BUSINESS MATHEMATICS

Dr. Addial Manjonjo

21st September, 2022

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Linear Graphs
In this Lecture we will cover:
I Linear graphs
I Solving simultaneous equations
I Non-linear graphs

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Linear equation in two variables
A linear equation in two variables x and y can be written in the
form
y = ax + b (or y = b + ax)
where a and b are constants.

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Example
The following are examples of linear equations in two variables
a) y = 3x + 5
In this case a = 3 and b = 5
b) y = − 34 − 52 x
In this case a = − 52 and b = − 34
c) y = x
In this case a = 1 and b = 0
d) y = 5
In this case a = 0 and b = 5

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I We do not restrict ourselves to the letters x and y when
describing graphs.
I For demand and supply graphs in economics, the quantity
demanded ( or supplied) is usually represented with the letter
q and the price of the quantity is usually represented with the
letter p.
I An example of a graph of supply of a commodity is
1
p = 30 + q
2
1
I In this case a = 2 and b = 30

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I Any linear equation in two variables can always be rearranged
to the form y = a + bx.
I For example the equation 4y + 2x = 5 can be rearranged to
make y the subject of the formula.
I The process of making y the subject of the formula is similar
to “solving the equation for y ”.

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Example
Express the following graphs in the form y = ax + b
a) 2x + 4y = 5
b) 5x + 3y = 7
c) 3x − y = 4

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Solution:
a) To make y the subject of the formula we use the same procedure
as if we are solving for y
2x + 4y = 5
4y =5 − 2x
4y 5 − 2x
=
4 4
5 2x 5 1
y = − =⇒ y = − x
4 4 4 2
1 5
y = − x+
2 4

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Solution:
b)
5x + 3y = 5
3y = 5 − 5x
3y 5 − 5x 5 5x
= =⇒ y = −
3 3 3 3
5 5
y = − x+
3 3

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Solution(continued):
c)
3x − y = 4
−y = 4 − 3x
−y 4 − 3x 4 3x
= =⇒ y = −
−1 −1 −1 −1
y = 3x − 4

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I Recall that a single equation with 2 variables has infinitely
many solutions since for any value of x there is a
corresponding y value that makes the equation true.
I For example, for the equation y = 3x + 4, we can find a
y −value for any x−value that we choose.

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when x
= 0, y = 3(0) + 4 = 4
when x
= 1, y = 3(1) + 4 = 7
when x
= 2, y = 3(2) + 4 = 10
when x
= 3, y = 3(3) + 4 = 13
 
1 1
when x = , y =3 +4=1+4=5
3 3
when x = −2, y = 3(−2) + 4 = −6 + 4 = −2

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I The main reason for making y the subject is to make the
above evaluation easier to handle.
I A succinct way of writing these is to express them as ordered
pairs (x, y).
I The convention is that we write the value of the x variable
first and then y variable second.
I Therefore, in the above examples the ordered pairs that makes
the equation y = 3x + 4 true are,  
1
(0, 4), (1, 7), (2, 10), (3, 13), , 5 , (−2, −2)
3

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Example
List any 5 ordered pair solutions for the following linear equation
2x + y = 5.

Solution:
Before we begin calculating ordered pairs its much more helpful
to express our equation in the form y = ax + b the subject of
the formula first. Therefore,
2x + y = 5
=⇒ y = −2x + 5

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Solution(continued):

when x = −2, y = −2(−2) + 5 = 4 + 5 = 9

when x = −1, y = −2(−1) + 5 = 2 + 5 = 7
when x = 0, y = −2(0) + 5 = 0 + 5 = 5
when x = 1, y = −2(1) + 5 = −2 + 5 = 3
when x = 2, y = −2(2) + 5 = −4 + 5 = 1
The ordered pairs are
(−2, 9), (−1, 7), (0, 5), (1, 3), (2, 1)

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I Another way of presenting ordered pairs is to use a table of
values.
I Below are two ways of presenting a table of values for the
equation y = −2x + 5
x y
-2 9
-1 7 x -2 -1 0 1 2
0 5 y 9 7 5 3 1
1 3
2 1

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I The solutions (ordered pairs) to linear equations with two
variables can be presented on a graph.
I The most common way of constructing graphs is to use a
Cartesian coordinate system (name after René Descartes).
I In this system we have a horizontal number line (or horizontal
axis) called x−axis.
I A vertical number line intersecting the x−axis at right angles
is drawn.
I This vertical line is called the y −axis.
I The axes meet at the point where the value on both the
horizontal and vertical axis is zero.
I This point is the called the origin.
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I The numbers on the x−axis to the right of the origin are
positive and the number to the left of the origin are negative.
I Similarly, the numbers above the origin on the y −axis are
positive and those below the origin are negative.
I All the points in the plane are determined by these two
intersecting axes.
I The axes divide the plane into four regions, called quadrants.

