Using the TI-83 Calculator

Lesson 5: Linear Equations in Slope-Intercept Form

Introduction
The TI-83 calculator is a powerful tool for writing linear equations in slope-intercept form. By punching only a few buttons and entering a few pieces of information, the TI-83 can instantly generate a linear equation in slope-intercept form.

Getting Started
Two points are all you need to write an equation in slope-intercept form. By entering these two points, your calculator finds both the slope between these two points and the y-intercept of the line that connects these two points.

Step 1: The STAT Button

Begin by hitting the STAT key. This key is located to the left of the arrow keys, below the DEL key. After hitting STAT, the following screen will appear:

Step 2: The STAT Edit Screen

From the STAT Menu screen, hit ENTER. This will take you to the STAT Edit screen. The STAT Edit screen is the screen where you will enter the two points into the calculator. The following screen is the STAT Edit screen:

Clearing Lists
If your calculators screen was not like the sample screen, you need to clear the lists labeled L1 and L2.

To clear the lists, use the arrow keys to highlight L1. Hit CLEAR on your calculator, then hit ENTER.
Do the same to clear L2.

Step 3: Entering the Points

From the STAT Edit screen, you will enter the two given points to find the slope and y-intercept. On this screen, the x-value from each point will be entered into the L1 list, and the corresponding y-value will be entered into the L2 list.

Step 3 Continued
For example, enter the following two points into L1 and L2:

(-2,4) and (3,-6)

After entering the points, your screen should look like the following:

Step 4: The STAT Button Again

Once the two points have been entered into lists L1 and L2, hit the STAT key again.

Step 5: The CALC Functions

From the STAT Menu screen, use the blue arrow keys to move the cursor over to highlight the CALC Menu. The following menu should be on your screen:

Step 5: LinReg (ax + b)

The fourth function on the CALC Menu is LinReg(ax+b), the linear regression function. From this screen, hit the number 4 key on your keypad. The following screen will appear:

Step 6: ENTER
By hitting ENTER on this screen, the TI-83 will take the two points entered in L1 and L2 and calculate the slope and y-intercept of the line that connects those two points. For our example, the following screen will be the solution to our problem:

Step 7: Writing the Equation

At this point, the TI-83 has given you all the information you need to write your equation. Note that your screen has the equation written as y=ax+b , with a= and b= below. In the normal slope-intercept form (y=mx+b), the slope of the equation is m. The TI-83 labels the slope as a.

A Note about Slope

Remember that slope needs to be written as an improper fraction. In the case that a is a decimal, retype the decimal answer on the TI-83 and use the FRAC function to get your slope in improper fraction form. (The same steps may be used for the y-intercept, b.)

Solution to Example
From the information on the calculator, you can now write the equation for the example of the (-2,4) and (3,-6):

Y=-2X+0
Rewritten as

Y=-2X

Steps to Remember for Two Points

STAT ENTER L1: x-values L2: y-values STAT CALC 4 ENTER

Further Examples
For further practice, try writing equations for each of the following pairs of points:

1. (0,-3) and (2, 7) 2. (12,9) and (-4,-7) 3. (-10,3) and (5,3) 4. (4,12) and (4,9)

Solutions to Further Examples

The following equations result from each pair of points:

1. Y=5X-3 2. Y=X-3 3. Y=3 4. ERROR: DOMAIN

ERROR: DOMAIN
Why do you think that Example 4 resulted in an error? Look back at the two points used in Example 4what do you notice? You should notice that the x-value is the same in both points. When the x-value is repeated, the graph of the line is vertical.

ERROR: DOMAIN Continued

Anytime your TI-83 gives you ERROR: DOMAIN, you should realize that the line you are graphing is a vertical line.

Remember that the equation for a vertical line is X=___. For Example 4, the equation would then be X=4.

Conclusion
The more you use the TI-83 to write an equation in slope-intercept form, the easier it will become. To give you further practice using the TI-83 to write linear equations, take the following quiz and write your answers on your own sheet of paper:

QUIZ
1. (1,3) and (2,4) 2. (-5,7) and (7,9) 6. (6,18) and (3,9) 7. (5,-3) and (5,-4)

3. (1,6) and (1,9)

4. (6,8) and (-3,8) 5. (1,0) and (0,1)

8. (-8,7) and (2,5)

9. (3,8) and (5,11) 10. (3,8) and (6,10)