Determining Straight Line

Equations in Point-Slope
Form
Jamie Frost
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@DrFrostMaths

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Teacher Notes
Prerequisite
Knowledge Future Links
• Sketching a straight line in the form • Vector equations of straight
or lines.
• Gradient of a straight line using two
points.
• Using
• Gradients of parallel lines.
• Gradients of perpendicular lines.

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Skills in this Lesson
495 Determining the equation of a straight line in point-slope form
495a Determine an equation of a straight line given the gradient and one point
using

495b Determine an equation of a straight line, in the form , parallel to another using
495c Determine an equation of a straight line, in the form , given two points using

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Skills in this Lesson
495 Determining the equation of a straight line in point-slope form
495d Find an equation of a straight line, in the form , perpendicular to another using
495e Determine the equation of the perpendicular bisector of a line using
495f Determine the area of a triangle enclosed by an axis and two intersecting
lines.
495g Determine the area of a quadrilateral enclosed by both axes and two
intersecting lines.
495h Determine the equation of a line for a given context using
495i Determine the area of a triangle given by 3 coordinates, given the equation of
a line between two of them.

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Recap:
For straight line graphs and more generally
for curved graphs, the line consists of all
points which satisfy the equation.

+1
𝑦
5

2𝑥
For example, is on the line
because when substituting

𝑦=
4 into :

3
If a straight line is in the form
2 +𝑚 then:
𝑐
1
• is the gradient. This gives a
measure of the steepness of
+1 the line, and defined as the
𝑥 change in each time
−2 −1 1 2 3 4 increases by .
Here,
−1 • is the -intercept. It’s the
value of for which the line
−2 cuts the -axis.
Here
Prerequisite Check: Straight Line Go to
Solutio
Equations ns

1 A straight line has the 3 Determing the coordinates of

equation . Determine the the -intercept and -intercept of
unknown constant in each the line with equation
coordinate.
a b c
4 Determine the gradient of the
line that passes through the
2 On the axes provided, sketch points and
the lines with equations:
a 5 Determine the equation of the
b straight line that passes
𝑦 through the points and

6 Determine the gradient of the

4 lines with equation:
a
b
2 c

2 4 𝑥
Prerequisite Check: Straight Line Go to
Solutio
Equations ns

7 A line is parallel to another line 9 and are points on the and

with equation and passes axes respectively. The
through the point . Determine equation of line is .
the equation of . Determine the coordinates of
and .
8 A line is perpendicular to
another line with equation and 𝑦
passes through the point .
Determine the equation of the 𝑙1
line.
𝐴

𝑙2

𝐵 𝑥
Solutions
1 A straight line has the 2 On the axes provided, sketch
equation . Determine the the lines with equations:
unknown constant in each
a
coordinate.
a b c b

𝒂=−𝟓 𝒃=𝟏 𝒄=− 𝟏 𝑦

All points on a 2
graph must obey
We need two
the equation.
points to sketch a
4 𝑥
Here and .
Substituting into
straight line. Pick 2
two values of
the equation:
suitably far away
For , we can see that if
and then use the
then . Similarly if then .
equation to find
the value of .
Solutions

3 Determing the coordinates of On the -axis, , so

the -intercept and -intercept of ( 𝟎 , 𝟏𝟐 ) , ( 𝟒 , 𝟎 substituting:
)
the line with equation

The gradient given two

4 Determine the gradient of the points is
line that passes through the
points and 𝒎=−𝟐

5 Determine the equation of the

straight line that passes 𝒎= 𝟒 Using :
through the points and

6 Determine the gradient of the

lines with equation:
a 𝒎=𝟑
b 𝒎=−𝟏 We need to make the subject so
the equation is in the form
c 𝟑
𝒎=−
𝟒
Solutions
7 A line is parallel to another line 9 and are points on the and
with equation and passes axes respectively. The
through the point . Determine equation of line is .
the equation of . Determine the coordinates of
and .

𝑚=4 If two straight lines

are parallel, they
have the same
𝑦

𝑙1
gradient.
8 A line is perpendicular to 𝐴
another line with equation and
passes through the point .
Determine the equation of the 𝑙2
line.

