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3
Chapter
Linear Equations in Two
Variables and Their Graphs
If you pick up any package of food and read the label, you will find a long list that
usually ends with some mysterious looking names. Many of these strange
elements are food additives. A food additive is a substance or a mixture of
substances other than basic foodstuffs that is present in food as a result of
production, processing, storage, or packaging. They can be natural or synthetic
and are categorized in many ways: preservatives, coloring agents, processing aids,
and nutritional supplements, to name a few.
Food additives have been around since prehistoric humans discovered that
salt would help to preserve meat. Today, food additives can include simple

Graphing Lines in the ingredients such as red color from Concord grape skins, calcium, or an enzyme.
3.1 a
Coordinate Plane Throughout the centuries there
have been lively discussions on 0.50
3.2 Slope what is healthy to eat. At the
0.40
present time the food industry
3.3
Equations of Lines in
is working to develop foods that
Absorption

Slope-Intercept Form 0.30

have less cholesterol, fats, and
3.4 The Point-Slope Form other unhealthy ingredients. 0.20

Although they frequently

3.5 Variation 0.10
have different viewpoints, the
food industry and the Food and
Graphing Linear 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 c
3.6 Inequalities in Two Drug Administration (FDA) are Concentration (mg/ml)
Variables working to provide consumers
with information on a healthier
diet. Recent developments such
as the synthetically engineered In Exercise 93 of Section 3.4
tomato stirred great controversy, you will see how a food chemist
uses a linear equation in testing
even though the FDA declared
the concentration of an enzyme
the tomato safe to eat. in a fruit juice.
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172 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-2

3.1 Graphing Lines in the Coordinate Plane

In This Section In Chapter 1 you learned to graph numbers on a number line.We also used number
lines to illustrate the solution to inequalities in Chapter 2. In this section, you will
U1V Ordered Pairs learn to graph pairs of numbers in a coordinate system made up of a pair of number
U2V The Rectangular Coordinate lines. We will use this coordinate system to illustrate the solution to equations and
System
inequalities in two variables.
U3V Plotting Points
U4V Graphing a Linear Equation
in Two Variables
U V Graphing a Line Using
5 U1V Ordered Pairs
Intercepts The equation y
2x  1 is an equation in two variables. This equation is satisfied if
U6V Applications we choose a value for x and a value for y that make it true. If we choose x
2 and
y
3, then y
2x  1 becomes
y x
↓ ↓
3
2(2)  1
3
3.

U Helpful Hint V Because the last statement is true, we say that the pair of numbers 2 and 3 satisfies the
equation or is a solution to the equation. We use the ordered pair (2, 3) to represent
In this chapter, you will be doing a lot
x
2 and y
3. The format is to always write the value for x first and the value for y
of graphing. Using graph paper will
help you understand the concepts
second. The numbers in an ordered pair are called coordinates. In the pair (2, 3) the
and help you recognize errors. For first coordinate or x-coordinate is 2 and the second coordinate or y-coordinate is 3.
your convenience, a page of graph
paper can be found on page 252 of CAUTION The ordered pair (3, 2) does not satisfy y
2x  1, because for x
3
this text. Make as many copies of it and y
2, we have
as you wish.
2  2(3)  1.
The variable corresponding to the first coordinate of an ordered pair is called the
independent variable and the variable corresponding to the second coordinate is called
the dependent variable. The value for the first coordinate is selected arbitrarily and the
value for the second coordinate is determined from the first coordinate by a rule such
as y
2x  1. Of course, if the ordered pair must satisfy a simple equation, then we
can find either coordinate when given the other coordinate.

E X A M P L E 1 Finding solutions to an equation

Each of the ordered pairs below is missing one coordinate. Complete each ordered pair so
that it satisfies the equation y
3x  4.
a) (2, ) b) ( , 5) c) (0, )

Solution
a) The x-coordinate of (2, ) is 2. Let x
2 in the equation y
3x  4:
y
3  2  4

6  4

2
The ordered pair (2, 2) satisfies the equation.
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3-3 3.1 Graphing Lines in the Coordinate Plane 173

b) The y-coordinate of ( , 5) is 5. Let y
5 in the equation y
3x  4:

5
3x  4
9
3x
3
x
The ordered pair (3, 5) satisfies the equation.
c) Replace x by 0 in the equation y
3x  4:
y
3  0  4
4
So (0, 4) satisfies the equation.
Now do Exercises 7–22

U2V The Rectangular Coordinate System

We use the rectangular (or Cartesian) coordinate system to get a visual image of
ordered pairs of real numbers. The rectangular coordinate system consists of two num-
ber lines drawn at a right angle to one another, intersecting at zero on each number line,
as shown in Fig. 3.1. The plane containing these number lines is called the coordinate
plane. On the horizontal number line the positive numbers are to the right of zero, and
on the vertical number line the positive numbers are above zero.

y-axis

5
4
Quadrant II Quadrant I
3
2
Origin
1

5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 x-axis
1
2
3
Quadrant III Quadrant IV
4
5

Figure 3.1

The horizontal number line is called the x-axis, and the vertical number line is
called the y-axis. The point at which they intersect is called the origin. The two num-
y ber lines divide the plane into four regions called quadrants. They are numbered as
(2, 3) shown in Fig. 3.1. The quadrants do not include any points on the axes.
3
2
Origin
1 U3V Plotting Points
4 2 1 1 2 3 4 x Just as every real number corresponds to a point on the number line, every pair of real
1
numbers corresponds to a point in the rectangular coordinate system. For example,
2
(3, 2) 3 the point corresponding to the pair (2, 3) is found by starting at the origin and moving
two units to the right and then three units up. The point corresponding to the pair
(3, 2) is found by starting at the origin and moving three units to the left and then
Figure 3.2 two units down. Both of these points are shown in Fig. 3.2.
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174 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-4

When we locate a point in the rectangular coordinate system, we are plotting or

graphing the point. Because ordered pairs of numbers correspond to points in the
coordinate plane, we frequently refer to an ordered pair as a point.

E X A M P L E 2 Plotting points
Plot the points (2, 5), (1, 4), (3, 4), and (3, 2).

Solution
To locate (2, 5), start at the origin, move two units to the right, and then move up five units.
To locate (1, 4), start at the origin, move one unit to the left, and then move up four units.
All four points are shown in Fig. 3.3.
y

5
(1, 4) (2, 5)
4
3
2
1

4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 x
1
2
3 (3, 2)
4
(3, 4) 5

Figure 3.3

Now do Exercises 23–50

U4V Graphing a Linear Equation in Two Variables

In Chapter 2 we defined a linear equation in one variable as an equation of the form
ax
b, where a  0. Every linear equation in one variable has a single real number
in its solution set. The graph of the solution set is a single point on the number line. A
linear equation in two variables is defined similarly.

Linear Equation in Two Variables

A linear equation in two variables is an equation of the form

Ax  By
C,

where A and B are not both zero.

Consider the linear equation 2x  y
1. It is simple to find ordered pairs that
satisfy the equation if it is solved for y as y
2x  1. Now if x is replaced by 4, we get
y
2  4  1
7. So the ordered pair (4, 7) satisfies this equation. Since there are infi-
nitely many real numbers that could be used for x, there are infinitely many ordered
pairs in the solution set. To get a better understanding of the solution set to a linear equa-
tion we look at its graph. It can be proved that the graph of the solution set is a straight
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3-5 3.1 Graphing Lines in the Coordinate Plane 175

line in the coordinate plane. We will not prove this statement. Proving it requires a geo-
metric definition of a straight line and is beyond the scope of this text. However, it is
easy to graph the straight line by simply plotting a selection of points from the solution
set and drawing a straight line through the points, as shown in Example 3.

E X A M P L E 3 Graphing an equation
Graph the equation y
2x  1 in the coordinate plane.

Solution
U Calculator Close-Up V To find ordered pairs that satisfy y
2x  1, we arbitrarily select some x-coordinates and
You can make a table of values for x
calculate the corresponding y-coordinates:
and y with a graphing calculator.
Enter the equation y
2x  1 using
If x
3, then y
2(3)  1
7.
Y
and then press TABLE. If x
2, then y
2(2)  1
5.
If x
1, then y
2(1)  1
3.
If x
0, then y
2(0)  1
1.
If x
1, then y
2(1)  1
1.
If x
2, then y
2(2)  1
3.
If x
3, then y
2(3)  1
5.

We can make a table for these results as follows:

x 3 2 1 0 1 2 3
y
2x  1 7 5 3 1 1 3 5

The ordered pairs (3, 7), (2, 5), (1, 3), (0, 1), (1, 1), (2, 3), and (3, 5) are
graphed in Fig. 3.4. Draw a straight line through these points, as shown in Fig. 3.5. The
line in Fig. 3.5 is the graph of the solution set to y
2x  1. The arrows on the ends of
the line indicate that it goes indefinitely in both directions.
y

5
4
3 y
2
1 4
3
3 2 1 1 2 3 x
1 2
y
2x  1
2 1
3
4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 x
4 1
5
6 3
7 4

Figure 3.4 Figure 3.5

Now do Exercises 51–58

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176 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-6

A linear equation in two variables is an equation of the form Ax  By
C, where

A and B are not both zero. Note that we can have A
0 if B  0, and we can have
B
0 with A  0. So equations such as x
8 and y
2 are linear equations.
Equations such as x  y  5
0 and y
2x  3 are also called linear equations
because they could be rewritten in the form Ax  By
C. Equations such as
5
y
2x2 or y
x are not linear equations.

E X A M P L E 4 Graphing an equation
Graph the equation 3x  y
2. Plot at least five points.

Solution
It is easier to make a table of ordered pairs if the equation is solved for y. So subtract
3x from each side to get y
3x  2. Now select some values for x and then calculate
the corresponding y-coordinates:

If x
2, then y
3(2)  2
8.

y If x
1, then y
3(1)  2
5.
If x
0, then y
3(0)  2
2.
8
(⫺2, 8)
7
If x
1, then y
3(1)  2
1.
6 If x
2, then y
3(2)  2
4.
(⫺1, 5) 5 y ⫽ ⫺3 x ⫹ 2
4 The following table shows these five ordered pairs:

2 (0, 2) x 2 1 0 1 2
1 y
3x  2 8 5 2 1 4
⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 2 3 4 5 x
⫺1
(1, ⫺1) Plot (2, 8), (1, 5), (0, 2), (1, 1), and (2, 4). Draw a line through them, as shown in
⫺2
Fig. 3.6.
⫺3
⫺4 (2, ⫺4) Now do Exercises 59–62

Figure 3.6

U Calculator Close-Up V
To graph y
3x  2, enter the equation x-values used for the graph; likewise for Press GRAPH to get the graph:
using the Y
key: Ymin and Ymax. Xscl and Yscl (scale) give
10

10 10

10

Next, set the viewing window (WINDOW) to the distance between tick marks on the Even though the graph is not really
get the desired view of the graph. Xmin and respective axes. “straight,” it is consistent with the graph of
Xmax indicate the minimum and maximum y
3x  2 in Fig. 3.6.
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3-7 3.1 Graphing Lines in the Coordinate Plane 177

E X A M P L E 5 Horizontal and vertical lines

Graph each linear equation.
a) y
4 b) x
3

Solution
a) The equation y
4 is a simplification of 0  x  y
4. So if y is replaced with 4,
then we can use any real number for x. For example, (1, 4) satisfies 0  x  y
4
because 0(1)  4
4 is correct. The following table shows five ordered pairs
that satisfy y
4.

x 2 1 0 1 2
y
4 4 4 4 4 4

Figure 3.7 shows a horizontal line through these points.

b) The equation x
3 is a simplification of x  0  y
3. So if x is replaced
with 3, then we can use any real number for y. For example,
(3, 2) satisfies x  0  y
3 because 3  0(2)
3 is correct.
The following table shows five ordered pairs that satisfy x
3.
x
3 3 3 3 3 3
y 2 1 0 1 2

Figure 3.8 shows a vertical line through these points.

y
y
3
5 y⫽4 2 (3, 2) x⫽3
1
(⫺2, 4) 3 (2, 4)
⫺1 1 2 4 5 x
2 ⫺1
U Calculator Close-Up V ⫺2
1 (3, ⫺2)
You cannot graph the vertical line ⫺3
x
3 on most graphing calculators. ⫺4 ⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 4 x
⫺4
The only equations that can be
graphed are ones in which y is written
in terms of x. Figure 3.7 Figure 3.8

Now do Exercises 63–74

CAUTION If x
3 occurs in the context of equations in a single variable, then x
3

has only one solution, 3. In the context of equations in two variables,
x
3 is assumed to be a simplified form of x  0  y
3, and it has infi-
nitely many solutions (all of the ordered pairs on the line in Fig. 3.8).

All of the equations we have considered so far have involved single-digit

numbers. If an equation involves large numbers, then we must change the scale on the
x-axis, the y-axis, or both to accommodate the numbers involved. The change of scale
is arbitrary, and the graph will look different for different scales.
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178 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-8

E X A M P L E 6 Adjusting the scale

Graph the equation y
20x  500. Plot at least five points.

Solution
The following table shows five ordered pairs that satisfy the equation.

x 20 10 0 10 20
y
20x  500 100 300 500 700 900

y
To fit these points onto a graph, we change the scale on the x-axis to let each division rep-
800
(10, 700) resent 10 units and change the scale on the y-axis to let each division represent 200 units.
600
(0, 500) The graph is shown in Fig. 3.9.
y ⫽ 20x ⫹ 500 Now do Exercises 75–80
(⫺20, 100) 200

⫺40 ⫺20 10 20 30 40 x
⫺200
⫺400 U5V Graphing a Line Using Intercepts
We know that the graph of a linear equation is a straight line. Because it takes only
Figure 3.9 two points to determine a line, we can graph a linear equation using only two points.
The two points that are the easiest to locate are usually the points where the line crosses
the axes. The point where the graph crosses the x-axis is the x-intercept. The
y-coordinate of the x-intercept is zero. The point where the graph crosses the y-axis is
the y-intercept. The x-coordinate of the y-intercept is zero.

E X A M P L E 7 Graphing a line using intercepts

Graph the equation 2x  3y
6 by using the x- and y-intercepts.

Solution
U Helpful Hint V To find the x-intercept, let y
0 in the equation 2x  3y
6:
You can find the intercepts for
2x  3y
6 using the cover-up 2x  3  0
6
method. Cover up 3y with your
pencil, then solve 2x
6 mentally to 2x
6
get x
3 and an x-intercept of (3, 0). x
3
Now cover up 2x and solve 3y
6
to get y
2 and a y-intercept of
(0, 2). The x-intercept is (3, 0). To find the y-intercept, let x
0 in 2x  3y
6:

2  0  3y
6
3y
6
y
2

The y-intercept is (0, 2). Locate the intercepts and draw a line through them, as shown
in Fig. 3.10. To check, find one additional point that satisfies the equation, say (6, 2), and
see whether the line goes through that point.
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3-9 3.1 Graphing Lines in the Coordinate Plane 179

U Calculator Close-Up V y

To graph 2x  3y
6 on a calculator
3
you must solve for y. In this case, Check point (6, 2)
2
y
(2
3)x  2.
1
(3, 0)
3
⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 4 5 x
⫺1
(0, ⫺2) Intercepts
3 5
⫺3
2 x ⫺ 3y ⫽ 6
⫺4

4
Figure 3.10
Since the calculator graph appears to Now do Exercises 81–88
be the same as the graph in Fig. 3.10,
it supports the conclusion that
Fig. 3.10 is correct.
U6V Applications
Linear equations occur in many real-life situations.

E X A M P L E 8 House plans
An architect uses the equation C
900  30x to determine the cost for drawing house
plans, where x is the number of copies of the plan that the client receives.
a) What is the cost if the client gets eight copies?
b) Find the intercepts and interpret them.
c) Graph the linear equation.
d) What happens to the cost as x increases?
C
1200
(8, 1140) Solution
(0, 900)
900
a) If x
8, then C
900  30(8)
$1140.
C ⫽ 900 ⫹ 30x
b) If x
0, then C
900  30(0)
$900. The C-intercept is (0, 900). The cost is
600 $900 for the labor involved in drawing the plans, even if you get no copies of the
plan. If C
0, then 900  30x
0 or x
30. So the x-intercept is (30, 0),
300 but in this situation, the x-intercept is meaningless. The number of plans can’t be
negative.
0 c) The graph goes through (0, 900) and (8, 1140), as shown in Fig. 3.11. Since nega-
2 4 6 8 10 x
tive values for x are meaningless, we draw the graph in the first quadrant only.
Figure 3.11 d) As x increases, the cost increases.
Now do Exercises 89–92

E X A M P L E 9 Ticket demand
The demand for tickets to see the Ice Gators play hockey can be modeled by the equation
d
8000  100p, where d is the number of tickets sold and p is the price per ticket in
dollars.
a) How many tickets will be sold at $20 per ticket?
b) Find the intercepts and interpret them.
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180 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-10

c) Graph the linear equation.

d) What happens to the demand as the price increases?

Solution
d a) If tickets are $20 each, then d
8000  100  20
6000. So at $20 per ticket, the
8000 (0, 8000) demand will be 6000 tickets.
b) Replace d with 0 in the equation d
8000  100p and solve for p:
6000
0
8000  100p
4000
100p
8000 Add 100p to each side.

2000 p
80 Divide each side by 100.

(80, 0) If p
0, then d
8000  100  0
8000. So the intercepts are (0, 8000) and
0
20 40 60 80 p (80, 0). If the tickets are free, the demand will be 8000 tickets. At $80 per ticket, no
Figure 3.12
tickets will be sold.
c) Graph the line using the intercepts (0, 8000) and (80, 0) as shown in Fig. 3.12. The
line is graphed in the first quadrant only, because negative values for demand or
price are meaningless.
d) When the tickets are free, the demand is high. As the price increases, the demand
goes down. At $80 per ticket, there will be no demand.
Now do Exercises 93–96

Note that d
8000  100p is a model for the demand in Example 9. A model
car has only some of the features of a real car, and the same is true here. For instance,
the line in Fig. 3.12 contains infinitely many points. But there is really only a finite
number of possibilities for price and demand, because we cannot sell a fraction of
a ticket.

