Educator

Slope Intercept Form of an Equation

• The slope-intercept form of a linear equation is y = mx + b, where m is the slope and b is the y-intercept of the graph.

• Given a graph, you can determine the slope and the y-intercept and then write the equation in slope-intercept form.

• If you are given the equation in slope-intercept form, you can use the information given by the equation to draw the graph without the need to create a table of values.

• In most problems involving linear equations and their graphs, you will be asked to find the equation in slope-intercept form.

• If you are given the slope of a line and a point that is not the y-intercept, first find the y-intercept by substituting the coordinates of the point and the given slope into the slope-intercept form and solving for b. Then you have the information necessary to write the equation in slope-intercept form.

• If you are given 2 points that lie on a line, first use their coordinates to find the slope. The follow the procedure just given to find the y-intercept; you can use either point to do this. Then write the equation in slope-intercept form.