The problem
I am needing to find the slope formula.. an example is find the slope using points: (2,2) and (-5,4)
The formula that I am supposed to be using is m=y2 - y1
x2 - x1
Answer provided by our tutors
The best way to explore some problems is using one of Algebrator's Wizards. For example, the Line Wizard titled "Line equation-two points" allows us to clearly see that the following equation will graph the equation and present it in standard form "y=mx+b", so 'm' is easily determined.
Your particular problem shows that the slope is -2/7, so the following two images show the process and these two links allow you to use Algebrator so that you can explore it a bit:
Windows: http://www.softmath.com/tr/alg51win-tr-en.exe
Mac: http://www.softmath.com/tr/alg51mac-tr-en.dmg
The graph for the problem is shown in this link (the equation from Algebrator is entered into the 'Graph' tab for doyourmath.com and then the equation will be manipulated into the standard form 'y=mx+b'):
