INCLINATION AND SLOPE

The angle of inclination, denoted by the Greek letter alpha ( ), as portrayed in figure 1-4,
views A and B, is the angle formed by the line crossing the X axis and the positively directed
portion of the X axis, such that 0 ° < < 180'.

The slope of any line is equal to the tangent of its angle of inclination. Slope is denoted by the
letter m. Therefore,

If the axes are in their conventional positions, a line, such as A B in figure 1-4, view A, that
slopes upward and to the right will have a positive slope. A line, such as CD in figure 1-4, view
B, that slopes downward and to the right will have a negative slope.

Since the tangent of a is the ratio of P M to P 1M , we can relate the slope of line AB to the
points P1 and P2 as follows:

Designating the coordinates of P1 as (x1, y1) and those of P2 as ( x 2 , y 2 ) , we recall that

Figure 1-4.-Angles of inclination.

The quantities ( x 2 - x 1) and (y2 - y1) represent changes that occur in the values of the x and y
coordinates as a result of the change from P2 to P1 on line A B . The symbol used by
mathematicians to represent an increment of change is the Greek letter delta ( ). Therefore, x
means "the change in x" and y means "the change in y." The amount of change in the x
coordinate, as we change from P2 to P1, is x2- x1. Therefore,

And likewise,

We use this notation to express the slope of line AB as follows:

EXAMPLE: Find the slope of the line connecting P 2 (7,6) and P 1 (-1,-4).

SOLUTION:

Note that the choice of labels for P 1 and P 2 is strictly arbitrary. In the previous example,
if we had chosen the point (7,6) to be P 1 and the point (-1, - 4) to be P 2 , the following
results would have occurred:

Notice that this solution yields the same result as the last examp le. A slope of 5/4
means that a point moving along this line would move vertically + 5 units for every
horizontal movement of + 4 units. This result is consistent with our definition of
positive slope; that is, sloping upward and to the right.

If line AB in figure 1-4, view A, was parallel to the X axis, y 1 and y 2 would be equal
and the difference (y 2 - y1 ) would be 0. Therefore,

We conclude that the slope of a horizontal line is 0. We can also reach this conclusion by
noting that angle a (fig. 1-4, view A) is 0 ° when the line is parallel to the X axis. Since the
tangent of 0° is 0, then

m=tan0°=0

The slope of a line that is parallel to the Y axis becomes meaningless. The tangent of the
angle a increases indefinitely as a approaches 90°. We sometimes say that (m
approaches infinity) when a approaches 90°.
SLOPES OF PARALLEL AND PERPENDICULAR LINES

If two lines are parallel, their slopes must be equal. Each line will cut the X axis at the same
angle a so that if

We conclude that two lines which are parallel have the same slope.

Suppose that two lines are perpendicular to each other, as lines L1 and L2 in figure 1-5. The
slope and angle of inclination of L1 are m1 and a1, respectively. The slope and angle of
inclination of L2 are m2 and a2, respectively. Then the following is true:

Although not shown here, the fact that a2 (fig1-5) is equal to a, plus 90 ° can be proven
geometrically. Because of this relationship

Figure 1-5.-Slopes of perpendicular lines.

Replacing tan a, and tan aZ by their equivalents in terms of slope, we have

We conclude that if two lines are perpendicular, the slope of one is the negative reciprocal of
the slope of the other. Conversely, if the slopes of two lines are negative reciprocals of each
other, the lines are perpendicular.

EXAMPLE: In figure 1-6 show that line L 1 is perpendicular to line L 2. Line L 1 passes
through points P1 (0, 5) and P 2 ( -1 , 3 ) . Line L2 passes through points P2 (-1, 3) and P3 (3,
1).

Figure 1-6.-Proving lines perpendicular.

SOL UTION: Let m1 and M 2 represent the slope of lines L 1 and L 2, respectively. Then we have

Since their slopes are negative reciprocals of each other, the lines are perpendicular.

PRACTICE PROBLEMS:

1. Find the distance between P1 (5, 3) and P2 (6, 7).

2. Find the distance between P 1 (1/2, 1) and P 2 (3/2, 5/3).

3. Find the midpoint of the line connecting P1 (5, 2) and P2 (-1, -3).

4. Find the slope of the line joining P1 (-2, - 5) and P2 (2, 5).

5. Find the slope of the line perpendicular to the line joining P1 (-3, 6) and P2 (-5,-2).
ANSWERS: 1, 17

EQUATION OF A STRAIGHT LINE

In Mathematics, Volume 1, equations such as

2x+y=6

are designated as linear equations, and their graphs are shown to be straight lines. The
purpose of this discussion is to study the relationship of slope to the equation of a straight
line.

