying on the line. Lines that have a positive slope and lines that have a negative slope are oriented in a certain way. See diagram below. Horizontal lines y equals a have slope of 0 vertical lines have an undefined slope. Two lines that are perpendicular, their slopes are negative reciprocals of each other.

Example 1: find the slope of the line passing through (4,3) and 6,2).
Solution 1: m equals 2-3/6-4 equals -1/2.

Example 2: Find the slope of the line 2x equals 5 and y equals 2.
Solution 2: x equals 5/2 vertical line slope is undefined. Y equals 2 is a horizontal line slope is 0.

Example 3: line 1 has a slope of 8. Line 1 is perpendicular to line 2.
Solution 3: The slope of line 2 is -1/8.

Conclusion:

For any vertical line its slope is not defined, for horizontal lines m equals 0. For two lines that are perpendicular (at right angles) then m1. X m2 equals.-1..