Warm-Ups ▼
True or false? 1. The point (2, 4) satisfies the equation 2y  3x
8.
Explain your 2. If (1, 5) satisfies an equation, then (5, 1) also satisfies the equation.
answer. 3. The origin is in quadrant I.
4. The point (4, 0) is on the y-axis.
5. The graph of x  0  y
9 is the same as the graph of x
9.
6. The graph of x
5 is a vertical line.
7. The graph of 0  x  y
6 is a horizontal line.
8. The y-intercept for the line x  2y
5 is (5, 0).
9. The point (5, 3) is in quadrant II.
10. The point (349, 0) is on the x-axis.
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Exercises

3.1
Boost your grade at mathzone.com!
> Practice > Self-Tests
Problems > e-Professors
> NetTutor > Videos

U Study Tips V
• It is a good idea to work with others, but don’t be misled. Working a problem with help is not the same as working a problem on your
own.
• Math is personal. Make sure that you can do it.

Reading and Writing After reading this section, write out 13. 2x  3y
6: (3, ), ( , 2), (12, )
the answers to these questions. Use complete sentences.
1. What is an ordered pair? 14. 3x  5y
0: (5, ), ( , 3), (10, )

15. 0  y  x
5: ( , 3), ( , 5), ( , 0)

2. What is the rectangular coordinate system?
16. 0  x  y
6: (3, ), (1, ), (4, )

3. What name is given to the point of intersection of the

Use the given equations to find the missing coordinates in the
x-axis and the y-axis?
following tables.
17. y
2x  5 18. y
x  4
4. What is the graph of an equation? x y x y
2 2
0 0
5. What is a linear equation in two variables? 2 2
3 0
7 2
6. What are intercepts?

1 1
19. y
 x  2 20. y
 x  1
U1V Ordered Pairs 3 2
Complete each ordered pair so that it satisfies the given x y x y
equation. See Example 1.
6 2
7. y
3x  9: (0, ), ( , 24), (2, )
3 1
8. y
2x  5: (8, ), (1, ), ( , 1) 2
1
3 1


 , (
1 2
9. y
3x  7: (0, ), , , 5)
3
21. y  20x
400 22. 200x  y
50
x y x y
1
10. y
5x  3: (1, ), ,
2  , ( , 2) 30 12
0
100
10
0
11. y
1.2x  54.3: (0, ), (10, ), ( , 54.9) 0
600 0
12. y
1.8x  22.6: (1, ), (10, ), ( , 22.6) 1

2
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182 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-12

U3V Plotting Points 53. y
2x  1 54. y
3x  1

Plot the points on a rectangular coordinate system.
See Example 2.
23. (1, 5) 24. (4, 3)
25. (2, 1) 26. (3, 5)


27. 3,  
1
2 
28. 2,  
1
3
29. (2, 4) 30. (3, 5)
31. (0, 3) 32. (0, 2)
33. (3, 0) 34. (5, 0)
35. (
, 1) 36. (2,
)
37. (1.4, 4) 38. (3, 0.4)
55. y
3x  2 56. y
2x  3

For each point, name the quadrant in which it lies or the axis
on which it lies.
39. (3, 45) 40. (33, 47) 41. (3, 0)

42. (0, 9) 43. (2.36, 5) 44. (89.6, 0) 57. y
x 58. y
x

45. (3.4, 8.8) 46. (4.1, 44) 

1
47. , 50
2 
 1
48. 6, 
2  49. (0, 99) 50. (
, 0)

U4V Graphing a Linear Equation in Two Variables

Graph each equation. Plot at least five points for each equation.
Use graph paper. See Examples 3–5. If you have a graphing
calculator, use it to check your graphs when possible.
51. y
x  1 52. y
x  1

59. y
1  x 60. y
2  x
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3-13 3.1 Graphing Lines in the Coordinate Plane 183

61. y
2x  3 62. y
3x  2 71. x  3y
6 72. x  4y
5

63. y
3 64. y
2
73. y
0.36x  0.4 74. y
0.27x  0.42

65. x
2 66. x
4

Graph each equation. Plot at least five points for each

equation. Use graph paper. See Example 6. If you have
a graphing calculator, use it to check your graphs.
75. y
x  1200 76. y
2x  3000

67. 2x  y
5 68. 3x  y
5

77. y
50x  2000 78. y
300x  4500

69. x  2y
4 70. x  2y
6
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184 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-14

79. y
400x  2000 80. y
500x  3 1 1 1 1

87.  x   y
1 88.  x   y
3
2 4 3 2

U5V Graphing a Line Using Intercepts

For each equation, state the x-intercept and y-intercept.
Then graph the equation using the intercepts and a third point.
See Example 7.

81. 3x  2y
6 82. 2x  y
6
U6V Applications
Solve each problem. See Examples 8 and 9.
89. Percentage of full benefit. The age at which you retire
affects your Social Security benefits. The accompanying
graph gives the percentage of full benefit for each age from
62 through 70, based on current legislation and retirement
after the year 2005 (Source: Social Security Administration).
What percentage of full benefit does a person receive if that
person retires at age 63? At what age will a retiree receive
the full benefit? For what ages do you receive more than the
full benefit?

83. x  4y
4 84. 2x  y
4

130
(70, 124)
Percentage of full benefit

120
110
100
(67, 100)
90
80
(64, 80)
70
(62, 70)
62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
Retirement age
3 1
85. y
 x  9 86. y
 x  5
4 2
Figure for Exercise 89

90. Heel motion. When designing running shoes, Chris

Edington studies the motion of a runner’s foot. The
following data gives the coordinates of the heel (in
centimeters) at intervals of 0.05 millisecond during
one cycle of level treadmill running at 3.8 meters per
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3-15 3.1 Graphing Lines in the Coordinate Plane 185

second (Sagittal Plane Kinematics, Milliron and d) If this trend continues, then in what year will the cost of
Cavanagh): dental services reach 100 billion?
(31.7, 5.7), (48.0, 5.7), (68.3, 5.8), (88.9, 6.9),
(107.2, 13.3), (119.4, 24.7), (127.2, 37.8),
(125.7, 52.0), (116.1, 60.2), (102.2, 59.5),
(88.7, 50.2), (73.9, 35.8), (52.6, 20.6),
(29.6, 10.7), (22.4, 5.9)
Graph these ordered pairs to see the heel motion.

93. Hazards of depth. The accompanying table shows the

depth below sea level and atmospheric pressure. The
equation
A
0.03d  1
expresses the atmospheric pressure in terms of the depth d.
a) Find the atmospheric pressure at the depth where
91. Medicaid spending. The cost in billions of dollars for nitrogen narcosis begins.
federal Medicaid (health care for the poor) can be modeled b) Find the maximum depth for intermediate divers.
by the equation
c) Graph the equation for d ranging from 0 to 250 feet.
C
3.2n  65.3,
where n is the number of years since 1990 (Health Care
Financing Administration, www.hcfa.gov).
a) What was the cost of federal Medicaid in 2000?
b) In what year will the cost reach $150 billion?
c) Graph the equation for n ranging from 0 through 20.

Atmospheric
Depth (ft) Pressure (atm) Comments
21 1.63 Bends are a
danger
60 2.8 Maximum for
beginners
100 Nitrogen
narcosis
begins
4.9 Maximum for
92. Dental services. The national cost C in billions of dollars intermediate
for dental services can be modeled by the linear equation 200 7.0 Severe
nitrogen
narcosis
C
2.85n  30.52,
250 8.5 Extremely
dangerous
where n is the number of years since 1990 (Health Care depth
Financing Administration, www.hcfa.gov).
a) Find and interpret the C-intercept for the line.
b) Find and interpret the n-intercept for the line.
c) Graph the line for n ranging from 0 through 20. Figure for Exercise 93
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186 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-16

94. Demand equation. Helen’s Health Foods usually sells the equation 45x  50y
4500. What do x and y
400 cans of ProPac Muscle Punch per week when the price represent? Graph the equation. How many solutions are
is $5 per can. After experimenting with prices for some there to the equation, given that the number of tents of
time, Helen has determined that the weekly demand can each type must be a whole number?
be found by using the equation
d
600  40p,
where d is the number of cans and p is the price per can.
a) Will Helen sell more or less Muscle Punch if she raises
her price from $5?
b) What happens to her sales every time she raises her
price by $1?
c) Graph the equation.

Graphing Calculator Exercises

Graph each straight line on your graphing calculator using
a viewing window that shows both intercepts. Answers may vary.

d) What is the maximum price that she can charge and 97. 2x  3y
1200 98. 3x  700y
2100
still sell at least one can?

95. Advertising blitz. Furniture City in Toronto had $24,000

to spend on advertising a year-end clearance sale. A 30-
second radio ad costs $300, and a 30-second local television
ad costs $400. To model this situation, the advertising
manager wrote the equation 300x  400y
24,000. What
do x and y represent? Graph the equation. How many
solutions are there to the equation, given that the number
of ads of each type must be a whole number? 99. 200x  300y
6 100. 300x  5y
20

101. y
300x  1 102. y
300x  6000

96. Material allocation. A tent maker had 4500 square yards of

nylon tent material available. It takes 45 square yards of
nylon to make an 8  10 tent and 50 square yards to make
a 9  12 tent. To model this situation, the manager wrote
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3-17 3.2 Slope 187

Math at Work Predicting the Future

No one knows what the future may bring, but everyone plans for and tries to predict the
future. Stock market analysts predict the profits of companies, pollsters predict the out-
comes of elections, and urban planners predict sizes of cities. These predictions of the
future are often based on the trends of the past.
Consider the accompanying table, which shows the population of the United States
in millions for each census year from 1950 through 2000. It certainly appears that the
population is going up and it would be a safe bet to predict that the population in 2010
will be somewhat larger than 279 million. We get a
different perspective if we look at the accompanying
graph of the population data. Not only does the graph
Population
show an increasing population, it shows the popula-
Year (millions)
Population (millions)

350 tion increasing in a linear manner. Now we can make

300 1950 152 a prediction based on the line that appears to fit the
250 1960 180 data. The equation of this line, the regression line, is
1970 204 y
2.47x  4666, where x is the year and y is the
200
population. The equation of the regression line can be
150 1980 227
1950 1970 1990 2010 found with a computer or graphing calculator. Now if
Year 1990 249 x
2010, then y
2.47(2010)  4666  299. So we
2000 279 can predict 299 million people in 2010.

3.2 Slope
In This Section In Section 3.1 you learned that the graph of a linear equation is a straight line. In this
section, we will continue our study of lines in the coordinate plane.
U1V Slope
U2V Slope Using Coordinates
U3V Graphing a Line Given a Point
and Slope U1V Slope
U V Parallel Lines
4 6
If a highway rises 6 feet in a horizontal run of 100 feet, then the grade is   or 6%.
100
U5V Perpendicular Lines See Fig. 3.13. The grade is a measurement of the steepness of the road. A road with
U6V Applications an 8% grade rises 8 feet in a horizontal run of 100 feet, and it is steeper than a road
with a 6% grade. We use exactly the same idea to measure the steepness of a line in a
coordinate system, but the measurement is called slope rather than grade. For the line
6% in Fig. 3.14, the y-coordinate increases by 2 units and the x-coordinate increases by
GRADE 3 units as you move from (1, 1) to (4, 3). So its slope is 2.
3
6⬘ In general, the change in y-coordinate is the rise and the change in x-coordinate
100⬘ is the run. The letter m is often used for slope.
SLOW VEHICLES
KEEP RIGHT
Slope
rise change in y-coordinate
m
slope


Figure 3.13
run change in x-coordinate
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188 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-18

y Signed numbers are not used to describe the grade of a road, but they are used for
(4, 3) lines in a coordinate system. If the y-coordinate increases (moving upward) as you
3
move from one point on the line to another, the rise is positive. If it decreases (moving
2 (1, 1) 2
downward), the rise is negative. The same goes for the run. If the x-coordinate
1
3 increases (moving to the right), then the run is positive, and if it decreases (moving to
3 2 1 2 3 4 x the left), the run is negative. Using signed numbers for the rise and run causes the
1
slope to be positive or negative, as shown in Example 1.
2

Figure 3.14

E X A M P L E 1 Finding the slope of a line

Find the slope of each blue line by going from point A to point B.
a) y b) y c) y
A
4 4 2
3 1
⫹3 B A
4
⫺1 1 2 x
⫹2 ⫺1 ⫺2
B A B
1 3 4 x 1 2 3 4 x ⫺4
1 ⫺1 ⫺3
2 ⫺2 ⫺4

Solution
a) The coordinates of point A are (0, 4), and the coordinates of point B are (3, 0). Going
from A to B, the change in y is 4, and the change in x is 3. So
4 4
m

.
3 3
Note that it does not matter whether you move from A to B or from B to A.
Moving from B to A, the y-coordinate increases by 4 units (rise 4) and the
x-coordinate decreases by 3 units (run 3). So rise over run is  4 4
 or .
3 3
b) Going from A to B, the rise is 2, and the run is 3. So
2
m
.
3
c) Going from A to B, the rise is 2, and the run is 4. So
2 1
m

.
4 2
Now do Exercises 7–10

CAUTION The change in y is always in the numerator, and the change in x is always
in the denominator.
The ratio of rise to run is the ratio of the lengths of the two legs of any right tri-
angle whose hypotenuse is on the line. As long as one leg is vertical and the other is
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3-19 3.2 Slope 189

horizontal, all such triangles for a certain line have the same shape. These triangles are
similar triangles. The ratio of the length of the vertical side to the length of the hori-
zontal side for any two such triangles is the same number. So we get the same value
for the slope no matter which two points of the line are used to calculate it or in which
order the points are used.

E X A M P L E 2 Finding slope
Find the slope of the line shown here using points A and B, points A and C, and points B
and C.

Solution
U Helpful Hint V Using A and B, we get
rise 1 y
It is good to think of what the slope m

. C (4, 3)
represents when x and y are mea- run 4
3
sured quantities rather than just Using A and C, we get
rise 2 1
numbers. For example, if the change m


. 1
B (0, 2)
in y is 50 miles and the change in x run 8 4 A (⫺4, 1)
is 2 hours, then the slope is 25 mph Using B and C, we get
rise 1 ⫺4 ⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 4 x
(or 25 miles per 1 hour). So the slope m

. ⫺1
is the amount of change in y for a run 4
change of one in x. Now do Exercises 11–18

y
U2V Slope Using Coordinates
(x2, y2) One way to obtain the rise and run is from a graph. The rise and run can also be found
by using the coordinates of two points on the line as shown in Fig. 3.15.
y2 – y1
(Rise)
(x1, y1)
x2 – x1
(Run)
Coordinate Formula for Slope
x
The slope of the line containing the points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) is given by
y2  y1
m
,
Figure 3.15 x2  x1
provided that x2  x1  0.

The small lowered numbers following x and y in the slope formula are subscripts. We
read x1 as “x sub one” or simply “x one.” We think of (x1, y1) as the x- and y-coordinates
of the first point and (x2, y2) as the x- and y-coordinates of the second point.

E X A M P L E 3 Using coordinates to find slope

Find the slope of each of the following lines.
a) The line through (0, 5) and (6, 3)
b) The line through (3, 4) and (5, 2)
c) The line through (4, 2) and the origin
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190 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-20

Solution
a) If (x1, y1)
(0, 5) and (x2, y2)
(6, 3) then
y2  y1
m

x2  x1
3  5 2 1



.
60 6 3
If (x1, y1)
(6, 3) and (x2, y2)
(0, 5) then
y2  y1
m

x2  x1
53 2 1



.
0  6 6 3
Note that it does not matter which point is called (x1, y1) and which is called
(x2, y2). In either case, the slope is 1.
3
b) Let (x1, y1)
(3, 4) and (x2, y2)
(5, 2):
y2  y1
m

x2  x1
2  (4)


5  (3)
2


1
2
c) Let (x1, y1)
(0, 0) and (x2, y2)
(4, 2):
20 2 1
m



4  0 4 2
Now do Exercises 19–32

CAUTION Order matters. If you divide y2  y1 by x1  x2, your slope will have the
wrong sign. However, you will get the correct slope regardless of which
point is called (x1, y1) and which is called (x2, y2).
Because division by zero is undefined, slope is undefined if x2  x1
0 or
x2
x1. The x-coordinates of two distinct points on a line are equal only if the points
are on a vertical line. So slope is undefined for vertical lines. The concept of slope does
not exist for a vertical line.
Any two points on a horizontal line have equal y-coordinates. So for points on a
horizontal line we have y2  y1
0. Since y2  y1 is in the numerator of the slope
formula, the slope for any horizontal line is zero. We never refer to a line as having
“no slope,” because in English no can mean zero or does not exist.

E X A M P L E 4 Slope for vertical and horizontal lines

Find the slope of the line through each pair of points.
a) (2, 1) and (2, 3)
b) (2, 2) and (4, 2)
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3-21 3.2 Slope 191

y Solution
a) The points (2, 1) and (2, 3) are on the vertical line shown in Fig. 3.16. Since
3
Undefined slope is undefined for vertical lines, this line does not have a slope. Using the slope
2
slope formula we get
1
3  1 4
3 2 1 1 3 4 x m

.
1 22 0
2
Since division by zero is undefined, we can again conclude that slope is undefined
3
for the vertical line through the given points.

Vertical line
b) The points (2, 2) and (4, 2) are on the horizontal line shown in Fig. 3.17. Using
the slope formula we get
Figure 3.16
22 0
m


0.
y 2  4 6
So the slope of the horizontal line through these points is 0.
3
Zero slope Now do Exercises 33–38
1

3 2 1 1 2 3 4 x
1
Note that for a line with positive slope, the y-values increase as the x-values
2
increase. For a line with negative slope, the y-values decrease as the x-values increase.
3
See Fig. 3.18. As the absolute value of the slope increases, the line gets steeper.
Horizontal line
y y
Figure 3.17
4 4
Goes down
3 3
Goes up
2
m⬎0 m⬍0
1 1

⫺3 ⫺2 1 2 3 4 x ⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 4 x
⫺1 ⫺1

Positive slope Negative slope

Figure 3.18

U3V Graphing a Line Given a Point and Slope

To graph a line from its equation we usually make a table of ordered pairs and then
draw a line through the points or we use the intercepts. In Example 5 we will graph a
line using one point and the slope. From the slope we find additional points by using
the rise and the run.

