What happens to the value obtained for the slope if the coordinates of the two ordered pairs aren’t subtracted in the same order?
When finding the slope of a line using two ordered pairs, the order of subtraction is crucial. The slope is calculated by taking the difference in the y-coordinates and dividing it by the difference in the x-coordinates of the two points. If the coordinates of the two ordered pairs are not subtracted in the same order, it will result in a different value for the slope.
To understand this, let's consider an example. Suppose we have two ordered pairs: (x1, y1) and (x2, y2). Normally, we subtract y2 - y1 and x2 - x1 to find the slope. However, if we reverse the order and subtract y1 - y2 and x1 - x2, it will give a different result.
This is because when we reverse the order of subtraction, the signs of the differences change. For example, if we have (x1, y1) = (2, 4) and (x2, y2) = (3, 7), the correct order of subtraction would be (7 - 4) / (3 - 2) = 3/1 = 3. But if we reverse the order, it becomes (4 - 7) / (2 - 3) = -3 / -1 = 3.
Thus, it's important to subtract the coordinates in the same order to obtain the correct value of the slope.