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 y
5
4
3
2
1
0
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5x
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5

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I Points on a Cartesian plane are represented by an ordered pair
(x, y ), where x represent number of movements in the
horizontal axis and y represent the number of movements in
the vertical axis.
I The numbers x and y are also called the coordinates of a
point.
I Any coordinates can be plotted on the graph by putting a dot
(•) at the position of the the coordinates.

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Example
Plot and label the following points on the graph.
A(2, 3), B(0, 2), C (2, , 0), D(−4, −3), E (5, 1), F (5, −1)

The notation used in the example is commonly used to label points.

Therefore A(2, 3) means a point named A with coordinates (2, 3)

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 y
5
4
A
3
B
2
E
1
C
0
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5xF
-1
-2
D
-3
-4
-5

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 I We are now in a position to construct graphs of linear
equations.
I We follows the following steps:

Step 1
Express the equation in the form y = ax + b.

Step 2
Find at least 3 pairs of ordered pairs that are solutions of the
linear equation.

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Step 3
Plot the points on a Cartesian graph.

Step 4
Construct a straight line (using a ruler) to join the points you
plotted in Step 3 .

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NB:
I In Step 1, it is not compulsory to first write you equation in
the form y = ax + b, but doing so simplify your working of
finding ordered pairs.
I Strictly speaking, you only need two ordered pairs to construct
a graph of a linear equation. However, you should find at least
3 ordered pairs to get extra assurance that your ordered pairs
are correct.

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Example
Given that 2x − y = 4.
a) Express this equation in the form y = ax + b.
b) Find 4 ordered pairs that are solution to this equation.
c) Plot these ordered pairs on a graph.
d) Draw a line joining ordered pairs you plotted in c).
d) Use the graph to find the value of x when y = −3.2
e) Use the graph to find the value of y when y = 2.6

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Solution:
a) To make y the subject of the formula we get.
2x − y = 4
−y = −2x + 4
−y −2x 4
= +
−1 −1 −1
y = 2x − 4

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Solution(continued):
b) We can now pick any 4 values of x and find the
corresponding values of y
when x = 0, y = 2(0) − 4 = 0 − 4 = −4
when x = 1, y = 2(1) − 4 = 2 − 4 = −2
when x = 2, y = 2(2) − 4 = 4 − 4 = 0
when x = 3, y = 2(3) − 4 = 6 − 4 = 2

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Solution(continued):
While its not compulsory, you can put this information on
a table of values.
x 0 1 2 3
y -4 -2 0 2
c) It’s also not compulsory to label points as I have done
here. Just putting dots will suffice.

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 y
5
4
3
(3, 2)
2
1
(2, 0)
0
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5x
-1
(1, −2)
-2
-3
(0, −4)
-4
-5

Finally we join these points with a straight line

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 y
5
4
3
2
1
0
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5x
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5

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Solution(continued):
This explains why equations of the form y = ax + b are called
linear equations. All the ordered pairs that are solutions to linear
equations lie in straight line when plotted on a graph.
d) When y = −3.2, the x−value on the graph is x = 0.4
e) When x = 2.6, the y −value on the graph is y = 1.2

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Example
Draw the graph of 3y + x + 3 = 0

Solution:
Rearranging this equation we get
3y + x + 3 = 0
3y = −x − 3
1 3
y = − x−
3 3
1
y = − x −1
3
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Solution(continued):
To calculate the coordinates we can pick any set x-values e.g.
0,1,2,3. However, to avoid working with fractions we can choose
points that multiples of 3 because it helps eliminate fractions
1
when x = −3, y = − (−3) − 1 = 1 − 1 = 0
3
1
when x = 0, y = − (0) − 1 = 0 − 1 = −1
3
1
when x = 3, y = − (3) − 1 = −1 − 1 = −2
3

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 y
5
4
3
2
1
0
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5x
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5

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Example
Draw the graph of y = 3

Solution:
Even though this equation looks like its in one variable, we can rewrite in the form
y = ax + b as
y = 0x + 3
We can find the coordinates as follows
when x = 0, y = 0(0) + 3 = 0 + 3 = 3
when x = 1, y = 0(1) + 3 = 0 + 3 = 3
when x = 2, y = 0(2) + 3 = 0 + 3 = 3

As you can see the y −value of the equation remains 5 regardless of the value of x

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 y
5
4
3
2
1
0
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5x
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5

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I In this section we look at the last method of solving
simultaneous equations: the graphical method.
I Recall that for any equation, say y = 2x − 4, the points on the
graph of this equation represent solutions to this equation.
I We now draw a graph another linear equation, say y = −x − 1
on the same axis.