E X A M P L E 5 Graphing a line given a point and its slope

Graph each line.
a) The line through (2, 1) with slope 3
4
b) The line through (2, 4) with slope 3
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192 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-22

Solution
a) First locate the point (2, 1). Because the slope is 3, we can find another point on the
4
line by going up three units and to the right four units to get the point (6, 4), as shown
3 3
in Fig. 3.19. Now draw a line through (2, 1) and (6, 4). Since 4

 we could have
4
obtained the second point by starting at (1, 2) and going down 3 units and to the
left 4 units.
y y
U Calculator Close-Up V
5 5
When we graph a line we usually 4
4 (2, 4) 4
draw a graph that shows both inter- (6, 4)
3 3
cepts, because they are important 3 3
features of the graph. If the intercepts 2 2 (1, 1)
are not between 10 and 10, you will 1
1
1
have to adjust the window to get a
4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 x 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 x
good graph. The viewing window
that has x- and y-values ranging from 2 2
a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 3 3
10 is called the standard viewing
4 4
window.

Figure 3.19 Figure 3.20

b) First locate the point (2, 4). Because the slope is 3, or 3
, we can locate another
1
point on the line by starting at (2, 4) and moving down three units and then one
unit to the right to get the point (1, 1). Now draw a line through (2, 4) and
3 3
(1, 1) as shown in Fig. 3.20. Since 1
1 we could have obtained the second
point by starting at (2, 4) and going up 3 units and to the left 1 unit.
Now do Exercises 39–44

U4V Parallel Lines

Two lines in a coordinate plane that do not intersect are parallel. Consider the two
1
lines with slope  shown in Fig. 3.21. At the y-axis these lines are 4 units apart, mea-
3
1
sured vertically. A slope of  means that you can forever rise 1 and run 3 to
3
get to another point on the line. So the lines will always be 4 units apart vertically, and
they will never intersect. This example illustrates the following fact.
y

8 1
Slope
—
3
7
6

4
3
2 1
Slope
—
3

1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 x
1

Figure 3.21
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3-23 3.2 Slope 193

Parallel Lines
Two lines with slopes m1 and m2 are parallel if and only if m1
m2.

For lines that have slope, the slopes can be used to determine whether the lines are
parallel. The only lines that do not have slope are vertical lines. Of course, any two
vertical lines are parallel.

E X A M P L E 6 Graphing parallel lines

Draw a line through the point (2, 1) with slope 1 and a line through (3, 0) with slope 1.
2 2

Solution
Because slope is the ratio of rise to run, a slope of 1 means that we can locate a second point
2
of the line by starting at (2, 1) and going up one unit and to the right two units. For the line
through (3, 0) we start at (3, 0) and go up one unit and to the right two units. See Fig. 3.22.
y
1
4 Slope ⫽ —
2
3
1
(⫺2, 1) Slope ⫽ —
2
1
(3, 0)
⫺4 ⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 3 4 x
⫺1

⫺3
⫺4

Figure 3.22

Now do Exercises 45–46

U5V Perpendicular Lines

Figure 3.23 shows line l1 with positive slope m1. The rise m1 and the run 1 are the sides
of a right triangle. If l1 and the triangle are rotated 90° clockwise, then l1 will coincide
with line l2, and the slope of l2 can be determined from the triangle in its new position.
Starting at the point of intersection, the run for l2 is m1 and the rise is 1 (moving
y 1
1 l1 downward). So if m2 is the slope of l2, then m2
m1. The slope of l2 is the opposite
of the reciprocal of the slope of l1. This result can be stated also as m1m2
1 or as
90⬚ follows.
m1

m1
Perpendicular Lines
Two lines with slopes m1 and m2 are perpendicular if and only if
1
1
l2 m1
.
m2
x

Notice that we cannot compare slopes of horizontal and vertical lines to see if they are
perpendicular because slope is undefined for vertical lines. However, you should just
Figure 3.23 remember that any horizontal line is perpendicular to any vertical line and vice versa.
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194 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-24

E X A M P L E 7 Graphing perpendicular lines

Draw two lines through the point (1, 2), one with slope 13 and the other with slope 3.

Solution
1
U Helpful Hint V Because slope is the ratio of rise to run, a slope of 3 means that we can locate a second
The relationship between the slopes
point on the line by starting at (1, 2) and going down one unit and to the right three units.
of perpendicular lines can also be For the line with slope 3, we start at (1, 2) and go up three units and to the right one unit.
remembered as See Fig. 3.24.
m1  m2
1. y
For example, lines with slopes 3
1 7
and 3 are perpendicular because Slope ⫽ 3
1 6
3  3
1.

(⫺1, 2) Slope ⫽⫺ 13

⫺3 ⫺1 1 2 3 4 5 x
⫺1

Figure 3.24

Now do Exercises 47–54

E X A M P L E 8 Parallel, perpendicular, or neither

Determine whether the lines l1 and l2 are parallel, perpendicular, or neither.
a) l1 goes through (1, 2) and (4, 8), l2 goes through (0, 3) and (1, 5).
b) l1 goes through (2, 5) and (3, 7), l2 goes through (8, 4) and (6, 9).
c) l1 goes through (0, 4) and (1, 6), l2 goes through (7, 7) and (4, 4).

Solution
a) The slope of l1 is 82 or 2. The slope of l2 is 53 or 2. Since the slopes are
41 10
equal, the lines are parallel.
75 2 49 5
b) The slope of l1 is   or . The slope of l2 is  or . Since one slope is
3  (2) 5 86 2
the opposite of the reciprocal of the slope of the other, the lines are perpendicular.
64 74
c) The slope of l1 is   or 2. The slope of l2 is  or 1. Since 2  1
1  0 74
1
and 2  1, the lines are neither parallel nor perpendicular.

Now do Exercises 55–62

U6V Applications
The slope of a line is the ratio of the rise and the run. If the rise is measured in dollars
and the run in days, then the slope is measured in dollars per day (dollars/day). The
slope is the amount of increase or decrease in dollars for one day. The slope of a line
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3-25 3.2 Slope 195

is the rate at which the dependent variable is increasing or decreasing. It is the amount
of change in the dependent variable per a change of one unit in the independent
variable. In some cases, the slope is a fraction, but whole numbers sound better for
interpretation. For example, the birth rate at a hospital of 13 birth/day might sound
better stated as one birth per three days.

E X A M P L E 9 Interpreting slope as a rate of change

A car goes from 60 mph to 0 mph in 120 feet after applying the brakes.
a) Find and interpret the slope of the line shown here.
b) What is the velocity at a distance of 80 feet?

y
60 (0, 60)

Velocity (mph)
40

20
(120, 0)

0 50 100 150 x
Distance (feet)

Solution
a) Find the slope of the line through (0, 60) and (120, 0):
60  0
m

0.5
0  120
Because the vertical axis is miles per hour and the horizontal axis is feet, the slope
is 0.5 mph/ft, which means the car is losing 0.5 mph of velocity for every foot it
travels after the brakes are applied.
b) If the velocity is decreasing 0.5 mph for every foot the car travels, then in 80 feet the
velocity goes down 0.5(80) or 40 mph. So the velocity at 80 feet is 60  40 or 20 mph.
Now do Exercises 63–66

E X A M P L E 10 Finding points when given the slope

Assume that the base price of a new Jeep Wrangler is increasing $300 per year. Find the
data that is missing from the table.

Year (x) Price (y)

2001 $15,600
2002
2003
$18,300
$20,100
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196 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-26

Solution
The price in 2002 is $15,900 and in 2003 it is $16,200 because the slope is $300 per year.
The rise in price from $16,200 to $18,300 is $2100, which takes 7 years at $300 per year.
So in 2010 the price is $18,300. The rise from $18,300 to $20,100 is $1800, which takes
6 years at $300 per year. So in 2016 the price is $20,100.
Now do Exercises 67–68

Warm-Ups ▼
True or false? 1. Slope is a measurement of the steepness of a line.
Explain your 2. Slope is rise divided by run.
3. Every line in the coordinate plane has a slope.
answer.
4. The line through the point (1, 1) and the origin has slope 1.
5. Slope can never be negative.
6. A line with slope 2 is perpendicular to any line with slope 2.
7. The slope of the line through (0, 3) and (4, 0) is 3.
4
8. Two different lines cannot have the same slope.
9. The line through (1, 3) and (5, 3) has zero slope.
10. Slope can have units such as feet per second.

Exercises
3.2

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U Study Tips V
• Don’t expect to understand a topic the first time you see it. Learning mathematics takes time, patience, and repetition.
• Keep reading the text, asking questions, and working problems. Someone once said, “All math is easy once you understand it.”

Reading and Writing After reading this section, write out 4. Which lines have zero slope?
the answers to these questions. Use complete sentences.
1. What is the slope of a line? 5. What is the difference between lines with positive slope
and lines with negative slope?
2. What is the difference between rise and run?

6. What is the relationship between the slopes of perpendicular

3. For which lines is slope undefined?
lines?
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3-27 3.2 Slope 197

15. 16.
U1V Slope
y y
In Exercises 7–18, find the slope of each line. See Examples 1
and 2. 3 3
7. 8. 2 2
y y 1 1

3 3 ⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 x ⫺3 ⫺2 1 2 3 x
⫺1 ⫺1
2
⫺2
1 1 ⫺3 ⫺3
⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 x ⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 3 x
⫺1 ⫺1
⫺2 ⫺2

9. 10. 17. 18.

y y y y

3 4 3 3
3 2 2
1 2 1 1
1
⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 x ⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 3 x ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 x
⫺1 ⫺1
⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 x ⫺1
⫺2 ⫺2 ⫺2
⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺3 ⫺3

11. 12.
y y

3 3 U2V Slope Using Coordinates

2 2 Find the slope of the line that goes through each pair of points.
1 See Examples 3 and 4.
⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 x ⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 x
⫺1 19. (1, 2), (3, 6) 20. (2, 7), (3, 10)
⫺2
⫺2 21. (2, 5), (6, 10) 22. (5, 1), (8, 9)
⫺3 ⫺3
23. (2, 4), (5, 1) 24. (3, 1), (6, 2)

25. (2, 4), (5, 9) 26. (1, 3), (3, 5)

13. 14.
y y 27. (2, 3), (5, 1) 28. (6, 3), (1, 1)

3 3 29. (3, 4), (3, 2) 30. (1, 3), (5, 2)
2
1 1
1
  1
31. , 2 , 1, 
2 2   
1 1
32. , 2 , , 1
3 3 
⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 x ⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 x
⫺1 ⫺1 33. (2, 3), (2, 9) 34. (3, 6), (8, 6)
⫺2
⫺3 ⫺3 35. (2, 5), (9, 5) 36. (4, 9), (4, 6)

37. (0.3, 0.9), (0.1, 0.3) 38. (0.1, 0.2), (0.5, 0.8)
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198 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-28

U3V Graphing a Line Given a Point and Slope 44. The line through (1, 4) with slope 2
3
Graph the line with the given point and slope. See Example 5.
39. The line through (1, 1) with slope 2
3

40. The line through (2, 3) with slope 1

2
U4–5V Parallel and Perpendicular Lines
Solve each problem. See Examples 6 and 7.
45. Draw line l1 through (1, 2) with slope 1 and line l2
2
through (1, 1) with slope 1.
2

41. The line through (2, 3) with slope 2

46. Draw line l1 through (0, 3) with slope 1 and line l2 through
(0, 0) with slope 1.

42. The line through (2, 5) with slope 1

47. Draw l1 through (1, 2) with slope 1, and draw l2 through
2
(1, 2) with slope 2.

43. The line through (0, 0) with slope 2

5
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3-29 3.2 Slope 199

48. Draw l1 through (2, 1) with slope 2, and draw l2 through 52. Draw l1 through (4, 0) and (0, 6). What is the slope of any
3
(2, 1) with slope 3. line parallel to l1? Draw l2 through the origin and parallel to l1.
2

53. Draw l1 through (2, 4) and (3, 1). What is the slope of
49. Draw any line l1 with slope 3. What is the slope of any any line perpendicular to l1? Draw l2 through (1, 3) so that
4
line perpendicular to l1? Draw any line l2 perpendicular to l1. it is perpendicular to l1.

54. Draw l1 through (0, 3) and (3, 0). What is the slope of
50. Draw any line l1 with slope 1. What is the slope of any line any line perpendicular to l1? Draw l2 through the origin so
perpendicular to l1? Draw any line l2 perpendicular to l1. that it is perpendicular to l1.

51. Draw l1 through (2, 3) and (4, 0). What is the slope of
any line parallel to l1? Draw l2 through (1, 2) so that it is In each case, determine whether the lines l1 and l2 are parallel,
perpendicular, or neither. See Example 8.
parallel to l1.
55. Line l1 goes through (3, 5) and (4, 7). Line l2 goes through
(11, 7) and (12, 9).
56. Line l1 goes through (2, 2) and (2, 0). Line l2 goes
through (2, 5) and (1, 3).
57. Line l1 goes through (1, 4) and (2, 6). Line l2 goes
through (2, 2) and (4, 1).
58. Line l1 goes through (2, 5) and (4, 7). Line l2 goes
through (2, 4) and (3, 1).
59. Line l1 goes through (1, 4) and (4, 6). Line l2 goes
through (7, 0) and (3, 4).
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200 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-30

60. Line l1 goes through (1, 2) and (1, 1). Line l2 goes retirement age does a person receive an annual benefit of
through (4, 4) and (3, 3). $11,600? Find the slope of each line segment on the graph,
61. Line l1 goes through (3, 5) and (3, 6). Line l2 goes through and interpret your results. Why do people who postpone
(2, 4) and (3, 4). retirement until 70 years of age get the highest benefit?
62. Line l1 goes through (3, 7) and (4, 7). Line l2 goes
through (5, 1) and (3, 1).
65. Increasing training. The accompanying graph shows the
U6V Applications percentage of U.S. workers receiving training by their
Solve each problem. See Examples 9 and 10. employers. The percentage went from 5% in 1982 to 29%
63. Super cost. The average cost of a 30-second ad during in 2006 (Department of Labor, www.dol.gov). Find the
the 1998 Super Bowl was $1.3 million, and in 2006 it was slope of this line. Interpret your result.
$2.8 million (www.adage.com).
a) Find the slope of the line through (1998, 1.3) and
(2006, 2.8) and interpret your result.

b) Use the slope to estimate the average cost of an ad in 30

2002. Is your estimate consistent with the
accompanying graph? 25
c) Use the slope to predict the average cost in 2010.
20

Percentage
15

4 10
Cost (millions)

3
5
2
1
1982 1990 1998 2006
0 2 4 6 8 10 Year
Years since 1998

Figure for Exercise 65

Figure for Exercise 63

64. Retirement pay. The annual Social Security benefit of a 66. Saving for retirement. Financial advisors at Fidelity
retiree depends on the age at the time of retirement. The Investments, Boston, use the accompanying table as a
accompanying graph gives the annual benefit for persons measure of whether a client is on the road to a comfortable
retiring at ages 62 through 70 in the year 2005 or later retirement.
(Social Security Administration, www.ssa.gov). What is the a) Graph these points and draw a line through them.
annual benefit for a person who retires at age 64? At what
Annual Social Security

13,000
(70, 12,400)
benefit (dollars)

12,000
11,000
10,000
9000 (67, 10,000)
8000
(64, 8000)
7000
(62, 7000)
62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
Retirement age
b) What is the slope of the line?
c) By what percentage of your salary should you be
Figure for Exercise 64 increasing your savings every year?
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3-31 3.3 Equations of Lines in Slope-Intercept Form 201

Year Population
Years of Salary
Age (a) Saved (y) 8400
35 0.5 2002 8150
40 1.0 2008
45 1.5 5900
50 2.0 4900

Figure for Exercise 66 Determine whether the points in each table lie on a straight
line.
67. Increasing salary. An elementary school teacher gets a
raise of $400 per year. Find the data that is missing from 69. x y 70. x y
the accompanying table. 4 10 2 4
7 19 4 14
Year Salary (dollars)
11 31 8 34
2000
17 49 13 59
2002 28,900
29,300 71. 72.
x y x y
32,900
2015 2 7 3 12
0 3 0 2
68. Declining population. The population of Springfield is
3 3 2 10
decreasing at a rate of 250 people per year. Find the data
that is missing from the table. 9 16 6 26

3.3 Equations of Lines in Slope-Intercept Form

In This Section In Section 3.1 you learned that the graph of all solutions to a linear equation in two
variables is a straight line. In this section, we start with a line or a description of a
U1V Slope-Intercept Form line and write an equation for the line. The equation of a line in any form is called
U2V Standard Form a linear equation in two variables.
U3V Using Slope-Intercept
Form for Graphing
4
U V Writing the Equation for a
Line
U5V Applications U1V Slope-Intercept Form 2
y
Consider the line through (0, 1) with slope 3 shown in Fig. 3.25. If we use the points
(x, y) and (0, 1) in the slope formula, we get an equation that is satisfied by every point
5 on the line:
(x, y)
4
y2  y1
3 
m Slope formula
y ⫺1 x2  x1
2

x⫺0 y 1 2
(0, 1) 
 Let (x1, y1)
(0, 1) and (x2, y2)
(x, y).
⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 4 5 x x 0 3
⫺1
y1 2
Figure 3.25 

x 3
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202 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-32

Now solve the equation for y:

y1 2
x  
  x Multiply each side by x.
x 3
2
y  1
 x
3
2
y
 x  1 Add 1 to each side.
3

Because (0, 1) is on the y-axis, it is called the y-intercept of the line. Note how
2 2
the slope 3 and the y-coordinate of the y-intercept (0, 1) appear in y
3 x  1. For
this reason, it is called the slope-intercept form of the equation of the line.

Slope-Intercept Form
The equation of the line with y-intercept (0, b) and slope m is
y
mx  b.

