Question

What is the slope of the line passing through the points (1, 2) and (5, 4)?

Answer 1

slope =
`(1)/(2)`

Explanation:

Calculate the slope m using the slope formula

m = (y₂ - y₁ ) / (x₂ - x₁ )

with (x₁, y₁ ) = (1, 2) and (x₂, y₂ ) = (5, 4)

m =
`(4-2)/(5-1)` =
`(2)/(4)` =
`(1)/(2)`

Answer 2

`(1)/(2)` , or the first option

Explanation:

The formula to find the slope of a line is
`(y_(2) - y_(1))/(x_(2) - x_(1))`. It doesn't matter which set of coordinates is (x₁,y₁), as long as you make sure you put them in the right places.

(x₁,y₁) = (1,2)

(x₂,y₂) = (5,4)

`(y_(2) - y_(1))/(x_(2) - x_(1))` Plug in your numbers

`(4 - 2)/(5 - 1)` Simplify

`(2)/(4)` Simplify

`(1)/(2)`