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What can we say about the point of intersection of the two graphs?
The coordinates of the point of intersection are a solution to both
equations and therefore a solution to the simultaneous equations
y = 2x − 4
y = −x − 1

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Example
Solve the following simultaneous equations using the graphical
method
y = 2x − 4
y = −x − 1

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Solution:
Solution The first part is find the ordered pairs that satisfy each
equation. For the equation y = 2x − 4 we have
when x = 0, y = 2(0) − 4 = 0 − 4 = −4
when x = 1, y = 2(1) − 4 = 2 − 4 = −2
when x = 2, y = 2(2) − 4 = 4 − 4 = 0

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Solution(continued):
For the equation y = −x − 1 we have
when x = −2, y = −(−2) − 1 = 2 − 1 = 1
when x = 0, y = −0 − 1 = −1
when x = 3, y = −3 − 1 = −4

In the second equation I have chosen the values x as −2, 0 and

3 for no good reason except to show you that you can choose
any values you like. We now construct both graphs on the same
axis

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 y
5
4

y = −x − 1
3 y = 2x − 4

2
1
0
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5x
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5

At the point of intersection of the two graphs we have x = 1 and y = 2. Therefore, the
solution to the 2 simultaneous equations is x = 1 and y = 2.
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Example
Solve the following simultaneous equations using the graphical
method
3x + 4y = 33
2x − 3y = 5

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Solution:
The first part is find the ordered pairs that satisfy each equation.
We rearrange this the first equation as follows
3x + 4y = 33
33 − 3x
y=
4

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Solution(continued):
Therefore, we have
33 − 3(1) 30
when x = 1, y = = = 7.5
4 4
33 − 3(3) 24
when x = 3, y = = =6
4 4
33 − 3(5) 18
when x = 5, y = 2 = = 4.5
4 4

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Solution(continued):
The second equation is 2x − 3y = 5. After rearranging we get,
2x − 5
y=
3
2(−2) − 5 −9
when x = −2, y = = = −3
3 3
2(1) − 5 −3
when x = 1, y= = = −1
3 3
2(2.5) − 5 5 − 5
when x = 2.5, y = = =0
3 3
We now construct both graphs on the same axis

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 y
8
7
6
5 3x + 4y = 33

4
3
2
1
0
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8x
-1
-2
2x − 3y = 5
-3

The solution is given by the point of intersection i.e. x = 7 and y = 3.

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If the degree of the equation is not 1 then the equation is not linear.
Non-linear equations
These some examples of non-linear functions.
y = x 2 + 2x − 3
√
y = x
y = x 3 + 2x 2 + 3x − 1

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I Drawing the graph of non linear equations follows the same
steps as in linear equations. In this case however we need more
than just 3 points.
I We need a few more points to identify the general form of the
graph.
I After plotting the points we then join then with a smooth
curve.

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Example
Draw the graph of the following function
y = x 2 + 2x − 3

Solution:
Just as before the first part is find the ordered pairs that satisfy
each equation.
when x = −4, y = (−4)2 + 2(−4) − 3 = 16 − 8 − 3 = 5
when x = −3, y = (−3)2 + 2(−3) − 3 = 9 − 6 − 3 = 0

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Solution:

when x = −2,y = (−2)2 + 2(−2) − 3 = 4 − 4 − 3 = −3

when x = −1,y = (−1)2 + 2(−1) − 3 = 1 − 2 − 3 = −4
when x = 0, y = (0)2 + 2(0) − 3 = 0 + 0 − 3 = −3
when x = 1, y = (1)2 + 2(1) − 3 = 1 + 2 − 3 = 0
when x = 2, y = (2)2 + 2(2) − 3 = 4 + 4 − 3 = 5
We now plot the points on the graph

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 y
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6x
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5

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Finally we join these points by drawing a smooth curve.
y
6
y = x 2 + 2x − 3
5
4
3
2
1
0
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6x
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5

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Example
Draw the graph of the following function
y = x − x2

Solution:
Just as before the first part is find the ordered pairs that satisfy
each equation.
when x = −2, y = −2 − (−2)2 = −2 − 4 = −6
when x = −1, y = −1 − (−1)2 = −1 − 1 = −2

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Solution:
Just as before the first part is find the ordered pairs that satisfy each equa-
tion.
when x = 0,y = 0 − (0)2 = 0
when x = 1,y = 1 − (1)2 = 1 − 1 = 0
when x = 2,y = 2 − (2)2 = 2 − 4 = −2
when x = 3,y = 3 − (3)2 = 3 − 9 = −6
We now plot the points on the graph

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 y
2
1
0 x
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7

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Finally we join these points by drawing a smooth curve.
y
2
1
0 x
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7

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