286 COORDINATE GEOMETRY (Chapter 13)

D THE EQUATION OF A LINE

Consider the line with equation y = 2x. y
$
For all points on the line, the y-coordinate is always
double the x-coordinate. "
For example, the points: #
(¡2, ¡4), (¡1, ¡2), (0, 0), (1, 2), (2, 4) and (3, 6)
x
all lie on the line.
!" !# # "
The graph of y = 2x including these points is shown !#
plotted alongside.
!"
EQUATION OF A LINE

The equation of a line is an equation which connects the x and y-coordinates of all points
on the line.

Example 5 Self Tutor

State in words the meaning of the equation y = 3x + 7.

y = 3x + 7 connects the x and y values for every point on the line

where the y-coordinate is three times the x-coordinate, plus 7.

Example 6 Self Tutor

By inspection only, find the equations of the straight lines passing through the following
points:
a x 1 2 3 4 5 b x 1 2 3 4 5
y ¡3 ¡6 ¡9 ¡12 ¡15 y 5 4 3 2 1

a Each y-value is ¡3 times its corresponding x-value, so y = ¡3x.

b The sum of each x and y-value is always 6, so x + y = 6.

EXERCISE 13D
1 State in words the meaning of the equation:
a y =x+3 b y = 5x c y = 2x ¡ 6 d x+y =5
2 By inspection only, find the equations of the straight lines passing through the following
points:
a x 1 2 3 4 5 b x 2 3 4 5 6
y 4 8 12 16 20 y 4 5 6 7 8
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 COORDINATE GEOMETRY (Chapter 13) 287

c x 0 1 2 3 d x 0 1 2 3
y 0 ¡2 ¡4 ¡6 y 3 2 1 0

e x 1 2 3 4 5 f x 1 2 3 4 5
y 3 5 7 9 11 y 1 3 5 7 9

E GRADIENT OR SLOPE
Consider the two diagrams below. As we go from left to right along each line, the line from
A to B travels up, but the line from C to D travels down. We say that [AB] has an upwards
gradient whereas [CD] has a downwards gradient.

B C
GEOMETRY
PACKAGE
up down

A D

We use gradient or slope as a measure of a line’s steepness. Horizontal lines are said to
have zero gradient. Upwards sloping lines have positive gradients, whereas downwards
sloping lines have negative gradients.

Gradient is the comparison of the vertical

step to the horizontal step.
vertical step vertical
gradient = step
horizontal step

When calculating the gradient of a line, it is a good idea horizontal step

to first move horizontally in the positive direction.

Example 7 Self Tutor

a
Find the gradient of: B
a [AB] b [BC] 2 gradient = 2
3
A
3
B
b
¡1
C B 4 gradient = 4
A
!% = ¡ 14
C
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 288 COORDINATE GEOMETRY (Chapter 13)

We see examples of gradient every day:

1 vertical step = 1
gradient of road = 6
horizontal step = 6

2m
8m
56 m
4m

10 m 4m
2 4 56
gradient of roof = 8 gradient of stairs = 10 gradient of tower = 4
1 2 = 14
= 4 = 5

For a horizontal line the vertical step is 0. This gives 0 as the numerator, so the gradient
of a horizontal line is 0.
For a vertical line, the horizontal step is 0. So the denominator is 0 and the gradient of
the vertical line is undefined.

EXERCISE 13E.1
1 State the gradients of the lines labelled:

c
a b d
e

g h
f i

2 On grid paper draw a line segment with gradient:

a 12 b 23 c ¡ 14 d 2= 2
1 e 1 f ¡3
4
g 3 h ¡ 52 i 0 j 1 15 k 10 l undefined

3 Find the gradients of the following:

a b c

3m 10 m 6m
4m 150 m
4m
1 km
slippery-dip barn roof road up hill
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 COORDINATE GEOMETRY (Chapter 13) 289

4 a Determine the gradient of:

G F
i [OA] ii [OB] iii [OC]
iv [OD] v [OE] vi [OF] E D
vii [OG] viii [OH] ix [OI]
b Using the results of a, copy and complete the H
following statements: C
i The gradient of a horizontal line is ......
ii The gradient of a vertical line is ...... I B
iii As line segments become steeper, their
gradients ...... O A

5 U
S
altitude

Q
P
R T V W
O
Imagine that you are walking across the countryside from O to W, i.e., from left to right.
a Indicate when you are going uphill.
b Indicate when you are going downhill.
c Where is the steepest positive gradient?
d Where is the steepest negative gradient?
e Where is the gradient 0?
f Where is the gradient positive and least?
6 By plotting the points on graph paper, find the gradients of the lines joining the
following pairs of points:
a O(0, 0) and A(2, 6) b O(0, 0) and B(¡4, 2)
c G(0, ¡1) and H(2, 5) d K(1, 1) and L(¡2, ¡2)
e M(3, 1) and N(¡1, 3) f P(¡2, 4) and Q(2, 0)

INVESTIGATION 1 THE GRADIENT OF A LINE

What to do: WORKSHEET

1 Copy and complete:

y-step E
Line segment x-step y-step
x-step
1 line 1 D
[BC] 2 1 2
[DE] C
[AC] B G
[BE] A
[AE] line 2
[FG] F
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