What is the correct way to answer this question?
A line with a slope of -1/2 passes through the point (-10, -9). What is its equation in point-slope form?
Do I show the answer as: y - (-9) = -1/2(x -(-10)
OR, y+9 = -1/2(x + 10)
I know essentially they are the same thing, but I don't know if I am supposed to do the double negative thing or not to submit a proper answer.
Thank you.
they are the same thing. If this is being graded by a teacher, it should not matter. If it's machine-graded, they probably want it simplified, so I'd go with
y+9 = -1/2(x + 10)
or
y = -1/2 x - 14
Thank you
To answer the question correctly, you should use the equation in point-slope form: y - y1 = m(x - x1), where (x1, y1) represents a point on the line, and m represents the slope of the line.
In this case, the point is (-10, -9), and the slope is -1/2. So the equation in point-slope form would be:
y - (-9) = -1/2(x - (-10))
This simplifies to:
y + 9 = -1/2(x + 10)
Therefore, the correct answer is: y + 9 = -1/2(x + 10).
You do not need to do the double negative thing when presenting your answer; y - (-9) is equivalent to y + 9. Both are acceptable representations of the equation in point-slope form.