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  1. Home
  2. 12th grade
  3. Precalculus
  4. Exercise : Determine the equation of a linear function from two points

Determine the equation of a linear function from two points Precalculus

Determine the equation of the following linear functions.

f goes by A\left(-2,-1\right) and B\left(2{,}4\right).

First, we need to find the slope of f. If f goes by A\left(x_A,y_A\right) and B\left(x_B,y_B\right), then the slope of f is:

m= \dfrac{y_B-y_A}{x_B-x_A}

Here, f goes by A\left(-2,-1\right) and B\left(2{,}4\right) . We have:

m= \dfrac{4-\left(-1\right)}{2-\left(-2\right)}= \dfrac{5}{4}

Furthermore, when f goes by \left(a,b\right), one writes:

f\left(x\right)-b = m\left(x-a\right)

Since f goes by B\left(2{,}4\right), we may write:

f\left(x\right)-4 = \dfrac{5}{4}\left(x-2\right)

f\left(x\right) = \dfrac{5}{4}x-\dfrac{10}{4}+4

f\left(x\right) = \dfrac{5}{4}x + \dfrac{3}{2}

f passes through \left(-1{,}1\right) and (1,0).

The slope of f is:

m= \dfrac{y_B-y_A}{x_B-x_A}

It can be computed as follows:

m= \dfrac{0-1}{1-\left(-1\right)}= \dfrac{-1}{2}

Furthermore, when f goes by \left(a,b\right), one writes:

f\left(x\right)-b = m\left(x-a\right)

Since f goes through B\left(1{,}0\right), we may write:

f\left(x\right)-0 = -\dfrac{1}{2}\left(x-1\right) \\f\left(x\right)=-\dfrac{1}{2}x+\dfrac{1}{2}

f\left(x\right)=-\dfrac{1}{2}x+\dfrac{1}{2}

f passes through \left(3{,}2\right) and (3,-4)

Since all the x -coordinates are the same, we deduce that f is parallel to the y -axis. We can immediately say that the equation of the line is x=3.

x=3

f goes by \left(3{,}0\right) and \left(0,-2\right)

The slope of f is:

m= \dfrac{y_B-y_A}{x_B-x_A}

It equals:

\dfrac{-2-0}{0-3} = \dfrac{2}{3}

Furthermore, when f goes by \left(a,b\right), one writes:

f\left(x\right)-b = m\left(x-a\right)

We can write:

f\left(x\right) - 0 = \dfrac{2}{3}\left(x-3\right)\\ \Rightarrow f\left(x\right) = \dfrac{2}{3}x-2

f\left(x\right) = \dfrac{2}{3}x-2

f passes through \left(1,-1\right) and \left(-2,-1\right)

Since the second coordinates are equal, we conclude that the line is parallel to the x -axis. Therefore, the equation of the line is f\left(x\right) = -1.

f(x) = -1

f goes through \left(-1{,}1\right) and \left(1,-1\right)

The slope of f is:

m= \dfrac{y_B-y_A}{x_B-x_A}

It equals:

\dfrac{-1-1}{1-\left(-1\right)}= \dfrac{-2}{2}=-1

Furthermore, when f goes by \left(a,b\right), one writes:

f\left(x\right)-b = m\left(x-a\right)

So, we may write:

f\left(x\right)-1 = -1\left(x-\left(-1\right)\right) \Rightarrow f\left(x\right) 1=-x-1 \Rightarrow f\left(x\right)=-x

f\left(x\right)=-x

f passes through \left(1{,}2\right) and \left(2{,}3\right)

The slope of f is:

m= \dfrac{y_B-y_A}{x_B-x_A}

So it equals:

\dfrac{2-1}{3-2}=1

Furthermore, when f goes by \left(a,b\right), then one writes:

f\left(x\right)-b = m\left(x-a\right)

Therefore, we have:

f\left(x\right) - 2= 1\left(x-1\right) \Rightarrow f\left(x\right) = x+1

f\left(x\right) = x+1

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See also
  • Course : Linear functions
  • Exercise : Find the equation of a linear function from a graph
  • Exercise : Graph a linear function from its equation
  • Exercise : Find the slope of a linear function from its equation
  • Exercise : Find the x- and y- intercepts of a linear function from its graph
  • Exercise : Find the equation of a vertical line
  • Exercise : Solve linear inequalities with graphs
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