E X A M P L E 1 Using slope-intercept form

Write the equation of each line in slope-intercept form.

a) y b) y c) y
(0, 5)
3 4
2 3 4
(3, 3)
1 2 3
(1, 1) (2, 2)
2
⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 x (0, 0)
⫺1 1
⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 x
⫺2 (0, ⫺2) ⫺1
⫺1 1 2 3 4 x
⫺2 ⫺1

Solution
a) The y-intercept is (0, 2), and the slope is 3. Use the form y
mx  b with b
2
and m
3. The equation in slope-intercept form is
y
3x  2.
b) The y-intercept is (0, 0), and the slope is 1. So the equation is
y
x.
2
c) The y-intercept is (0, 5), and the slope is 3. So the equation is
2
y
 x  5.
3
Now do Exercises 7–18

The equation of a line may take many different forms. The easiest way to find the
slope and y-intercept for a line is to rewrite the equation in slope-intercept form.
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3-33 3.3 Equations of Lines in Slope-Intercept Form 203

E X A M P L E 2 Finding slope and y-intercept

Determine the slope and y-intercept of the line 3x  2y
6.

Solution
Solve for y to get slope-intercept form:
3x  2y
6
2y
3x  6
3
y
 x  3
2
3
The slope is 2, and the y-intercept is (0, 3).

Now do Exercises 19–38

U2V Standard Form

In Section 3.1 we defined a linear equation in two variables as an equation of the form
Ax  By
C, where A and B are not both zero. The form Ax  By
C is called the
standard form of the equation of a line. It includes vertical lines such as x
6 and
horizontal lines such as y
5. Every line has an equation in standard form. Since
slope is undefined for vertical lines, there is no equation in slope-intercept form for a
vertical line. Every nonvertical line has an equation in slope-intercept form.
There is only one slope-intercept equation for a given line, but standard form is
not unique. For example,
3 5
2x  3y
5, 4x  6y
10, x  y
, and 2x  3y
5
2 2
are all equations in standard form for the same line. When possible, we will write the
standard form in which A is positive, and A, B, and C are integers with a greatest com-
mon factor of 1. So 2x  3y
5 is the preferred standard form for this line.
In Example 2 we converted an equation in standard form to slope-intercept form.
In Example 3, we convert an equation in slope-intercept form to standard form.

E X A M P L E 3 Converting to standard form

2
Write the equation of the line y
5 x  3 in standard form using only integers.

Solution
2
To get standard form, first subtract 5 x from each side:
2
y
 x  3
5
2
 x  y
3
5

 
2
5  x  y
5  3 Multiply each side by 5 to eliminate the fraction
5
and get positive 2x.
2x  5y
15
Now do Exercises 39–54
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204 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-34

U3V Using Slope-Intercept Form for Graphing

One way to graph a linear equation is to find several points that satisfy the equation
and then draw a straight line through them. We can also graph a linear equation by
using the y-intercept and the slope.

Strategy for Graphing a Line Using y-Intercept and Slope

1. Write the equation in slope-intercept form if necessary.
2. Plot the y-intercept.
3. Starting from the y-intercept, use the rise and run to locate a second point.
4. Draw a line through the two points.

E X A M P L E 4 Graphing a line using y-intercept and slope

Graph the line 2x  3y
3.

Solution
First write the equation in slope-intercept form:
U Calculator Close-Up V y
2x  3y
3
To check Example 4, graph y
2
3y
2x  3 Subtract 2x from each side. 3 y⫽ — x⫺1
(2
3)x  1 on a graphing calculator 3
2
as follows: 2 Run ⫽ 3
y
 x  1 Divide each side by 3. 1
3 3 Rise ⫽ 2
2 2 ⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 2 3 4 x
The slope is 3, and the y-intercept is (0, 1). A slope of 3
⫺3 4 means a rise of 2 and a run of 3. Start at (0, 1) and go up ⫺2
two units and to the right three units to locate a second ⫺3
point on the line. Now draw a line through the two points.
⫺3 Figure 3.26
See Fig. 3.26 for the graph of 2x  3y
3.
The calculator graph is consistent
with the graph in Fig. 3.26.
Now do Exercises 55–56

CAUTION When using the slope to find a second point on the line, be sure to start
at the y-intercept, not at the origin.

E X A M P L E 5 Graphing lines with y-intercept and slope

Graph each line.
a) y
3x  4 b) 2y  5x
0
Solution
3
a) For y
3x  4 the slope is 3 and the y-intercept is (0, 4). Because 3
1,
the rise is 3 and the run is 1. First plot the y-intercept (0, 4). To locate a second
point on the line start at (0, 4) and go down three units and to the right one unit.
Draw a line through (0, 4) and (1, 1). See Fig. 3.27.
b) First solve the equation for y:
2y  5x
0
2y
5x
5
y
x
2
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3-35 3.3 Equations of Lines in Slope-Intercept Form 205

The slope is 5 and the y-intercept is (0, 0). Using a rise of five and a run of two from
2
the origin yields the point (2, 5). Draw a line through (0, 0) and (2, 5) as shown
in Fig. 3.28.
y y
(0, 4) ⫹2
(2, 5)
y ⫽ ⫺3x ⫹ 4
⫺3
5
⫹5 y⫽ —
2
x

⫹1
⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 x
⫺1
⫺1 1 2 3 4 5 x
⫺2

Figure 3.27 Figure 3.28

Now do Exercises 57–68

If your equation is in slope-intercept form, it is usually easiest to use the y-intercept

and the slope to graph the line, as shown in Example 5. If your equation is in standard
form, it is usually easiest to graph the line using the intercepts, as discussed in Section
3.1. These guidelines are summarized as follows.

The Method for Graphing Depends on the Form

Slope-intercept form Start at the y-intercept (0, b) and count off the
y
mx  b rise and run. This works best if b is an integer
and m is rational.
Standard form Find the x-intercept by setting y
0. Find the
Ax  By
C y-intercept by setting x
0. Find one additional
point as check.

U4V Writing the Equation for a Line

In Example 1 we wrote the equation of a line by finding its slope and y-intercept from a
graph. In Example 6 we write the equation of a line from a description of the line.

E X A M P L E 6 Writing an equation
Write the equation in slope-intercept form for each line:
a) The line through (0, 3) that is parallel to the line y
2x  1
b) The line through (0, 4) that is perpendicular to the line 2x  4y
1

Solution
a) The line y
2x  1 has slope 2 and any line parallel to it has slope 2. So the
equation of the line with y-intercept (0, 3) and slope 2 is y
2x  3.
b) First find the slope of 2x  4y
1:
2x  4y
1
4y
2x  1
1 1
y
 x  
2 4
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206 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-36

1
So 2x  4y
1 has slope 2 and the slope of any line perpendicular to
1
2x  4y
1 is the opposite of the reciprocal of 2 or 2. The equation of the line
through the y-intercept (0, 4) with slope 2 is y
2x  4.
Now do Exercises 77–90

U Calculator Close-Up V
If you use the same minimum and maximum Any viewing window proportional to this one have a square feature that automatically
window values for x and y, then the length of will also produce approximately the same makes the unit length the same on both axes.
one unit on the x-axis is larger than on the unit length on each axis. Some calculators
y-axis because the screen is longer in the
x-direction. In this case, perpendicular lines 10
will not look perpendicular. The viewing win-
dow chosen here for the lines in Example 6
makes them look perpendicular. ⫺15 15

⫺10

We have now seen four ways to find the slope of a line. These methods are
summarized as follows:

Finding the Slope of a Line

1. Starting with a graph of a line, count the rise and run between two points and
rise
use m

ru
n
.
2. Starting with the coordinates of two points on a line (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) use
y2  y1
the formula m

x2 
x1.
3. Starting with the equation of a line rewrite it in the form y
mx  b if
necessary. The slope is m, the coefficient of x.
4. If a line with unknown slope m1 is parallel or perpendicular to a line with
known slope m2, then use m1
m2 for parallel lines or m1
m12 for
perpendicular lines.

U5V Applications
In Example 7 we see that the slope-intercept and standard forms are both important in
applications.

E X A M P L E 7 Changing forms
A landscaper has a total of $800 to spend on bushes at $20 each and trees at $50 each. So
if x is the number of bushes and y is the number of trees he can buy, then 20x  50y
800.
Write this equation in slope-intercept form. Find and interpret the y-intercept and the slope.
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3-37 3.3 Equations of Lines in Slope-Intercept Form 207

Solution
Write in slope-intercept form:
20x  50y
800
50y
20x  800
2
y
 x  16
5
2
The slope is 5 and the intercept is (0, 16). So he can get 16 trees if he buys no bushes
2
and he loses 5 of a tree for each additional bush that he purchases.
Now do Exercises 91–98

Warm-Ups ▼
4
True or false? 1. There is only one line with y-intercept (0, 3) and slope 3.
Explain your 2. The equation of the line through (1, 2) with slope 3 is y
3x  2.
answer. 3. The vertical line x
2 has no y-intercept.
4. The equation x
5 has a graph that is a vertical line.
5. The line y
x  3 is perpendicular to the line y
5  x.
6. The line y
2x  3 is parallel to the line y
4x  3.
7. The line 2y
3x  8 has a slope of 3.
8. Every straight line in the coordinate plane has an equation in standard form.

9. The line x
2 is perpendicular to the line y
5.

10. The line y
x has no y-intercept.

Exercises

3.3
Boost your grade at mathzone.com!
> Practice > Self-Tests
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U Study Tips V
• Finding out what happened in class and attending class are not the same. Attend every class and be attentive.
• Don’t just take notes and let your mind wander. Use class time as a learning time.

Reading and Writing After reading this section, write out 3. What is the standard form for the equation of a line?
the answers to these questions. Use complete sentences.
1. What is the slope-intercept form for the equation of a line?
4. How can you graph a line when the equation is in slope-
intercept form?
2. How can you determine the slope and y-intercept from the
slope-intercept form.
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208 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-38

5. What form is used in this section to write an equation of a 13. 14.

line from a description of the line? y y

3 3
2
6. What makes lines look perpendicular on a graph? 1 1

⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 4 x ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 4 x
⫺1 ⫺1
⫺2 ⫺2
⫺3 ⫺3

U1V Slope-Intercept Form

Write an equation for each line. Use slope-intercept form if
possible. See Example 1.
15. 16.
7. 8. y y
y y
3 3
4 2 2
3 2 1 1
2 1
1 ⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 x ⫺2 ⫺1 2 3 4 x
⫺1
⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 4 x
⫺1 ⫺2 ⫺2
⫺3 ⫺2 1 2 3 x
⫺1 ⫺2 ⫺3 ⫺3
⫺2 ⫺3

17. 18.
9. 10.
y y
y y
4 4
3
3 3
2 2
2 2
1 1
1 1
⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 4 x ⫺2 ⫺1 2 3 4 x
⫺1 ⫺3 ⫺1 1 2 3 x ⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 x
⫺1 ⫺1
⫺2 ⫺2
⫺2 ⫺2
⫺3 ⫺3

Find the slope and y-intercept for each line that has a slope
11. 12. and y-intercept. See Example 2.
y y
19. y
3x  9 20. y
5x  4
3 3
2 2 1 1
21. y
x  3 22. y
x  2
1 2 4
⫺2 ⫺1 1 2 3 4 x ⫺3 ⫺2 1 2 3 x
⫺1
23. y
4 24. y
5
⫺3 ⫺3
25. y
x 26. y
x
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3-39 3.3 Equations of Lines in Slope-Intercept Form 209

27. y
3x 28. y
2x 57. y
3x  5 58. y
4x  1

29. x  y
5 30. x  y
4
31. x  2y
4 32. x  2y
3
33. 2x  5y
10 34. 2x  3y
9
35. 2x  y  3
0 36. 3x  4y  8
0

37. x
3
2
38.  x
4
3

U2V Standard Form

Write each equation in standard form using only integers. 3 3
59. y
 x  2 60. y
 x  4
See Example 3. 4 2
39. y
x  2 40. y
3x  5
1 2
41. y
 x  3 42. y
 x  4
2 3

3 1 4 2
43. y
 x   44. y
 x  
2 3 5 3

3 7 2 5
45. y
 x   46. y
 x  
5 10 3 6

3 1
47.  x  6
0 48.  x  9
0
5 2

3 5 2 1 61. 2y  x
0 62. 2x  y
0
49.  y
 50.  y

4 2 3 9
x 3y x 4y
51. 
 52. 

2 5 8 5
53. y
0.02x  0.5 54. 0.2x
0.03y  0.1

U3V Using Slope-Intercept Form for Graphing

Graph each line using its y-intercept and slope.
See Examples 4 and 5.
See the Strategy for Graphing a Line Using y-Intercept and
Slope on page 204.
55. y
2x  1 56. y
3x  2 63. 3x  2y
10 64. 4x  3y
9
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210 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-40

65. 4y  x
8 66. y  4x
8 80. The line through (0, 2) that is parallel to the line
1
y
3 x  6
81. The line through (0, 6) that is perpendicular to the line
y
3x  5
82. The line through (0, 1) that is perpendicular to the line
y
x
83. The line with y-intercept (0, 3) that is parallel to the line
2x  y
5
84. The line through the origin that is parallel to the line
y  3x
3
67. y  2
0 68. y  5
0 85. The line through (2, 3) that runs parallel to the x-axis

86. The line through (3, 5) that runs parallel to the y-axis

87. The line through (0, 4) that is perpendicular to

2x  3y
6
88. The line through (0, 1) that is perpendicular to
2x  5y
10
89. The line through (0, 4) and (5, 0)
90. The line through (0, 3) and (4, 0)
In each case determine whether the lines are parallel,
perpendicular, or neither.
U5V Applications
Solve each problem. See Example 7.
69. y
3x  4 70. y
5x  7
1 91. Labor cost. An appliance repair service uses the formula
y
3x  9 y
 x  6 C
50n  80 to determine the labor cost for a service call,
5
where C is the cost in dollars and n is the number of hours.
71. y
2x  1 72. y
x  7 a) Find the cost of labor for n
0, 1, and 2 hours.
y
2x  1 y
x  2
b) Find the slope and C-intercept for the line C
50n  80.
73. y
3 74. y
3x  2 c) Interpret the slope and C-intercept.
1 1
y
 y
 x  4
3 3
92. Decreasing price. World Auto uses the formula
1 1 P
3000n  17,000 to determine the wholesale price
75. y
4x  1 76. y
 x  
3 2 for a used Ford Focus, where P is the price in dollars and n
1 1
y
 x  5 y
 x  2 is the age of the car in years.
4 3
a) Find the price for a Focus that is 1, 2, or 3 years old.

b) Find the slope and P-intercept for the line

P
3000n  17,000.
U4V Writing the Equation for a Line
Write an equation in slope-intercept form, if possible, for each c) Interpret the slope and P-intercept.
line. See Example 6.
1
77. The line through (0, 4) with slope 2 93. Marginal cost. A manufacturer plans to spend $150,000
1 on research and development for a new lawn mower and
78. The line through (0, 4) with slope 2
then $200 to manufacture each mower. The formula
79. The line through (0, 3) that is parallel to the line y
2x  1 C
200n  150,000 gives the cost in dollars of n mowers.
What is the cost of 5000 mowers? What is the cost of 5001
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3-41 3.3 Equations of Lines in Slope-Intercept Form 211

mowers? By how much did the one extra lawn mower d) Use your equation to predict the percentage that will be
increase the cost? (The increase in cost is called the receiving training in 2010.
marginal cost of the 5001st lawn mower.)

94. Marginal revenue. A defense attorney charges her client

$4000 plus $120 per hour. The formula R
120n  4000
gives her revenue in dollars for n hours of work. What is
her revenue for 100 hours of work? What is her revenue
for 101 hours of work? By how much did the one extra 96. Single women. The percentage of women in the 20–24 age
hour of work increase the revenue? (The increase in group who have never married went from 55% in 1970 to
revenue is called the marginal revenue for the 101st hour.) 73% in 2000 (Census Bureau, www.census.gov). Let 1970
be year 0 and 2000 be year 30.
a) Find and interpret the slope of the line through the
points (0, 55) and (30, 73).
b) Find the equation of the line in part (a).
Revenue (thousands of dollars)

16.5 c) What is the meaning of the y-intercept?

d) Use the equation to predict the percentage in 2010.
e) If this trend continues, then in what year will the
Marginal percentage of women in the 20–24 age group who have
16 revenue
never married reach 100%?

15.5
97 98 99 100 101 102 103
Time (hours)

Figure for Exercise 94

97. Pansies and snapdragons. A nursery manager plans to
95. In-house training. The accompanying graph shows the spend $100 on 6-packs of pansies at 50 cents per pack and
percentage of U.S. workers receiving training by their snapdragons at 25 cents per pack. The equation 0.50x 
employers (Department of Labor, www.dol.gov). The 0.25y
100 can be used to model this situation.
percentage went from 5% in 1982 to 29% in 2006. a) What do x and y represent?
a) Find and interpret the slope of the line.
b) Write the equation of the line in slope-intercept form.
c) What is the meaning of the y-intercept? b) Graph the equation.

30

20
Percentage

10 c) Write the equation in slope-intercept form.

d) What is the slope of the line?

6 12 18 24 e) What does the slope tell you?
Years since 1982

98. Pens and pencils. A bookstore manager plans to spend

Figure for Exercise 95
$60 on pens at 30 cents each and pencils at 10 cents each.
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212 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-42

The equation 0.10x  0.30y
60 can be used to model 100. Find the x- and y-intercepts for ax  by
1.
this situation.
101. Write the equation of the line through (0, 5) and (9, 0) in
a) What do x and y represent? double-intercept form.

b) Graph the equation. 102. Write the equation of the line through 12, 0 and 0, 13 in
standard form.
Graphing Calculator Exercises
Graph each pair of straight lines on your graphing calculator
using a viewing window that makes the lines look perpendicular.
Answers may vary.
1
103. y
12x  100, y
12 x  50

c) Write the equation in slope-intercept form.

d) What is the slope of the line?

e) What does the slope tell you?

104. 2x  3y
300, 3x  2y
60

Getting More Involved
Exploration
If a  0 and b  0, then ax  by
1 is called the double-
intercept form for the equation of a line.

