What is the slope of the line that passes through the points (3, 6) and (3, 10)? I am having trouble on this one I either come up with 0 or 4 can some one please help? I know what I am doing but I dont know what I am messing up on...I take (y2-y1)/(x2-x1) which is (10-6)/(3-3)...
2007-09-05 03:43:05 · 9 answers · asked by MEB 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
Your eqn is correct and you are doing it correctly (slope equation). What you could have done to understand this more clearly is to draw it out (visualization) or simply notice that both points contain x= 3 so the only possible way to reach y-values of 6 and 10 is to go straight up and down. Therefore, it is a vertical line at x = 3, yielding that the slope is undefined.
2007-09-05 03:49:45 · answer #1 · answered by miggitymaggz 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Meb, you are not messing up, in fact you have the formula correct the slope is :
ây / âx = (10-6) / (3-3) = 4/0 = â
or undefined since dividing by zero is not allowed.
Now to make sense of this answer, the only line that has an infinite slope would be a vertical line that is parallel to the y axis, in this case at x=3, note the x value is fixed no matter what the y value. This is indeed the case you have with a line whose equation is simply x=3.
2007-09-05 10:55:45 · answer #2 · answered by 037 G 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's undefined.
You get:
m = (10 - 6) / (3 - 3) = 4 / 0 which is undefined.
That means it's a vertical line though x = 3.
2007-09-05 10:52:47 · answer #3 · answered by Mathematica 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
m = (10 - 6) / (3 - 3) = 4/0 which is undefined. This means that the line is vertical. If you plot these on a Cartesian plane, you will get a line passing thru x=3.
2007-09-05 10:50:26 · answer #4 · answered by Jake M 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
OK, so you know how you should be calculating the slope. Good.
You're doing it right-ish.
Here are the points:
(3,6)
(3,10)
Here are your variables:
x1 = 3
x2 = 3
y1 = 6
y2 = 10
Here's your slope equation:
(y2-y1)/(x2-x1)
Which is
(10-6)/(3-3)
Which is 4/0
You cannot divide by zero. Therefore, this line has "No slope." It is a vertical line.
2007-09-05 10:50:03 · answer #5 · answered by Brian L 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You get the answer 4 / 0 which is not defined. This simply means that the slope is not defined. This happens when the line joining the points is a vertical line ( perpendicular to X-axis ). Vertical lines do not have slopes defined.
2007-09-05 10:49:12 · answer #6 · answered by Madhukar 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your answers show that the line is vertical. Now the definition of slope is a measure of how much a line has been tilted from it's horizontal position. The maximum tilt possible is when it is vertical where the value is undefined.
2007-09-05 10:55:32 · answer #7 · answered by ishaan 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no slope. undefined slope. vertical line.
2007-09-05 10:56:14 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your answer is correct. One of the answers explains it.
2007-09-05 10:52:46 · answer #9 · answered by cidyah 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