POINT-SLOPE FORM

Suppose that we want to find the equation of a straight line that passes through a known
point and has a known slope. Let (x,y) represent the coordinates of any point on the line,
and let (x,,y,) represent the coordinates of the known point. The slope is represented by m.

Recalling the formula defining slope in terms of the coordinates of two points, we have

EXAMPLE: Find the equation of a line passing through the point (2,3) and having a
slope of 3.

SOLUTION:
The point-slope form may be used to find the equation of a line through two known
points. The values of x,, x 2 , y,, and Y2 are first used to find the slope of the line;
then either known point is used with the slope in the point -slope form.

EXAMPLE: Find the equation of the line through the points ( - 3,4) and (4, - 2).

SOLUTION:

Letting (x,y) represent any point on the line and using ( - 3,4) as

Using (4, - 2) as the known point will also give 7y + 6x = 10 as

The linear equation.

SLOPE-INTERCEPT FORM

Any line that is not parallel to the Y axis intersects the Y axis at some point. The x
coordinate of the point of intersection is 0, because the Y axis is vertical and passes
through the origin. Let the y coordinate of the point of intersection be represen ted by
b. Then the point of intersection i s ( O , b ) , as shown in figure 1-8. The y coordinate, b , i s
called the y i n t e r c e p t .

The slope of the line in figure 1-8 is

The value of Ay in this expression is y - b, where y represents the y coordinate of any point
on the line. The value of x is x - 0 = x, so

Figure 1-8.-Slope-intercept form.

This is the standard s l o p e - i n t e r c e p t form of a straight line.

E X A M P L E : Find the equation of a line that intersects the Y axis at the point (0,3) and has
a slope of 513.

SOLUT ION:

PRACTICE PROBLEMS:
Write equations for lines having points and slopes as follows:

NORMAL FORM

Methods for determining the equation of a line usually depend upon some knowledge of a point
or points on the line. Let's now consider a method that does not require advance knowledge con-
cerning any of the line's points. All that is known about the line is its perpendicular distance from
the origin and the angle between the perpendicular and the X axis, where the angle is measured
counterclockwise from the positive side of the X axis.

In figure 1-9, line AB is a distance p away from the origin, and line OM forms an angle 9 (the
Greek letter theta) with the X axis. We select any point P(x,y) on line AB and develop the
Figure 1-9.-Normal form.

equation of line AB in terms of the x and y of P. Since P represents ANY point on the line, the x
and y of the equation will represent EVERY point on the line and therefore will represent the
line itself.

PR is constructed perpendicular to OB at point R. NR is drawn parallel to AB, and PN is

parallel to OB. PS is perpendicular to NR and to AB. A right angle is formed by angles NRO
and PRN. Triangles ONR and OMB are similar right triangles. Therefore, angles NRO and
MBO are equal and are designated as 8'. Since 8 + 8' = 90' in triangle OMB and angle NRO is
equal to 8', then angle PRN equals 8. Finally, the x distance of point P is equal to OR, and the y
distance of P is equal to PR.

To relate the distance p to x and y, we reason as follows:

This final equation is the normal form. The word "normal" in this usage refers to the
perpendicular relationship between OM and AB. "Normal" frequently means "perpendicular" in
mathematical and scientific usage. The distance p is always considered to be positive, and 8 is
any angle between 0' and 360'.

EXAMPLE: Find the equation of the line that is 5 units away from the origin, if the
perpendicular from the line to the origin forms an angle of 30' from the positive side of the X
axis.

SOLUTION.
Point Slope Form

One type of linear equation is the point slope form, which gives the slope of a line and the
coordinates of a point on it. The point slope form of a linear equation is written as
. In this equation, m is the slope and (x1, y1) are the coordinates of a point.

Let’s look at where this point-slope formula comes from. Here’s the graph of a generic line with
two points plotted on it.

The slope of the line is “rise over run.” That’s the vertical change between the two points (the
difference in the y-coordinates) divided by the horizontal change over the same segment (the

difference in the x-coordinates). This can be written as . This equation is the slope
formula.
Now let’s say that one of these points is a generic point (x, y), which just means it could be
anywhere on the line, and the other point is a specific point, . If we plug these

coordinates into the formula, we get . Now we can rearrange the equation a little bit
by multiplying both sides of the formula by . This simplifies to .

is the point-slope formula. We’ve converted the slope formula into the point
slope formula. We didn’t do that just for fun, but because the point slope formula is sometimes
more useful than the slope formula, for example when we need to find the equation of a line
when given a point and the slope.