99. Find the x- and y-intercepts for 2x  3y
1.

3.4 The Point-Slope Form

In This Section In Section 3.3 we wrote the equation of a line given its slope and y-intercept. In this
section, you will learn to write the equation of a line given the slope and any other
U1V Point-Slope Form point on the line.
U2V Parallel Lines
U3V Perpendicular Lines
U4V Applications U1V Point-Slope Form
Consider a line through the point (4, 1) with slope 23 as shown in Fig. 3.29. Because the
slope can be found by using any two points on the line, we use (4, 1) and an arbitrary
point (x, y) in the formula for slope:
y2  y1

m Slope formula
x2  x1
y1 2

 Let m
23, (x1, y1)
(4, 1), and (x2, y2)
(x, y).
x4 3
2
y  1
(x  4) Multiply each side by x  4.
3
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3-43 3.4 The Point-Slope Form 213

3
2
(4, 1)
1

⫺3 ⫺2 ⫺1 1 3 4 x
⫺1
(x, y)

⫺3

Figure 3.29

U Helpful Hint V
Note how the coordinates of the point (4, 1) and the slope 23 appear in the above
equation. We can use the same procedure to get the equation of any line given one
If a point (x, y) is on a line with slope
m through (x1, y1), then
point on the line and the slope. The resulting equation is called the point-slope form
of the equation of the line.
y  y1

m.
x  x1
Multiplying each side of this equation Point-Slope Form
by x  x1 gives us the point-slope The equation of the line through the point (x1, y1) with slope m is
form.
y  y1
m(x  x1).

E X A M P L E 1 Writing an equation given a point and a slope

Find the equation of the line through (2, 3) with slope 1, and write it in slope-intercept form.
2

Solution
Because we know a point and the slope, we can use the point-slope form:
y  y1
m(x  x1) Point-slope form
1
y  3
 [x  (2)] Substitute m
12 and (x1, y1)
(2, 3).
2
1
y  3
 (x  2) Simplify.
2
1
y  3
 x  1 Distributive property
2
1
y
 x  4 Slope-intercept form
2
Alternate Solution
Replace m by 1, x by 2, and y by 3 in the slope-intercept form:
2
y
mx  b Slope-intercept form
1
3
(2)  b Substitute m
12 and (x, y)
(2, 3).
2
3
1  b Simplify.
4
b
1
Since b
4, we can write y
2 x  4.

Now do Exercises 7–24

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214 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-44

The alternate solution to Example 1 is shown because many students have seen
that method in the past. This does not mean that you should ignore the point-slope
form. It is always good to know more than one method to accomplish a task. The good
thing about using the point-slope form is that you immediately write down the
equation and then you simplify it. In the alternate solution, the last thing you do is to
write the equation.
The point-slope form can be used to find the equation of a line for any given point
and slope. However, if the given point is the y-intercept, then it is simpler to use the
slope-intercept form. Note that it is not necessary that the slope be given, because the
slope can be found from any two points. So if we know two points on a line, then
we can find the slope and use the slope with either one of the points in the point-slope
form.

E X A M P L E 2 Writing an equation given two points

Find the equation of the line that contains the points (
3,
2) and (4,
1), and write it in
standard form.

U Calculator Close-Up V Solution

Graph y  (x  3)
7
2 to see that First find the slope using the two given points:
the line goes through (
3,
2) and
(4,
1).

2
(
1)
1 1
m        
4
3
4
7 7

Now use one of the points, say (
3,
2), and slope 1 in the point-slope form:

6 24 7

y
y1  m(x
x1) Point-slope form

1

4 y
(
2)  [x
(
3)] Substitute.
7
Note that the form of the equation
does not matter on the calculator as 1
y  2  (x  3) Simplify.
long as it is solved for y. 7
1
7(y  2)  7  (x  3) Multiply each side by 7.
7
7y  14  x  3
7y  x
11 Subtract 14 from each side.

x  7y 
11 Subtract x from each side.
x
7y  11 Multiply each side by
1.

The equation in standard form is x
7y  11. Using the other given point,
(4,
1), would give the same final equation in standard form. Try it.
Now do Exercises 25-44

U2V Parallel Lines

In Section 3.2 you learned that parallel lines have the same slope. We will use this fact
in Example 3.
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3-45 3.4 The Point-Slope Form 215

E X A M P L E 3 Using point-slope form with parallel lines

Find the equation of each line. Write the answer in slope-intercept form.
a) The line through (2,
1) that is parallel to y 
3x  9
b) The line through (3, 4) that is parallel to 2x
3y  6

Solution
y a) The slope of y 
3x  9 and any line parallel to it is
3. See Fig. 3.30. Now use
the point (2,
1) and slope
3 in point-slope form:
5
4 y
y1  m(x
x1) Point-slope form
y = – 3x + 9
3 y
(
1) 
3(x
2) Substitute.
Slope – 3
2 y  1 
3x  6 Simplify.
1
y 
3x  5 Slope-intercept form

3
2
1 1 4 5 x

1 Since
1 
3(2)  5 is correct, the line y 
3x  5 goes through (2,
1). It
(2, – 1)

2 is certainly parallel to y 
3x  9. So y 
3x  5 is the desired equation.

3 b) Solve 2x
3y  6 for y to determine its slope:

Figure 3.30 2x
3y  6

3y 
2x  6
2
y   x
2
3
2
So the slope of 2x
3y  6 and any line parallel to it is 3. Now use the
2
point (3, 4) and slope 3 in the point-slope form:

y
y1  m(x
x1) Point-slope form

2
y
4  (x
3) Substitute.
3
2
y
4   x
2 Simplify.
3
2
y   x  2 Slope-intercept form
3
2 2
Since 4  3 (3)  2 is correct, the line y  3 x  2 contains the point (3, 4).
2 2
Since y  3 x  2 and y  3 x
2 have the same slope, they are parallel. So
2
the equation is y  3 x  2.

Now do Exercises 49–50

U3V Perpendicular Lines 1

In Section 3.2 you learned that lines with slopes m and
m (for m  0) are perpen-
dicular to each other. For example, the lines
1
y 
2x  7 and y   x
8
2
are perpendicular to each other. In the next example we will write the equation of a
line that is perpendicular to a given line and contains a given point.
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216 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-46

E X A M P L E 4 Writing an equation given a point and a perpendicular line

Write the equation of the line that is perpendicular to 3x  2y  8 and contains the point
(1,
3). Write the answer in slope-intercept form.

Solution
U Calculator Close-Up V First graph 3x  2y  8 and a line through (1,
3) that is perpendicular to 3x  2y  8
Graph y1  (2
3)x
11
3 and y2 
as shown in Fig. 3.31. The right angle symbol is used in the figure to indicate that the lines
(
3
2)x  4 as shown: are perpendicular. Now write 3x  2y  8 in slope-intercept form to determine its slope:
3x  2y  8
10
2y 
3x  8
3
y 
x  4 Slope-intercept form

15 15 2
y

10
3
3x  2y  8
Because the lines look perpendicular 2
and y1 goes through (1,
3), the 1
graph supports the answer to
Example 4.
3
2
1 1 2 4 x

1

2

3
2 (1,
3)
Slope —
3
3
Slope
—
2

5

Figure 3.31

3
The slope of the given line is
. The slope of any line perpendicular to it is 2. Now we
2 2 3
use the point-slope form with the point (1,
3) and the slope 3:

y
y1  m(x
x1) Point-slope form

2
y
(
3)  (x
1)
3
2 2
y  3  x

3 3
2 2
y  x

3 Subtract 3 from each side.
3 3
2 11
y  x
 Slope-intercept form
3 3
2 11
So y  3 x
3 is the equation of the line that contains (1,
3) and is perpendicular
2 11
to 3x  2y  8. Check that (1,
3) satisfies y  3 x
3.

Now do Exercises 51–60

U4V Applications
We use the point-slope form to find the equation of a line given two points on the line.
In Example 5, we use that same procedure to find a linear equation that relates two
variables in an applied situation.
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3-47 3.4 The Point-Slope Form 217

E X A M P L E 5 Writing a formula given two points

A contractor charges $30 for installing 100 feet of pipe and $120 for installing 500 feet of
pipe. To determine the charge he uses a linear equation that gives the charge C in terms of
the length L. Find the equation and find the charge for installing 240 feet of pipe.

Solution
Because C is determined from L, we let C take the place of the dependent variable y and
let L take the place of the independent variable x. So the ordered pairs are in the form
(L, C). We can use the slope formula to find the slope of the line through the two points
(100, 30) and (500, 120) shown in Fig. 3.32.
120
30 90 9
m      
500
100 400 40

C
(500, 120)
120

90

60

30 (100, 30)

0 100 200 300 400 500 L

Figure 3.32

Now we use the point-slope form with the point (100, 30) and slope 9:
40
y
y1  m(x
x1)
9
C
30  (L
100)
40

9 45
C
30  L

40 2
9 45
C  L
  30
40 2
9 15
C  L  
40 2
9 15
Note that C  40L  2 means that the charge is 9
 dollars/foot plus a fixed charge
40
15
of  dollars (or $7.50). We can now find C when L  240:
2
9 15
C    240  
40 2
C  54  7.5
C  61.5
The charge for installing 240 feet of pipe is $61.50.
Now do Exercises 79–94
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218 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-48

Warm-Ups ▼
True or false? 1. The formula y  m(x
x1) is the point-slope form for a line.
Explain your 2. It is impossible to find the equation of a line through (2, 5) and (
3, 1).
answer.
3. The point-slope form will not work for the line through (3, 4) and (3, 6).
4. The equation of the line through the origin with slope 1 is y  x.
5. The slope of the line 5x  y  4 is 5.
6. The slope of any line perpendicular to the line y  4x
3 is
14.
7. The slope of any line parallel to the line x  y  1 is
1.
8. The line 2x
y 
1 goes through the point (
2,
3).
9. The lines 2x  y  4 and y 
2x  7 are parallel.
10. The equation of the line through (0, 0) perpendicular to y  x is y 
x.

Exercises
3.4

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U Study Tips V
• When taking a test, put a check mark beside every problem that you have answered and checked. Spend any extra time working on
unchecked problems.
• Make sure that you don’t forget to answer any of the questions on a test.

Reading and Writing After reading this section, write out 5. What is the relationship between the slopes of parallel
the answers to these questions. Use complete sentences. lines?
1. What is the point-slope form for the equation of a line?
6. What is the relationship between the slopes of perpendicular
2. For what is the point-slope form used? lines?

3. What is the procedure for finding the equation of a line

when given two points on the line?
U1V Point-Slope Form
Write each equation in slope-intercept form. See Example 1.
7. x  y  1
4. How can you find the slope of a line when given the
8. x
y  1
equation of the line?
9. y
1  5(x  2)
10. y  3 
3(x
6)
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3-49 3.4 The Point-Slope Form 219

35. (1, 2), (5, 8) 36. (3, 5), (8, 15)

11. 3x
4y  80

37. (
2,
1), (3,
4) 38. (
1,
3), (2,
1)
12. 2x  3y  90
39. (
2, 0), (0, 2) 40. (0, 3), (5, 0)
 
1 2 1
13. y
   x

2 3 4 41. (2, 4), (2, 6) 42. (
3, 5), (
3,
1)

 
2 1 2
14. y   
 x
 43. (
3, 9), (3, 9) 44. (2, 5), (4, 5)
3 2 5
Find the equation of the line that goes through the given point
and has the given slope. Write the answer in slope-intercept
form. See Example 1. U2–3V Parallel and Perpendicular Lines
15. (1, 2), 3 16. (2, 5), 4 The lines in each figure are perpendicular. Find the equation
(in slope-intercept form) for the solid line.
1 1
17. (2, 4),  18. (4, 6),  45. y
2 2

(3, 3)
1 1
19. (2, 3),  20. (1, 4), 
3 4
(0, 0)
x
(5,
1)
1 1
21. (
2, 5),
 22. (
3, 1),

2 3

46. y
23. (
1,
7),
6 24. (
1,
5),
8

Write each equation in standard form using only integers. (
5, 1) (3, 1)
See Example 2.
x
25. y
3  2(x
5) 26. y  2 
3(x
1)
(0,
2)
1 1
27. y   x
3 28. y   x  5
2 3

2 3 47.
29. y
2   (x
4) 30. y  1  (x  4) y
3 2
(
5, 5)
(3, 4)
Find the equation of the line through each given pair of points.
Write the answer in standard form using only integers.
See Example 2. (0, 2)
31. (1, 3), (2, 5) 32. (2, 5), (3, 9)
x
33. (1, 1), (2, 2) 34. (
1, 1), (1,
1)
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220 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-50

48. y 66. The line through the origin that is perpendicular to the line
through (
3, 0) and (0,
3)
(
4, 0) (3, 0)
67. The line through (
30, 50) that is perpendicular to the line
x
x  400
68. The line through (20,
40) that is parallel to the line
y  6000
69. The line through (
5,
1) that is perpendicular to the line
through (0, 0) and (3, 5)
(4,
6) 70. The line through (3, 1) that is parallel to the line through
(
3,
2) and (0, 0)
For each line described here choose the correct equation from
(a) through (h).
Find the equation of each line. Write each answer in slope-
71. The line through (1, 3) and (2, 5)
intercept form. See Examples 3 and 4.
72. The line through (1, 3) and (5, 2)
49. The line is parallel to y  x
9 and goes through the point 73. The line through (1, 3) with no x-intercept
(7, 10). 74. The line through (1, 3) with no y-intercept
50. The line is parallel to y 
x  5 and goes through the 75. The line through (1, 3) with x-intercept (5, 0)
point (
3, 6). 76. The line through (1, 3) with y-intercept (0,
5)
51. The line contains the point (3, 4) and is perpendicular to 77. The line through (1, 3) with slope
2
y  3x
1. 78. The line through (1, 3) with slope 1
2
52. The line contains the point (
2, 3) and is perpendicular to a) x  4y  13 b) x  1
y  2x  7. c) x
2y 
5 d) y  8x
5
53. The line is perpendicular to 3x
2y  10 and passes e) y  2x  1 f) y  3
through the point (1, 1). g) 2x  y  5 h) 3x  4y  15
54. The line is perpendicular to x
5y  4 and passes through U4V Applications
the point (
1, 1).
Solve each problem. See Example 5.
55. The line is parallel to 2x  y  8 and contains the point
(
1,
3). 79. Automated tellers. ATM volume reached 10.6 billion
56. The line is parallel to
3x  2y  9 and contains the point transactions in 1996 and 14.2 billion transactions in 2000
as shown in the accompanying graph. If 1996 is year 0
(
2, 1).
and 2000 is year 4, then the line goes through the points
57. The line goes through (
1, 2) and is perpendicular to (0, 10.6) and (4, 14.2).
3x  y  5. a) Find and interpret the slope of the line.
58. The line goes through (1, 2) and is perpendicular to b) Write the equation of the line in slope-intercept form.
1
y  2 x
3. c) Use your equation from part (b) to predict the number
59. The line goes through (2, 3) and is parallel to
2x  y  6. of transactions at automated teller machines in 2010.

60. The line goes through (1, 4) and is parallel to x
2y  6.

Miscellaneous 30
Transactions (billions)

Find the equation of each line in the form y  mx  b if

possible. 20
61. The line through (3, 2) with slope 0
62. The line through (3, 2) with undefined slope 10

63. The line through (3, 2) and the origin

2 0
64. The line through the origin that is perpendicular to y  3x 4 8 12 16 20
Years since 1996

65. The line through the origin that is parallel to the line
through (5, 0) and (0, 5) Figure for Exercise 79
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3-51 3.4 The Point-Slope Form 221

80. Direct deposit. The percentage of workers receiving direct 82. Age at first marriage. The median age at first marriage for
deposit of their paychecks went from 32% in 1994 to 60% females increased from 24.5 years in 1995 to 25.1 years in
in 2004 (www.directdeposit.com). Let 1994 be year 0 and 2000 (U.S. Census Bureau, www.census.gov). Let 1995 be
2004 be year 10. year 5 and 2000 be year 10.
a) Write the equation of the line through (0, 32) and a) Find the equation of the line through (5, 24.5) and
(10, 60) to model the growth of direct deposit. (10, 25.1).
b) What do x and y represent in your equation?
b) Use the accompanying graph to predict the year in
which 100% of all workers will receive direct deposit
of their paychecks. c) Interpret the slope of this line.
c) Use the equation from part (a) to predict the year in
which 100% of all workers will receive direct deposit.
d) In what year will the median age be 30?
e) Graph the equation.

120
100
80
Percent

60
40
20
0
0 10 20 30
Years since 1994
83. Plumbing charges. Pete the plumber worked 2 hours at
Millie’s house and charged her $70. He then worked
Figure for Exercise 80 4 hours at Rosalee’s house and charged her $110. To
determine the amount he charges, Pete uses a linear
equation that gives the charge C in terms of the number of
81. Gross domestic product. The U.S. gross domestic hours worked n. Find the equation and find the charge for
product (GDP) per employed person increased from 7 hours at Fred’s house.
$62.7 thousand in 1996 to $71.6 thousand in 2002
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov). Let 1996 84. Interior angles. The sum of the measures of the interior
be year 6 and 2002 be year 12. angles of a triangle is 180°. The sum of the measures of
the interior angles of a square is 360°. Let S represent the
a) Find the equation of the line through (6, 62.7) and sum of the measures of the interior angles of a polygon and
(12, 71.6) to model the gross domestic product. n represent the number of sides of the polygon. There is a
linear equation that gives S in terms of n. Find the equation
b) What do x and y represent in your equation? and find the sum of the measures of the interior angles of
the stop sign shown in the accompanying figure.
c) Use the equation to predict the GDP per employed
person in 2010.
d) Graph the equation.

STOP

Figure for Exercise 84

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222 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-52

85. Shoe sizes. If a child’s foot is 7.75 inches long, then the equation that expresses the cost C in terms of the number
child wears a size 13 shoe. If a child’s foot is 5.75 inches of cubic feet n. Find the equation and find the cost of
long, then the child wears a size 7 shoe. Let S represent the 2400 cubic feet of natural gas.
shoe size and L represent the length of the foot in inches. 89. Expansion joint. When the temperature is 90°F the width
There is a linear equation that gives S in terms of L. Find of an expansion joint on a bridge is 0.75 inch. When the
the equation and find the shoe size for a child with a temperature is 30°F the width is 1.25 inches. There is a
6.25-inch foot. See the accompanying figure. linear equation that expresses the width w in terms of the
temperature t.
a) Find the equation.
b) What is the width when the temperature is 80°F?
16 c) What is the temperature when the width is 1 inch?
14
12
Shoe size

10 90. Perimeter of a rectangle. A rectangle has a fixed width

8 and a variable length. Let P represent the perimeter and L
represent the length. P  28 inches when L  6.5 inches
6
and P  36 inches when L  10.5 inches. There is a linear
4
equation that expresses P in terms of L.
2
4 5 6 7 8 9 a) Find the equation.
Foot length (inches)
b) What is the perimeter when L  40 inches?
c) What is the length when P  215 inches?
Figure for Exercise 85 d) What is the width of the rectangle?

