This was the : Explain why the formula for determining slope using the coordinates of two points does not apply to vertical lines.
This is my answer:The formula for determining a slope using two points does not apply to vertical lines simply because dividing by 0 is not allowed…it is undefined. To find a slope of a horizontal line we use the formula m=y1-y2/x1-x2 this stipulates that we have two points to work with.
Vertical lines are in the form of x=some number, such as x=6; When a line involves an undefined slope the line is vertical, and when a line is vertical you will end up dividing by 0 if you try and evaluate the slope.
Vertical lines have undefined slopes. Thus, the concept of slope simply does not work for vertical lines. A slope of 0=horizontal,
According to page 530 of the text” any two points on a vertical line have the same x coordinate, thus the change in x is always 0, always undefined.
Is this right? If so, do you have any suggestions to make it less wordy and redundant.
Your answer is correct and provides an explanation for why the formula for determining slope using the coordinates of two points does not apply to vertical lines. However, you can make it less wordy and redundant by making a few revisions. Here's a suggested revision:
"The formula for determining slope using two points, which is m = (y₁ - y₂) / (x₁ - x₂), does not apply to vertical lines. This is because dividing by zero is not allowed, and it leads to an undefined value.
Vertical lines are represented by equations of the form x = some number, like x = 6. When a line is vertical, its slope is undefined because the change in x between any two points on the line is always zero.
In conclusion, the concept of slope does not work for vertical lines, and their slopes are considered undefined."