Equation of a line

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Equation of a line

by RiyaR » Sun Oct 19, 2014 4:17 am
In the formula y=mx+c, can somebody please explain which are the x and y intercepts and the slope? Secondly if a coordinate is given how do we substitute it in this equation?
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Oct 19, 2014 6:44 am
RiyaR wrote:In the formula y=mx+c, can somebody please explain which are the x and y intercepts and the slope? Secondly if a coordinate is given how do we substitute it in this equation?
In the equation y = mx + c:
m is the slope
c is the y-intercept
To find the x-intercept, we let y = 0, and solve for x.

So, for example, if line k is defined by the equation y = 3x - 12 then:
- the slope of line k is 3
- the y-intercept of line k is -12 (i.e., line k crosses the y-axis at the point (0, -12))
- To find the x-intercept, we let y = 0, and solve for x. So, we get 0 = 3x - 12. Solve to get x = 4.
So, the x-intercept of line k is 4 (i.e., line k crosses the x-axis at the point (4, 0))

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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