86. Celsius to Fahrenheit. Water freezes at 0°C or 32°F and 91. Stretching a spring. A weight of 3 pounds stretches a
boils at 100°C or 212°F. There is a linear equation that spring 1.8 inches beyond its natural length and weight of
expresses the number of degrees Fahrenheit (F) in terms 5 pounds stretches the same spring 3 inches beyond its
of the number of degrees Celsius (C). Find the equation natural length. Let A represent the amount of stretch and
and find the Fahrenheit temperature when the Celsius w the weight. There is a linear equation that expresses A in
temperature is 45°. terms of w. Find the equation and find the amount that the
spring will stretch with a weight of 6 pounds.

87. Velocity of a projectile. A ball is thrown downward from

the top of a tall building. Its velocity is 42 feet per second
after 1 second and 74 feet per second after 2 seconds.
There is a linear equation that expresses the velocity v in
terms of the time t. Find the equation and find the velocity
after 3.5 seconds. 1.8 in.
3 in.
1 sec
42 ft/sec 3 lb

2 sec
74 ft/sec
5 lb

Figure for Exercise 91

92. Velocity of a bullet. A gun is fired straight upward. The

bullet leaves the gun at 100 feet per second (time t  0).
Figure for Exercise 87 After 2 seconds the velocity of the bullet is 36 feet per
second. There is a linear equation that gives the velocity v
88. Natural gas. The cost of 1000 cubic feet of natural gas is in terms of the time t. Find the equation and find the
$39 and the cost of 3000 cubic feet is $99. There is a linear velocity after 3 seconds.
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3-53 3.4 The Point-Slope Form 223

93. Enzyme concentration. The amount of light absorbed 96. Exploration

by a certain liquid depends on the concentration of an Find a pattern in the table of Exercise 95 and write a
enzyme in the liquid. A concentration of 2 milligrams formula for the slope of Ax  By  C, where B  0.
per milliliter (mg/ml) produces an absorption of 0.16 and a
concentration of 5 mg/ml produces an absorption of 0.40.
There is a linear equation that expresses the absorption a in
terms of the concentration c.
Graphing Calculator Exercises
a) Find the equation.
97. Graph each equation on a graphing calculator. Choose
b) What is the absorption when the concentration is
a viewing window that includes both the x- and
3 mg/ml?
y-intercepts. Use the calculator output to help you draw
c) Use the graph below to estimate the concentration
the graph on paper.
when the absorption is 0.50.
a) y  20x
300
b) y 
30x  500
a c) 2x
3y  6000
0.50
0.40
Absorption

0.30
0.20
0.10

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 c
Concentration (mg/ml)

Figure for Exercise 93

94. Basal energy requirement. The basal energy requirement

B is the number of calories that a person needs to maintain
the life process. For a 28-year-old female with a height of
160 centimeters and a weight of 45 kilograms (kg), B is
1300 calories. If her weight increases to 50 kg, then B is
1365 calories. There is a linear equation that expresses B in
terms of her weight w. Find the equation and find the basal
energy requirement if her weight is 53.2 kg.

Getting More Involved

95. Exploration
Each linear equation in the following table is given in
standard form Ax  By  C. In each case identify A, B, 98. Graph y  2x  1 and y  1.99x
1 on a graphing
and the slope of the line. calculator. Are these lines parallel? Explain your
answer.
Equation A B Slope
99. Graph y  0.5x  0.8 and y  0.5x  0.7 on a graphing
2x  3y  9
calculator. Find a viewing window in which the two lines
4x
5y  6 are separate.

1
 x  3y  1
2 100. Graph y  3x  1 and y 
13 x  2 on a graphing
2x
1 y  7 calculator. Do the lines look perpendicular? Explain.
3
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224 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-54

3.5 Variation
In This Section If y  5x, then the value of y depends on the value of x. As x varies, so does y.
Simple relationships like y  5x are customarily expressed in terms of variation.
U1V Direct , Inverse, and Joint In this section, you will learn the language of variation and learn to write formulas
Variation
from verbal descriptions.
U V Finding the Variation
2
Constant
U3V Applications
U1V Direct, Inverse, and Joint Variation
Suppose you average 60 miles per hour on the freeway. The distance D that you travel
depends on the amount of time T that you travel. Using the formula D  R  T, we can
write
D  60T.
Consider the possible values for T and D given in the following table.
T (hours) 1 2 3 4 5 6
D (miles) 60 120 180 240 300 360

The graph of D  60T is shown in Fig. 3.33. Note that as T gets larger, so does D.
In this situation we say that D varies directly with T, or D is directly proportional
to T. The constant rate of 60 miles per hour is called the variation constant or
proportionality constant. Notice that D  60T is simply a linear equation. We are
just introducing some new terms to express an old idea.

D
Distance (miles)

400
300
200
100

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 T
Time (hours)

Figure 3.33

Direct Variation
The statement “y varies directly as x” or “y is directly proportional to x” means
that
y  kx
for some constant k. The constant of variation k is a fixed nonzero real number.

CAUTION Direct variation refers only to equations of the form y  kx (lines through
the origin). We do not refer to y  3x  5 as a direct variation.
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3-55 3.5 Variation 225

If you plan to make a 400-mile trip by car, the time it will take depends on your
rate of speed. Using the formula D  RT, we can write
400
T  .
R
Consider the possible values for R and T given in the following table:
R (mph) 10 20 40 50 80 100
T (hours) 40 20 10 8 5 4
400
The graph of T  R is shown in Fig. 3.34. As your rate increases, the time for the
trip decreases. In this situation we say that the time is inversely proportional to the
400 400
speed. Note that the graph of T  R is not a straight line because T  R is not a
linear equation.

40
Time (hours)

30

20

10

0 20 40 60 80 100 R
Rate (miles per hour)

Figure 3.34

Inverse Variation
The statement “y varies inversely as x ” or “y is inversely proportional to x”
means that
k
y  
x
for some nonzero constant of variation k.

CAUTION The constant of variation is usually positive because most physical

examples involve positive quantities. However, the definitions of direct
and inverse variation do not rule out a negative constant.
If the price of carpet is $30 per square yard, then the cost C of carpeting a rectan-
gular room depends on the width W (in yards) and the length L (in yards). As the width
or length of the room increases, so does the cost. We can write the cost in terms of the
two variables L and W:
C  30LW
We say that C varies jointly as L and W.
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226 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-56

Joint Variation
The statement “y varies jointly as x and z” or “y is jointly proportional to x
and z” means that
y  kxz
for some nonzero constant of variation k.

E X A M P L E 1 Writing the formula

Write a formula that expresses the relationship described in each statement. Use k as the
variation constant.
a) a varies directly as t.
b) c is inversely proportional to m.
c) q varies jointly as x and y.

Solution
a) Since a varies directly as t, we have a  kt.
k
b) Since c is inversely proportional to m, we have c  m.
c) Since q varies jointly as x and y, we have q  kxy.
Now do Exercises 5-14

U2V Finding the Variation Constant

If we know the values of all variables in a variation statement, we can find the value
of the constant and write a formula using the value of the constant rather than an
unknown constant k.

E X A M P L E 2 Finding the variation constant

Find the variation constant and write a formula that expresses the relationship described in
each statement.
a) a varies directly as x and a  10 when x  2.
b) w is inversely proportional to t, and w  10 when t  5.
c) m varies jointly as a and b, and m  24 when a  2 and b  3.

Solution
a) Since a varies directly as x, we have a  kx. Since a  10 when x  2, we have
10  k(2). Solve 2k  10 to get k  5. So we can write the formula as a  5x.
k
b) Since w is inversely proportional to t, we have w  t. Since w  10 when t  5, we
k k 50
have 10  5. Solve 5  10 to get k  50. So we can write the formula w  t.
c) Since m varies jointly as a and b, we have m  kab. Since m  24 when a  2
and b  3, we have 24  k  2  3. Solve 6k  24 to get k  4. So we can write
the formula as m  4ab.
Now do Exercises 15-24
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3-57 3.5 Variation 227

U3V Applications
Examples 3, 4, and 5 illustrate applications of the language of variation.

E X A M P L E 3 A direct variation problem

Your electric bill at Middle States Electric Co-op varies directly with the amount of elec-
tricity that you use. If the bill for 2800 kilowatts of electricity is $196, then what is the bill
for 4000 kilowatts of electricity?

U Helpful Hint V Solution

In any variation problem you must Because the amount A of the electric bill varies directly as the amount E of electricity used,
first determine the general form of we have
the relationship. Because this prob- A  kE
lem involves direct variation, the gen-
eral form is y  kx. for some constant k. Because 2800 kilowatts cost $196, we have
196  k  2800
or
0.07  k.
So A  0.07E. Now if E  4000, we get
A  0.07(4000)  280.
The bill for 4000 kilowatts would be $280.
Now do Exercises 25–26

E X A M P L E 4 An inverse variation problem

The volume of a gas in a cylinder is inversely proportional to the pressure on the gas. If the
volume is 12 cubic centimeters when the pressure on the gas is 200 kilograms per square
centimeter, then what is the volume when the pressure is 150 kilograms per square cen-
timeter? See Fig. 3.35.

P  200 kg/cm2 P  150 kg/cm2 Solution

Because the volume V is inversely proportional to the pressure P, we have
k
V  
P
for some constant k. Because V  12 when P  200, we can find k:
k
12  
200
V  12 cm3 V?
k
200  12  200   Multiply each side by 200.
200
Figure 3.35
2400  k
2400
Now to find V when P  150, we can use the formula V  P:
2400
V    16
150
So the volume is 16 cubic centimeters when the pressure is 150 kilograms per square
centimeter.
Now do Exercises 27–28
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228 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-58

E X A M P L E 5 A joint variation problem

The cost of shipping a piece of machinery by truck varies jointly with the weight of the
machinery and the distance that it is shipped. It costs $3000 to ship a 2500-lb milling
machine a distance of 600 miles. Find the cost for shipping a 1500-lb lathe a distance of
800 miles.

U Helpful Hint V Solution

Because the variation in this problem Because the cost C varies jointly with the weight w and the distance d, we have
is joint, we know the general form is
C  kwd
y  kxz, where k is the constant of
variation. where k is the constant of variation. To find k, we use C  3000, w  2500, and d  600:
3000  k  2500  600
3000
  k Divide each side by 2500  600.
2500  600
0.002  k
Now use w  1500 and d  800 in the formula C  0.002wd:
C  0.002  1500  800
 2400
So the cost of shipping the lathe is $2400.
Now do Exercises 29–30

CAUTION The variation words (directly, inversely, or jointly) are never used to indi-
cate addition or subtraction. We use multiplication in the formula unless
we see the word “inversely.” We use division for inverse variation.

Warm-Ups ▼
True or false? 1. If y varies directly as z, then y  kz for some constant k.
b
Explain your 2. If a varies inversely as b, then a  k for some constant k.
answer. 3. If y varies directly as x and y  8 when x  2, then the variation constant is 4.

4. If y varies inversely as x and y  8 when x  2, then the variation constant

is 1.
4
5. If C varies jointly as h and t, then C  ht.
6. The amount of sales tax on a new car varies directly with the purchase price
of the car.
20
7. If z varies inversely as w and z  10 when w  2, then z  w.
8. The time that it takes to travel a fixed distance varies inversely with the rate.

9. If m varies directly as w, then m  w  k for some constant k.

10. If y varies jointly as x and z, then y  k (x  z) for some constant k.
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Exercises

3.5
Boost your grade at mathzone.com!
> Practice > Self-Tests
Problems > e-Professors
> NetTutor > Videos

U Study Tips V
• Get in a habit of checking your work. Don’t look in the back of the book for the answer until after you have checked your work.
• You will not always have an answer section for your problems.

Reading and Writing After reading this section, write out 19. m varies inversely as p, and m  22 when p  9.
the answers to these questions. Use complete sentences.
1. What does it mean to say that y varies directly as x?
20. s varies inversely as v, and s  3 when v  4.

2. What is a variation constant? 21. A varies jointly as t and u, and A  24 when t  6 and
u  2.
22. N varies jointly as p and q, and N  720 when p  3 and
q  2.
3. What does it mean to say that y is inversely proportional
to x? 23. T varies directly as u, and T  9 when u  2.
24. R varies directly as p, and R  30 when p  6.

4. What does it mean to say that y varies jointly as x and z?

U3V Applications
Solve each variation problem. See Examples 3–5.
25. Y varies directly as x, and Y  100 when x  20. Find Y
U1V Direct, Inverse, and Joint Variation when x  5.
Write a formula that expresses the relationship described by 26. n varies directly as q, and n  39 when q  3. Find n
each statement. Use k for the constant in each case. See when q  8.
Example 1.
27. a varies inversely as b, and a  3 when b  4. Find a
5. T varies directly as h. when b  12.
6. m varies directly as p.
28. y varies inversely as w, and y  9 when w  2. Find y
7. y varies inversely as r. when w  6.
8. u varies inversely as n. 29. P varies jointly as s and t, and P  56 when s  2 and
t  4. Find P when s  5 and t  3.
9. R is jointly proportional to t and s.
10. W varies jointly as u and v. 30. B varies jointly as u and v, and B  12 when u  4 and
11. i is directly proportional to b. v  6. Find B when u  5 and v  8.
12. p is directly proportional to x. 31. Aluminum flatboat. The weight of an aluminum flatboat
13. A is jointly proportional to y and m. varies directly with the length of the boat. If a 12-foot boat
14. t is inversely proportional to e. weighs 86 pounds, then what is the weight of a 14-foot
boat?
U2V Finding the Variation Constant
Find the variation constant, and write a formula that expresses 32. Christmas tree. The price of a Christmas tree varies
the indicated variation. See Example 2. directly with the height. If a 5-foot tree costs $20, then
15. y varies directly as x, and y  5 when x  3. what is the price of a 6-foot tree?
1 1
16. m varies directly as w, and m  2 when w  4. 33. Sharing the work. The time it takes to erect the big circus
17. A varies inversely as B, and A  3 when B  2. tent varies inversely as the number of elephants working
on the job. If it takes four elephants 75 minutes, then how
18. c varies inversely as d, and c  5 when d  2. long would it take six elephants?
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230 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-60

38. Ideal waist size. According to Dr. Aaron R. Folsom

of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health,
100 your maximum ideal waist size is directly proportional
to your hip size. For a woman with 40-inch hips, the
Time (minutes)

75
maximum ideal waist size is 32 inches. What is the
50 maximum ideal waist size for a woman with 35-inch hips?

25
39. Sugar Pops. The number of days that it takes to eat a
0 large box of Sugar Pops varies inversely with the size of
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 the family. If a family of three eats a box in 7 days, then
Number of elephants
how many days does it take a family of seven?

Figure for Exercise 33 40. Cost of CDs. The cost for manufacturing a CD varies
inversely with the number of CDs made. If the cost is
34. Gas laws. The volume of a gas is inversely proportional to $2.50 per CD when 10,000 are made, then what is the
the pressure on the gas. If the volume is 6 cubic centime- cost per CD when 100,000 are made?
ters when the pressure on the gas is 8 kilograms per square
centimeter, then what is the volume when the pressure is 41. Carpeting. The cost C of carpeting a rectangular living
12 kilograms per square centimeter? room with $20 per square yard carpet varies jointly with
the length L and the width W. Fill in the missing entries in
the following table.
35. Steel tubing. The cost of steel tubing is jointly
proportional to its length and diameter. If a 10-foot tube Length (yd) Width (yd) Cost ($)
with a 1-inch diameter costs $5.80, then what is the cost
of a 15-foot tube with a 2-inch diameter? 8 10
10 2400
14 3360
36. Sales tax. The amount of sales tax varies jointly with the
number of Cokes purchased and the price per Coke. If the 42. Waterfront property. At $50 per square foot, the price of a
sales tax on eight Cokes at 65 cents each is 26 cents, then what rectangular waterfront lot varies jointly with the length and
is the sales tax on six Cokes at 90 cents each? width. Fill in the missing entries in the following table.
Length (ft) Width (ft) Cost ($)
37. Approach speed. The approach speed of an airplane is
directly proportional to its landing speed. If the approach 60 100
speed for a Piper Cheyenne is 90 mph with a landing speed 80 360,000
of 75 mph, then what is the landing speed for an airplane
150 750,000
with an approach speed of 96 mph?

Miscellaneous
Use the given formula to fill in the missing entries in each table
and determine whether b varies directly or inversely as a.
120
Approach speed (mph)

110 300 500

43. b   44. b  
100 a a
90
80 a b a b
70 1 1
 
2 5
60
50 1 1
50 60 70 80 90 100
10 10
Landing speed (mph)
900 1500
Figure for Exercise 37
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3-61 3.5 Variation 231

3 2 52. Cost. With gas selling for $1.60 per gallon, the cost of
45. b  a 46. b   a
4 3 filling your tank varies directly with the amount of gas
that you pump. Fill in the missing entries in the
a b a b following table.
1 1
 
3 2
8 3 Amount (gallons) 5 10 15 20

9 6 Cost (dollars)
20 21

53. Time. The time that it takes to complete a 400-mile trip

varies inversely with your average speed. Fill in the
missing entries in the following table.

For each table, determine whether y varies directly or inversely

as x and find a formula for y in terms of x. Speed (mph) 20 40 50
47. 48. Time (hours) 2
x y x y
2 7 10 5
3 10.5 15 7.5
54. Amount. The amount of gasoline that you can buy for
4 14 20 10 $20 varies inversely with the price per gallon. Fill in the
5 17.5 25 12.5 missing entries in the following table.

