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Lines for Dummies


After you plot those lines, just connect the dots and you will have a line.
             X - value -3 -2 -1 0 1 2.
             Y - value -1 1 3 5 7 9.
             This is the Table of Values used to create a line. Notice how the ordered pairs simply line up.
             .
             Slope and Rate of Change.
             According to Algebra II : An Integrated Approach, " A slope of a nonvertical line is the number of units the line rises (or falls) for each unit of horizontal change." In other words, if the slope of a line is two, then for every unit you count to the right, the line will rise two units up .
             ( See fig. 5).
             There are different kinds of slopes. If a line rises from the left to the right, then it is positive. If there is a horizontal line, then its slope is zero. If a slope falls from the left to the right, then it has a negative slope. If a line is vertical, then its slope is undefined.
             To find the slope of a line, you need two coordinate points: For example: ( 2,3) and (4,5).
             First, subtract the y- value of the first point from the y -value of the second point. This will be the "rise" of the slope. After that, subtract the x -value of the first point from the x-value of the second point. This will be the "run". For the example points, the slope is one.
             Parallel and Perpendicular Lines.
             For parallel and perpendicular lines, the slopes have to be in certain relation to each other.
             To get a parallel line, the slopes of two lines have to be the same. Yes, that's all! If the slopes of two lines are two, then they are both parallel. On the other hand for perpendicular lines the slopes have to be total opposites. If one line has a slope of two, then the slope of a line perpendicular to it would be the reciprocal and opposite of two. First the easy part, the opposite of two is negative two, but the reciprocal would be one over two. The slope of a line perpendicular to two would be negative one over two.
             Linear Equations.
             A faster way of graphing a line besides plotting out points is to find the x and y intercepts.


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