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10.1: Understanding the Slope of a Line
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When you graph linear equations, you may notice that some lines tilt up as they go from left to right and some lines tilt down. Some lines are very steep and some lines are flatter. What determines whether a line tilts up or down or if it is steep or flat? In mathematics, the ‘tilt’ of a line is called the slope of the line. The concept of slope has many applications in the real world: the pitch of a roof, grade of a highway, and a ramp for a wheelchair are some examples.
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10.2: Use the Slope–Intercept Form of an Equation of a Line
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We have graphed linear equations by plotting points, using intercepts, recognizing horizontal and vertical lines, and using the point–slope method. Once we see how an equation in slope–intercept form and its graph are related, we’ll have one more method we can use to graph lines.
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10.3: Find the Equation of a Line
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The physical sciences, social sciences, and the business world are full of situations that can be modeled with linear equations relating two variables. If the data points appear to form a straight line, an equation of that line can be used to predict the value of one variable based on the value of the other variable. To create a mathematical model of a linear relation between two variables, we must be able to find the equation of the line.
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