What is the slope-intercept form of a line?

Answer 1

Slope-intercept form is one way of expressing a linear function (a fancy name for a straight line) as an equation.

The slope-intercept form is modeled in the following way:

y=mx+b

where m represents the slope of the line and brepresents the y-intercept.

Slope represents rate of change (how much y values change in relation to x) and on a graph determines how "sloped" a line is. Values of m close to 0 mean the line is more horizontal, or less sloped. As m approaches negative infinity or positive infinity, the line becomes more vertical, or more sloped.

The y-intercept is simply the coordinate where the line crosses the y-axis on a Cartesian Plane. The point is (0, b).

The slope-intercept method is popular because of its convenience. Using it, a graph of the line can be constructed very easily by hand without having to rearrange the equation. That said, in practical applications where computer software or graphing calculators are used, the form of a linear equation is less important. Slope-intercept form is often used by teachers and school textbooks.