Let’s do an example. Consider a line that passes through the point (1, 3) and has a slope of

.
Putting these values into the point-slope formula, we get . That’s the
equation of the line.

Which of the following points lies on the line (y + 8) = 7(x − 5)?

A) (5, -8)

B) (5, 8)

C) (8, 5)

D) (8, -5)
Answer

A) (5, -8)

Correct. The point slope formula is . In the given equation, x1 is 5 and y1 is -

8. That means that the correct answer is (5, -8).

B) (5, 8)

Incorrect. You’ve missed a sign. The point slope formula is . In the given
equation, x1 is 5 and y1 is -8. That means that the correct answer is (5, -8).

C) (8, 5)

Incorrect. You’ve reversed x and y and missed a sign. The point slope formula is
. In the given equation, x1 is 5 and y1 is -8. That means that the correct
answer is (5, -8).

D) (-8, 5)

Incorrect. You’ve reversed x and y. The point slope formula is . In the given
equation, x1 is 5 and y1 is -8. That means that the correct answer is (5, -8).

Standard Form

Remember, the point-slope formula is only one type of linear equation. It is effective in
describing some of the characteristics of a straight line. However, point slope equations can be
awkward to use in some algebraic operations. In such cases, it may be helpful to convert the
equation into a different form, the standard form.
The standard form of an equation is Ax + By = C. In this kind of equation, x and y are variables
and A, B, and C are integers.

We can convert a point slope equation into standard form by moving the variables to the left

side of the equation. Let’s go back to that point-slope equation of . We can

rearrange the terms as follows:

Example

Problem (y − 3) =

4(y − 3) =
4y − 12 = -1x + 1
x + 4y − 12 = -x + 1 + x
X + 4y − 12 = 1
x + 4y − 12 + 12 = 1 + 12
Standard Form x + 4y = 13

When we shift the variable terms to the left side of the equation and everything else to the right
side, we get . This equation is now in standard form.

Matching the Formula to the Situation

We now know how to convert equations from point slope to standard form, and how to go back
and forth between a graph and a linear equation. But with so many choices, how do we decide
which form to use in a real-life situation?
The answer is to identify what you know and what you want to find out, and see which form
uses those terms. Let’s look at a situation where one form of an equation is more useful than
the others.

Andre wants to buy an MP3 player. He got $50 for his birthday, but the player he wants costs
$230, so he’s going to have to save up the rest. His plan is to save $30 a month until he has the
money he needs. We’ll help him out by writing an equation to analyze this situation. This will
help us to figure out when he will have saved up enough to buy the MP3 player.

When we write the equation, we’ll let x be the time in months, and y be the amount of money
saved. After 1 month, Andre has $80. That means when x = 1, y = 80. So we know the line
passes through the point (1, 80). Also, we know that Andre hopes to save $30 per month. This
means the rate of change, or slope, is 30.

We have a point and we have a slope—that’s all we need to write a point slope formula, so
that’s the form of linear equation we’ll use. Remember, the point slope form is
. When we substitute in Andre’s point and slope, the equation becomes
.

Okay, now what? Well, we have a formula that describes Andre’s savings plan. We can use
that to figure out how long it will take him to save all the money he needs to buy the MP3 player.

Remember, the y in this equation represents the amount Andre has saved, and the x represents
the number of months he has been saving. We want to find what the value of x is when y equals
230. So we just need to set y equal to 230 in our equation, and solve for x.

Example
Problem y − 80 = 30(x − 1)

230 − 80 = 30(x − 1)
150 = 30x − 30
180 = 30x
Answer 6 = x
The result is x = 6. It will take Andre 6 months to save the $230 he needs to buy the MP3
player. Because the problem told us that we knew a point and a slope, we were able to choose
the right form for the job of writing an equation. Once we wrote the equation, we were able to
solve it for the variable we wanted to find.

Summary

We’ve learned that linear equations can be written in different forms, depending upon what we
either know or want to know about a line. The point slope form, , is useful in
situations involving slope and the location of one or more points. The standard form, Ax + By =
C, is usually easier to use when we need to make algebraic calculations. When needs or
knowledge change, we can convert an equation from one form into another.