Price per gallon

(dollars) 1 2 4
Amount (gallons) 2
49. 50.
x y x y
2 10 5 100
4 5 10 50
10 2 50 10
20 1 250 2
Getting More Involved
55. Discussion
If y varies directly as x, then the graph of the equa-
tion is a straight line. What is its slope? What is the
y-intercept? If y  3x  2, then does y vary directly
as x? Which straight lines correspond to direct
variations?
Solve each problem.
51. Distance. With the cruise control set at 65 mph, the
distance traveled varies directly with the time spent
traveling. Fill in the missing entries in the following
table. 56. Writing
Write a summary of the three types of variation.
Time (hours) 1 2 3 4 Include an example of each type that is not found in
Distance (miles) this text.
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232 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-62

3.6 Graphing Linear Inequalities in Two Variables

In This Section You studied linear equations and inequalities in one variable in Chapter 2. In this
section we extend the ideas of linear equations in two variables to study linear
U1V Linear Inequalities inequalities in two variables.
U2V Graphing a Linear Inequality
U3V The Test-Point Method
U4V Applications
U1V Linear Inequalities
If we replace the equals sign in any linear equation with any one of the inequality sym-
bols , , , or
we have a linear inequality. For example, x  y  5 is a linear
equation and x  y  5 is a linear inequality.

Linear Inequality in Two Variables

If A, B, and C are real numbers with A and B not both zero, then
Ax  By  C
is called a linear inequality in two variables. In place of , we could have
, , or
.

The inequalities
3x
4y  8, y 2x
3, and x
y 90
are linear inequalities. Not all of these are in the form of the definition, but they could
all be rewritten in that form.
A point (or ordered pair) is a solution to an inequality in two variables if the
ordered pair satisfies the inequality.

E X A M P L E 1 Satisfying a linear inequality

Determine whether each point satisfies the inequality 2x
3y
6.
a) (4, 1) b) (3, 0) c) (3,
2)

Solution
a) To determine whether (4, 1) is a solution to the inequality, we replace x by 4 and
y by 1 in the inequality 2x
3y
6:
2(4)
3(1)
6
8
3
6
5
6 Incorrect
So (4, 1) does not satisfy the inequality 2x
3y
6.
b) Replace x by 3 and y by 0:
2(3)
3(0)
6
6
6 Correct
So the point (3, 0) satisfies the inequality 2x
3y
6.
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3-63 3.6 Graphing Linear Inequalities in Two Variables 233

c) Replace x by 3 and y by
2:

2(3)
3(
2)
6
66
6
12
6 Correct
So the point (3,
2) satisfies the inequality 2x
3y
6.
Now do Exercises 7–14

U2V Graphing a Linear Inequality

The solution set to an equation in one variable such as x  3 is {3}. This single num-
ber divides the number line into two regions as shown in Fig. 3.35. Every number to
the right of 3 satisfies x 3, and every number to the left satisfies x  3.

x3 x3 x3

1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Figure 3.35

A similar situation occurs for linear equations in two variables. For example, the
solution set to y  x  2 consists of all ordered pairs on the line shown in Fig. 3.36.
This line divides the coordinate plane into two regions. Every ordered pair above the
line satisfies y x  2, and every ordered pair below the line satisfies y  x  2. To
see that this statement is correct, check a point such as (3, 5), which is on the line. A
point with a larger y-coordinate such as (3, 6) is certainly above the line and satisfies
y x  2. A point with a smaller y-coordinate such as (3, 4) is certainly below the line
and satisfies y  x  2.

U Helpful Hint V y
yx2
Why do we keep drawing graphs? 8
When we solve 2x  1  7, we don’t 7
bother to draw a graph showing 3, (3, 6)
6
because the solution set is so simple. yx2
However, the solution set to a linear 5 (3, 5)
Above the line
inequality is an infinite set of ordered 4 (3, 4)
pairs. Graphing gives us a way to 3
visualize the solution set. yx2
Below the line
1

5
4
3
1 1 2 3 4 5 x

1

2

Figure 3.36

So the graph of a linear inequality consists of all ordered pairs that satisfy the
inequality and they all lie on one side of the boundary line. If the inequality symbol
is  or the line is not included and it is drawn dashed. If the inequality symbol is
 or
the line is included and it is drawn solid.
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234 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-64

Strategy for Graphing a Linear Inequality in Two Variables

1. Solve the inequality for y, then graph y  mx  b.

y mx  b is the region above the line.

y  mx  b is the line itself.
y  mx  b is the region below the line.
2. If the inequality involves only x, then graph the vertical line x  k.

x k is the region to the right of the line.

x  k is the line itself.
x  k is the region to the left of the line.
3. If the inequality involves only y, then graph the horizontal line y  k.

y k is the region above the line.

y  k is the line itself.
y  k is the region below the line.
Note that this case is included in part 1, but is restated for clarity.

CAUTION The symbol corresponds to “above” and the symbol  corresponds

to “below” only when the inequality is solved for y. You would certainly
not shade below the line for x
y  0, because x
y  0 is equivalent
to y x. The graph of y x is the region above y  x.

E X A M P L E 2 Graphing a linear inequality

Graph each inequality.
1
a) y   x  1
3
b) y

2x  3

c) 2x
3y  6

Solution
a) The set of points satisfying this inequality is the region below the line
1
y   x  1.
3
To show this region, we first graph the boundary line. The slope of the line is 1,
3
and the y-intercept is (0, 1). We draw the line dashed because it is not part of the
graph of y  1 x  1. In Fig. 3.37 on the next page, the graph is the shaded region.
3
b) Because the inequality symbol is
, every point on or above the line satisfies this
inequality. We use the fact that the slope of this line is
2 and the y-intercept is
(0, 3) to draw the graph of the line. To show that the line y 
2x  3 is included
in the graph, we make it a solid line and shade the region above. See Fig. 3.38 on
the next page.
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3-65 3.6 Graphing Linear Inequalities in Two Variables 235

y y

3 3
y 
2x  3
2 2
1

3
2
1 1 2 3 4 x
3
2
1 1 3 4 x

1
1
1

2 y x 1
3
2

3
3

Figure 3.37 Figure 3.38

c) First solve for y:

y 2x
3y  6
3
3y 
2x  6
2 y  23 x
2 2
y  x
2 Divide by
3 and reverse the inequality.
1 3

3
2
1 1 3 4 x To graph this inequality, we first graph the line with slope 2 and y-intercept

1 3

2 (0,
2). We use a dashed line for the boundary because it is not included, and we

3
shade the region above the line. Remember, “less than” means below the line and
“greater than” means above the line only when the inequality is solved for y. See
Figure 3.39 Fig. 3.39 for the graph.
Now do Exercises 15–28

E X A M P L E 3 Horizontal and vertical boundary lines

Graph each inequality.
a) y  4 b) x 3
Solution
a) The line y  4 is the horizontal line with y-intercept (0, 4). We draw a solid
horizontal line and shade below it as in Fig. 3.40.

y y

6 3
2
x3
2 1

6
4
2 2 4 6 8 x
2
1 1 2 4 x

2
1
y4

4
2

6
3

Figure 3.40 Figure 3.41

b) The line x  3 is a vertical line through (3, 0). Any point to the right of this line
has an x-coordinate larger than 3. The graph is shown in Fig. 3.41.
Now do Exercises 29–32
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236 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-66

U3V The Test-Point Method

The graph of the linear equation Ax  By  C separates the coordinate plane into two
regions. All points in one region satisfy Ax  By C and all points in the other region
satisfy Ax  By  C. To see which region satisfies which inequality we test a point in
one of the regions. With this test-point method the form of the inequality does not
matter and it does not matter how you graph the line. Here are the steps to follow.

Strategy for the Test-Point Method

To graph a linear inequality follow these steps.
1. Replace the inequality symbol with the equals symbol and graph the resulting
boundary line by using any appropriate method. Use a solid line for
or 
and dashed line for or .
2. Select any point that is not on the line. Pick one with simple coordinates.
3. Check whether the selected point satisfies the inequality.
4. If the inequality is satisfied shade the region containing the test point. If not,
shade the other region.

E X A M P L E 4 The test-point method

Graph each inequality.
a) 2x
3y 6 b) x
y  0

Solution
a) First graph the equation 2x
3y  6 using the x-intercept (3, 0) and the y-intercept
(0,
2) as shown in Fig. 3.42. Select a point on one side of the line, say (0, 1) and
check to see if it satisfies the inequality. Since 2(0)
3(1) 6 is false, points on
the other side of the line must satisfy the inequality. So shade the region on the
other side of the line to get the graph of 2x
3y 6, as shown in Fig. 3.43. The
boundary line is dashed because the inequality symbol is .
U Helpful Hint V y y
Some people always like to choose
3 3
(0, 0) as the test point for lines that do
not go through (0, 0). The arithmetic 2 2
Test point
for testing (0, 0) is generally easier 1 1
(0, 1)
than for any other point.

3
2
1 1 3 x
3
2
1 1 3 x

1
1
y
2
2
2 x
3y  6
(1, 3)
3
3
3
x
y 0 2 Figure 3.42 Figure 3.43
1

3
2
1

1
1 2 3 x b) First graph x
y  0. This line goes through (1, 1), (2, 2), (3, 3), and so on. Select

2
a point not on this line, say, (1, 3), and test it in the inequality. Since 1
3  0 is

3
true, shade the region containing (1, 3), as shown in Fig. 3.44. The boundary line is
solid because the inequality symbol is .
Figure 3.44 Now do Exercises 39–50
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3-67 3.6 Graphing Linear Inequalities in Two Variables 237

The test-point method could be used on inequalities in one variable. For example,
to solve x 2 first replace the inequality symbol with equals, to get x  2. The
graph of x  2 is a single point at 2 on the number line shown in Fig. 3.45. That
point divides the number line into two regions. Every point in one region satisfies
x 2, and every point in the other satisfies x  2. Selecting a test point such as 4 and
checking that 4 2 is correct tells us that the region to the right of 2 is the solution
set to x 2.

x2 x2 x2

4
3
2
1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Test

Figure 3.45

U4V Applications
The values of variables used in applications are often restricted to nonnegative
numbers. So solutions to inequalities in these applications are graphed in the first
quadrant only.

E X A M P L E 5 Manufacturing tables
The Ozark Furniture Company can obtain at most 8000 board feet of oak lumber for mak-
ing two types of tables. It takes 50 board feet to make a round table and 80 board feet to
make a rectangular table. Write an inequality that limits the possible number of tables of
each type that can be made. Draw a graph showing all possibilities for the number of tables
that can be made.

Solution
If x is the number of round tables and y is the number of rectangular tables, then x and y
satisfy the inequality

50x  80y  8000.

Now find the intercepts for the line 50x  80y  8000:

50  0  80y  8000 50x  80  0  8000

80y  8000 50x  8000
y  100 x  160

Draw the line through (0, 100) and (160, 0). Because (0, 0) satisfies the inequality, the
number of tables must be below the line. Since the number of tables cannot be negative,
the number of tables made must be below the line and in the first quadrant as shown in
Fig. 3.46. Assuming that Ozark will not make a fraction of a table, only points in Fig. 3.46
with whole-number coordinates are practical.
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238 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-68

100

50

0 x
40 80 120 160

Figure 3.46

Now do Exercises 51–54

Graphical Summary of Equations and Inequalities

The graphs that follow summarize the different types of graphs that can occur for
equations and inequalities in two variables. For these graphs m, b, and k are positive.
Similar graphs could be made with negative numbers.

y y y y y

(0, b)

x x x x x

y  mx  b y  mx  b y  mx  b y  mx  b y  mx  b

y y y y y

(0, k)

x x x x x

yk yk yk yk yk

y y y y y

(k, 0)
x x x x x

xk xk xk xk xk

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3-69 3.6 Graphing Linear Inequalities in Two Variables 239

Warm-Ups ▼
True or false? 1. The point (
1, 4) satisfies the inequality y 3x  1.
Explain your 2. The point (2,
3) satisfies the inequality 3x
2y
12.
3. The graph of the inequality y x  9 is the region above the line
answer.
y  x  9.
4. The graph of the inequality x  y  2 is the region below the line
x  y  2.
5. The graph of x  3 is a single point on the x-axis.
6. The graph of y  5 is the region below the horizontal line y  5.
7. The graph of x  3 is the region to the left of the vertical line x  3.
8. In graphing the inequality y
x we use a dashed boundary line.
9. The point (0, 0) is on the graph of the inequality y
x.
10. The point (0, 0) lies above the line y  2x  1.

Exercises

3.6
Boost your grade at mathzone.com!
> Practice > Self-Tests
Problems > e-Professors
> NetTutor > Videos

U Study Tips V
• Everyone knows that you must practice to be successful with musical instruments, foreign languages, and sports. Success in algebra
also requires regular practice.
• As soon as possible after class find a quiet place to work on your homework.The longer you wait, the harder it is to remember what
happened in class.

Reading and Writing After reading this section, write out 4. How do you decide which side of the boundary line to shade?
the answers to these questions. Use complete sentences.
1. What is a linear inequality in two variables? 5. What is the test-point method?

2. How can you tell if an ordered pair satisfies a linear 6. What is the advantage of the test-point method?
inequality in two variables?

U1V Linear Inequalities

Determine which of the points following each inequality satisfy
3. How do you determine whether to draw the boundary line
that inequality. See Example 1.
of the graph of a linear inequality dashed or solid?
7. x  y 0 (0, 0), (3,
1), (
5, 4)
8. x  y  0 (0, 0), (2,
1), (
6, 3)
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240 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-70

9. x
y 5 (2, 3), (
3,
9), (8, 3) 2 1

21. y 
x  2 22. y

x  3
5 2
10. 2x  y  3 (
2, 6), (0, 3), (3, 0)
11. y

2x  5 (3, 0), (1, 3), (
2, 5)
12. y 
x  6 (2, 0), (
3, 9), (
4, 12)
13. x
3y  4 (2, 3), (7,
1), (0, 5)
14. x 
y
3 (1, 2), (
3,
4), (0,
3)

U2V Graphing a Linear Inequality

Graph each inequality.
See Examples 2 and 3.
See the Strategy for Graphing a Linear Inequality in Two
23. y
x
0 24. x
2y  0
Variables box on page 234.
15. y  x  4 16. y  2x  2

17. y
x  3 18. y 
2x  1 25. x y
5 26. 2x  3y  6

2 1
19. y  x
3 20. y   x  1 27. x
2y  4  0 28. 2x
y  3
0
3 2
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3-71 3.6 Graphing Linear Inequalities in Two Variables 241

29. y
2 30. y  7 37. 3x
4y  8 38. 2x  5y
10

U3V The Test-Point Method

31. x 9 32. x  1 Graph each inequality using a test point.
See Example 4.
See the Strategy for the Test-Point Method box on page 236.
39. 2x
3y  6 40. x
4y 4

33. x  y  60 34. x
y  90
41. x
4y  8 42. 3y
5x
15

7 2
35. x  100y 36. y
600x 43. y
x  7 44. x  3y  12
2 3
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242 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-72

45. x
y  5 46. y
x
3 52. Maple rockers. Ozark Furniture Company can obtain at
most 3000 board feet of maple lumber for making its
classic and modern maple rocking chairs. A classic maple
rocker requires 15 board feet of maple, and a modern
rocker requires 12 board feet of maple. Write an inequality
that limits the possible number of maple rockers of each
type that can be made, and graph the inequality in the first
quadrant.

47. 3x
4y 
12 48. 4x  3y 24

49. x  5y
100 50.
x 70
y

U4V Applications
Solve each problem. See Example 5. Photo for Exercise 52
51. Storing the tables. Ozark Furniture Company must store
its oak tables before shipping. A round table is packaged in
a carton with a volume of 25 cubic feet (ft3), and a rectan- 53. Pens and notebooks. A student has at most $4 to spend on
gular table is packaged in a carton with a volume of 35 ft3. pens at $0.25 each and notebooks at $0.40 each. Write an
The warehouse has at most 3850 ft3 of space available for inequality that limits the possibilities for the number of pens
these tables. Write an inequality that limits the possible (x) and the number of notebooks (y) that can be purchased.
number of tables of each type that can be stored, and Graph the inequality in the first quadrant.
graph the inequality in the first quadrant.
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3-73 3.6 Graphing Linear Inequalities in Two Variables 243

54. Enzyme concentration. A food chemist tests enzymes Getting More Involved
for their ability to break down pectin in fruit juices
55. Discussion
(Dennis Callas, Snapshots of Applications in Mathematics).
Excess pectin makes juice cloudy. In one test, the chemist When asked to graph the inequality x  2y  12, a
measures the concentration of the enzyme, c, in milligrams student found that (0, 5) and (8, 0) both satisfied
per milliliter and the fraction of light absorbed by the x  2y  12. The student then drew a dashed line through
liquid, a. If a 0.07c  0.02, then the enzyme is working these two points and shaded the region below the line. What
as it should. Graph the inequality in the first quadrant. is wrong with this method? Do all of the points graphed by
this student satisfy the inequality?

56. Writing
Compare and contrast the two methods presented in
this section for graphing linear inequalities. What are the
advantages and disadvantages of each method? How do
you choose which method to use?
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244 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-74

3
Chapter

Wrap-Up

Summary

Slope of a Line Examples

Slope The slope of the line through (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) is (0, 1), (3, 5)
given by 5
1 4
y2
y1 m    
m   , provided that x2
x1  0. 3
0 3
x2
x1

Slope is the ratio of the rise to the run for any two y
points on the line:
change in y rise
m     Rise
change in x run
Run

Types of slope y y y y
Negative Undefined
Positive Zero
slope slope
slope slope
x x x x

Parallel lines Nonvertical parallel lines have equal slopes. The lines y  3x
9 and
Two vertical lines are parallel. y  3x  7 are parallel lines.

Perpendicular lines Lines with slopes m and
1 are perpendicular. The lines y 
5x  7 and
m 1
Any vertical line is perpendicular to any y  5 x are perpendicular.
horizontal line.

Equations of Lines Examples

Slope-intercept form The equation of the line with y-intercept (0, b) y  3x
1 has slope 3 and
and slope m is y  mx  b. y-intercept (0,
1).

Point-slope form The equation of the line with slope m that contains The line through (2,
1)
the point (x1, y1) is y
y1  m(x
x1). with slope
5 is
y  1 
5(x
2).

Standard form Every line has an equation of the form Ax  By  C, 4x
9y  15

where A, B, and C are real numbers with A and B x  5 (vertical line)
not both equal to zero. y 
7 (horizontal line)
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3-75 Chapter 3 Enriching Your Mathematical Word Power 245

Graphing a line 1. Write the equation in slope-intercept form.

using y-intercept 2. Plot the y-intercept.
and slope 3. Use the rise and run to locate a second point.
4. Draw a line through the two points.

Variation Examples
Direct If y  kx, then y varies directly as x. D  50T
400
Inverse If y  kx, then y varies inversely as x. R  
T
Joint If y  kxz, then y varies jointly as x and z. V  6LW

Linear Inequalities in Two Variables Examples

Graphing the solution 1. Solve the inequality for y, then graph y  mx  b.
to an inequality in y mx  b is the region above the line. y x3
two variables y  mx  b is the line itself. yx3
y  mx  b is the region below the line. yx3

Remember that “less than” means below the line

and “greater than” means above the line only
when the inequality is solved for y.
2. If the inequality involves only x, then graph x 5
the vertical line x  k. Region to right of
x k is the region to the right of the line. vertical line x  5
x  k is the line itself.
x  k is the region to the left of the line.

Test points A linear inequality may also be graphed by xy 4

graphing the equation and then testing a point to (0, 6) satisfies the
determine which region satisfies the inequality. inequality.

Enriching Your Mathematical Word Power

For each mathematical term, choose the correct meaning. 3. y-intercept
1. graph of an equation a. the second number in an ordered pair
a. the Cartesian coordinate system b. a point at which a graph intersects the y-axis
b. two number lines that intersect at a right angle c. any point on the y-axis
c. the x-axis and y-axis d. the point where the y-axis intersects the x-axis
d. an illustration in the coordinate plane that shows all 4. coordinate plane
ordered pairs that satisfy an equation a. a matching plane
b. when the x-axis is coordinated with the y-axis
2. x-coordinate c. a plane with a rectangular coordinate system
a. the first number in an ordered pair d. a coordinated system for graphs
b. the second number in an ordered pair 5. slope
c. a point on the x-axis a. the change in x divided by the change in y
d. a point where a graph crosses the x-axis b. a measure of the steepness of a line
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246 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-76

c. the run divided by the rise c. the first variable of an ordered pair
d. the slope of a line d. the second variable of an ordered pair
6. slope-intercept form 10. direct variation
a. y  mx  b a. y 
b. y  kx
b. rise over run c. y  k
x d. y  kxz
c. the point at which a line crosses the y-axis 11. inverse variation
d. y
y1  m(x
x1) a. y 
b. y  kx
7. point-slope form c. y  k
x d. y  kxz
a. Ax  By  C 12. joint variation
b. rise over run a. y 
b. y  kx
c. y
y1  m(x
x1) c. y  k
x d. y  kxz
d. the slope of a line at a single point
13. linear inequality in two variables
8. independent variable a. when two lines are not equal
a. a rational constant b. line segments that are unequal in length
b. an irrational constant c. an inequality of the form Ax  By
C or with another
c. the first variable of an ordered pair symbol of inequality
d. the second variable of an ordered pair d. an inequality of the form Ax 2  By 2  C 2
9. dependent variable
a. an irrational variable
b. a rational variable

Review Exercises

3.1 Graphing Lines in the Coordinate Plane Sketch the graph of each equation by finding three ordered
For each point, name the quadrant in which it lies or the axis pairs that satisfy each equation.
on which it lies. 13. y 
3x  4 14. y  2x
6
1. (
2, 5) 2. (
3,
5)

3. (3, 0) 4. (9, 10)

5. (0,
6) 6. (0,
)

7. (1.414,
3) 8. (
4, 1.732)

Complete the given ordered pairs so that each ordered pair

satisfies the given equation.
9. y  3x
5: (0, ), (
3, ), (4, )
15. x  y  7 16. x
y  4
10. y 
2x  1: (9, ), (3, ), (
1, )

11. 2x
3y  8: (0, ), (3, ), (
6, )

12. x  2y  1: (0, ), (
2, ), (2, )

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3-77 Chapter 3 Review Exercises 247

3.2 Slope Determine the equation of each line. Write the answer in
Determine the slope of the line that goes through each pair of standard form using only integers as the coefficients.
points. 35. The line through (0, 4) with slope 1
3
17. (0, 0) and (1, 1) 18. (
1, 1) and (2,
2) 36. The line through (
2, 0) with slope
3
4
19. (
2,
3) and (0, 0) 20. (
1,
2) and (4,
1) 37. The line through the origin that is perpendicular to the line
y  2x
1
21. (
4,
2) and (3, 1) 22. (0, 4) and (5, 0)
38. The line through (0, 9) that is parallel to the line
3x  5y  15
3.3 Equations of Lines in Slope-Intercept Form 39. The line through (3, 5) that is parallel to the x-axis
Find the slope and y-intercept for each line. 40. The line through (
2, 4) that is perpendicular to the x-axis
23. y  3x
18 24. y 
x  5
25. 2x
y  3 26. x
2y  1
3.4 The Point-Slope Form
27. 4x
2y
8  0 28. 3x  5y  10  0 Write each equation in slope-intercept form.
2
41. y
3  (x  6) 42. y  2 
6(x
1)
3
Sketch the graph of each equation.
2 3
29. y   x
5 30. y   x  1 43. 3x
7y
14  0 44. 1
x
y  0
3 2

3 2
45. y
5 
(x  1) 46. y  8 
(x
2)
4 5

Determine the equation of each line. Write the answer in

slope-intercept form.
47. The line through (
4, 7) with slope
2
1
48. The line through (9, 0) with slope 
31. 2x  y 
6 32.
3x
y  2 2
49. The line through the two points (
2, 1) and (3, 7)

50. The line through the two points (4, 0) and (
3,
5)

51. The line through (3,
5) that is parallel to the line
y  3x
1
52. The line through (4, 0) that is perpendicular to the line
xy3
33. y 
4 34. x  9
Solve each problem.
53. Rental charge. The charge for renting an air hammer for
two days is $113 and the charge for five days is $209. The
charge C is determined by the number of days n using a
linear equation. Find the equation and find the charge for a
four-day rental.
54. Time on a treadmill. After 2 minutes on a treadmill, Jenny
has a heart rate of 82. After 3 minutes she has a heart rate
of 86. Assume that there is a linear equation that gives her
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248 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-78

heart rate h in terms of time on the treadmill t. Find interest rate from the accompanying table. Find the equa-
the equation and use it to predict her heart rate after tion of the line in slope-intercept form that goes through
10 minutes on the treadmill. these points.
55. Probability of rain. If the probability p of rain is 90%, the
probability q that it does not rain is 10%. If the probability
Credit Interest
of rain is 80%, then the probability that it does not rain is Rating Rate (%)
20%. There is a linear equation that gives q in terms of p.
1 24
a) Find the equation.
2 20
b) Use the accompanying graph to determine the probabi-
lity of rain if the probability that it does not rain is 0. 3 16
4 12
5 8

1
Probability of no rain

Table for Exercise 58

0.5
3.5 Variation
Solve each variation problem.
0
0 0.5 1
59. Suppose y varies directly as w. If y  48 when w  4, then
Probability of rain what is y when w  11?
60. Suppose m varies directly as t. If m  13 when t  2, then
what is m when t  6?
Figure for Exercise 55
61. If y varies inversely as v and y  8 when v  6, then what
is y when v  24?
56. Social Security benefits. If you earned an average of
$25,000 over your working life and you retire after 2005 at 62. If y varies inversely as r and y  9 when r  3, then what
age 62, 63, or 64, then your annual Social Security benefit is y when r  9?
will be $7000, $7500, or $8000, respectively (Social 63. Suppose y varies jointly as u and v, and y  72 when
Security Administration, www.ssa.gov). There is a linear u  3 and v  4. Find y when u  5 and v  2.
equation that gives the annual benefit b in terms of age a for 64. Suppose q varies jointly as s and t, and q  10 when s  4
these three years. Find the equation. and t  3. Find q when s  25 and t  6.
57. Predicting freshmen GPA. A researcher who is studying 65. Taxi fare. The cost of a taxi ride varies directly with the
the relationship between ACT score and grade point length of the ride in minutes. A 12-minute ride costs $9.00.
average for freshman gathered the data shown in the a) Write the cost C in terms of the length T of the ride.
accompanying table. Find the equation of the line in b) What is the cost of a 20-minute ride?
slope-intercept form that goes through these points. c) Is the cost increasing or decreasing as the length of the
ride increases?

ACT
Score (x) GPA (y)
40
4 1.0
Cost (dollars)

14 2.0 30

24 3.0 20
34 4.0 10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Table for Exercise 57 Length of ride (minutes)

58. Interest rates. A credit manager rates each applicant for a

car loan on a scale of 1 through 5 and then determines the Figure for Exercise 65
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3-79 Chapter 3 Review Exercises 249

66. Applying shingles. The number of hours that it takes to 70. y

x
6
apply 296 bundles of shingles varies inversely with the
number of roofers working on the job. Three workers can
complete the job in 40 hours.
a) Write the number of hours h in terms of the number n
of roofers on the job.
b) How long would it take five roofers to complete the job?
c) Is the time to complete the job increasing or decreasing
as the number of workers increases?

71. y  8

120
Time (hours)

80

40

0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Number of workers

72. x

6
Figure for Exercise 66

3.6 Graphing Linear Inequalities in Two Variables

Graph each inequality.
1
67. y x
5
3

73. 2x  3y 
12

1
68. y  x  2
2

74. x
3y  9
69. y 
2x  7
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250 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-80

Miscellaneous Find the equation of each line in slope-intercept form.

Write each equation in slope-intercept form. 1
91. The line through (6, 0) with slope 
75. x
y  1 2
76. x  5
y 2
92. The line through (
3, 0) with slope 
3
77. 2x  4y  16
93. The line through (2, 3) that is parallel to y  9
94. The line through (4,
5) that is perpendicular to x  1
78. 3x  5y  10
79. y
3  4(x
2) 95. The line through (
3, 0) and (0, 9)
80. y  6 
3(x
1) 96. The line through (4, 0) and (0,
6)
1 1
81. x
y  12 97. The line through (1, 1) and (
2, 2)
2 3
2 3
82. x  y  18 98. The line through (
5,
3) and (1, 1)
3 4
1
Find the x- and y-intercepts for each line. 99. The line through (0, 2) that is perpendicular to y  x
4
83. x  y  1
84. x
y  6 100. The line through (0, 5) that is perpendicular to y 
2x
85. 3x  4y  12
86. 5x  6y  30 101. The line through (1, 2) that is parallel to 3x
y  0

87. y  4x
2
102. The line through (2,
11) that is parallel to y  3x  1
88. y 
3x
1
3 1
89. x  y  6
2 3
2 1
90.
x  y  2
3 4

Chapter 3 Test
For each point, name the quadrant in which it lies or the axis Write the equation of each line. Give the answer in standard
on which it lies. form using only integers as the coefficients.
1. (
2, 7) 2. (

, 0) 13. The line through (2,
3) that is perpendicular to the line
3. (3,
6) 4. (0, 1785) y 
3x  12
14. The line through (3, 4) that is parallel to the line 5x  3y  9
Find the slope of the line through each pair of points.
5. (3, 3) and (4, 4) 6. (
2,
3) and (4,
8)

Find the slope of each line. Sketch the graph of each equation.
1
7. The line y  3x
5 8. The line y  3 15. y  x
3 16. 2x
3y  6
2
9. The line x  5 10. The line 2x
3y  4

Write the equation of each line. Give the answer in slope-

intercept form.
1
11. The line through (0, 3) with slope

2

12. The line through (
1,
2) with slope 3

7
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3-81 Chapter 3 Test 251

17. y  4 18. x 
2 23. A 10-ounce soft drink sells for 50 cents, and a 16-ounce
soft drink sells for 68 cents. The price P is determined
from the volume v of the cup by a linear equation.
a) Find the equation.
b) Find the price of a 20-ounce soft drink.
24. The demand for tickets to a play can be modeled by the
equation d  1000
20p, where d is the number of tickets
sold and p is the price per ticket in dollars.
a) How many tickets will be sold at $10 per ticket?
Graph each inequality. b) Find the intercepts and interpret them.
19. y 3x
5 20. x
y  3

c) Find and interpret the slope, including units.

25. The price P for a watermelon varies directly with its

weight w.
a) Write a formula for this variation.
b) If the price of a 30-pound watermelon is $4.20, then
what is the price of a 20-pound watermelon?
26. The number n of days that Jerry spends on the road is
21. x
2y
4 inversely proportional to the amount A of his sales for the
previous month.
a) Write a formula for this variation.
b) Jerry spent 15 days on the road in
February because his January sales amount was
$75,000. If his August sales amount is $60,000, then
how many days would he spend on the road in
September?
c) Does his road time increase or decrease as his sales
increase?
27. The cost C for installing ceramic floor tile in a rectangular
Solve each problem. room varies jointly with the length L and width W of the room.
22. Julie’s mail-order CD club charges a shipping and handling a) Write a formula for this variation.
fee of $2.50 plus $0.75 per CD for each order shipped. b) The cost is $400 for a room that is 8 feet by 10 feet.
Write the shipping and handling fee S in terms of the What is the cost for a room that is 11 feet by 14 feet?
number n of CDs in the order.
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252 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-82

Graph Paper
Use these grids for graphing. Make as many copies of this page as you need. If you have access to a computer, you can
download this page from www.mhhe.com/dugopolski and print it.

y y y

x x x

y y y

x x x

y y y

x x x

y y y

x x x
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3-83 Chapter 3 Making Connections 253

Making Connections A Review of Chapters 1–3

Simplify each arithmetic expression. Solve each equation for y.

1. 9
5  2 2.
4  5
7  2 31. 3
y  2  t
3. 3
2
2 3
4. 3  2
2 3
y
b
32. x  
5. (
4)
4(1)(5)
2
6.
4
4  3
2 m

5
9 6
3.6 33. 3x
3y
12  0
7.  8. 
2
(
2) 6 34. 2y
3  9
1 y y 1
1
 35. 
  
2 4
(
6) 2 4 5
9.  10.  1
4
(
1) 1
 36. 0.6y
0.06y  108
3

Simplify the given expression or solve the given equation, Solve.

whichever is appropriate.
37. Financial planning. Financial advisors at Fidelity
11. 4x
(
9x) 12. 4(x
9)
x Investments use the information in the accompanying
graph as a guide for retirement investing.
13. 5(x
3)  x  0 14. 5
2(x
1)  x
a) What is the slope of the line segment for ages 35
1 1 1 1 through 50?
15. 
 16.    b) What is the slope of the line segment for ages 50
2 3 4 6
through 65?
1 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 c) If a 38-year-old man is making $40,000 per year, then
17.  x
   x   18.  x     x

2 3 4 6 3 5 5 15 what percent of his income should he be saving?
d) If a 58-year-old woman has an annual salary of
4x
8
5x
10
19.  20.  $60,000, then how much should she have saved and
2
5
how much should she be saving per year?
6
2(x
3) 20
5(x
5)
21.   1 22.   6
2 5

23.
4(x
9)
4 
4x

24. 4(x
6) 
4(6
x)

Solve each inequality. State the solution set using interval

notation.
25. 2x
3 6 (65, 6)
Years of salary saved

6
5
26. 5
3x  7 4
3
27. 51
2x  3x  1 (50, 3)
2
28. 4x
80
60
3x 1
(35, 1)
0
35 40 45 50 55 60 65
29.
1  4
2x  5 Age

30. 1
2x  x  1  3
2x Figure for Exercise 37

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254 Chapter 3 Linear Equations in Two Variables and Their Graphs 3-84

Critical Thinking For Individual or Group Work Chapter 3

These exercises can be solved by a variety of techniques, which may or may not require algebra. So be creative and think critically.
Explain all answers. Answers are in the Instructor’s Edition of this text.

1. Share and share alike. A chocolate bar consists of two

rows of small squares with four squares in each row as
shown in (a) of the accompanying figure. You want to
share it with your friends.
a) How many times must you break it to get it divided
into 8 small squares?
b) If the bar has 3 rows of 5 squares in each row as shown
in (b) of the accompanying figure, then how many
breaks does it take to separate it into 15 small squares?
c) If the bar is divided into m rows with n small squares
in each row, then how many breaks does it take to
separate it into mn small squares?

Photo for Exercise 4

5. Counting ones. If you write down the integers between 1

and 100 inclusive, then how many times will you write the
number one?
(a) (b)

Figure for Exercise 1 6. Smallest sum. What is the smallest possible sum that can
be obtained by adding five positive integers that have a
product of 48?
2. Straight time. Starting at 8 A.M. determine the number
of times in the next 24 hours for which the hour and 7. Mind control. Each student in your class should think of
minute hands on a clock form a 180° angle. an integer between 2 and 9 inclusive. Multiply your integer
by 9. Think of the sum of the digits in your answer.
3. Dividing days by months. For how many days of the Subtract 5 from your answer. Think of the letter in the
year do you get a whole number when you divide the alphabet that corresponds to the last answer. Think of a
day number by the month number? For example, for state that begins with that letter. Think of the second letter
December 24, the result of 24 divided by 12 is 2. in the name of the state. Think of a large mammal that
begins with that letter. Think of the color of that animal.
4. Crossword fanatic. Ms. Smith loves to work the cross- What is the color that is on everyone’s mind? Explain.
word puzzle in her daily newspaper. To keep track of her
efforts, she gives herself 2 points for every crossword 8. Four-digit numbers. How many four-digit whole numbers
puzzle that she completes correctly and deducts 3 points are there such that the thousands digit is odd, the hundreds
for every crossword puzzle that she fails to complete or digit is even, and all four digits are different? How many
completes incorrectly. For the month of June her total four-digit whole numbers are there such that the thousands
score was zero. How many puzzles did she solve correctly digit is even, hundreds digit is odd, and all four digits are
in June? different?