1
𝐵 𝑥

𝑚=4→𝑚⊥ =− If two straight lines are 𝑨 ( 𝟎,𝟔 )

4
perpendicular, the gradient
of one is the negative
reciprocal of the other, so
that
Different Straight Line Equation Forms
𝑦
( 𝒂𝒃)
𝒎

𝒄
Slope-Intercept Standard Form
Form

In this form, we use the The advantage of this form is

gradient and the -intercept that we can represent vertical
of the line to construct the lines (e.g. if , we get ), whereas
equation of the line. cannot.
This form also nicely
( 𝒙𝟏 , 𝒚𝟏) generalises to 3D; in skill 709
we will encounter the
𝒎 equations of planes.
This form, which we
explore in this lesson,
uses a fixed point on Point-Slope Form
the line, which is often
more useful if the -
intercept is unknown.
Proving the Equation

and are variables, which

change as we consider
𝑦 different points on the line.
(𝑥, 𝑦 )
therefore represents a
general point on the line.
( 𝑥1, 𝑦 1)
and are constants, so represents a
fixed point on the line.
If we hypothetically wanted a second
fixed point, we could refer to it as

𝑥
Then finding the gradient using the
general point and fixed point:

Rearranging:
Using
! The equation of a line that has gradient and passes This is known
through a point is: as point-slope
form because
it uses a point
and the
Determine the equation of a line that has
gradient/slope.
gradient and passes through the point
You might find it
helpful to write
Substitute
Old Way known gradient
New out the
information.
into Way , 𝑥 , 𝑦 =( 2 , 5 )

𝑦=3𝑥+𝑐
𝑚=3 ( 1 1)
Substitute point

.
to work out the 𝑦 −5=3 ( 𝑥 −2 )

• This required only one step!

• If we expanded out and simplified, we would get the same
equation as on the left.
Reflections • For this simple example, you might be tempted to stick
with the method on the left. But its usefulness becomes
apparent when you have more arbitrary expressions for the
gradient or the point, e.g. the equation of a line with gradient
that passes through
Quickfire drfrost.org/
s/
495a

Gradie Point (Unsimplified)

a nt Equation ?
b ?
c ?

d ?

e ?
Example Test Your
Understanding
We can use this formula to determine
2 Two lines and are parallel. has
the equation of a line parallel to equation and passes through as
another. shown. Determine the equation of
Two lines and are parallel. Line has
in the form .
equation and passes through the
point . Determine the equation of in
𝑦
𝑙1
the form where are integers.
𝑙2

Rearrange the
equation of into 𝐴 (5 ,0) 𝑥
the form so we
can read off the
gradient .

The gradient of
For line : will be equal to
?
Use using the
gradient and fixed
point of .

Scale the equation

so we don’t have
fractions. drfrost.org/ 495b
s/
Example Test Your
Understanding
We can determine the equation of a
3 A line passes through the points
line that goes through two points. and . Determine the equation of
in the form
A straight line passes through the
, where are integers.
points and . Determine its equation in
the form where are integers. 𝑦

Calculate the 𝑙 𝐵 ( 5 , 6)
gradient using the
two points. 𝐴 (− 1,0 ) 𝑥

5
𝑚= ?

Use using the gradient and

either of the two points.
7
Here we’ve used

drfrost.org/ 495c
s/
Example Test Your
Understanding
We can use this formula to determine
4 Two lines and are perpendicular.
the equation of a line perpendicular to Line has equation and passes
another. through the point . Determine the
Two lines and are perpendicular. Line
equation of in the form
has equation and passes through the
where are integers.
point . Determine the equation of in
the form where are integers.

Rearrange the For line :

equation of into
the form so we
can read off the
gradient . ?
The gradient of
For line : will be the
negative
reciprocal.
Use using the
gradient and fixed
point of .

drfrost.org/ 495d
s/
Perpendicular Bisectors
Determine the equation of the
perpendicular bisector of and
𝐵 ( 7 , 7)
Recall that a perpendicular bisector is the line
which is perpendicular to the line connecting
pe bis the two points, and cuts it in half. Every point
rp e c
en t o on the perpendicular bisector is the same
di r
cu distance from and .
la
𝐴 ( 3 ,5 )
r
Determine the midpoint of . This gives us
Midpoint: a point we know the perpendicular
bisector passes through. In this case we
could use inspection, e.g. is halfway
between and .
Determine the gradient of the
line passing through and .

Hence find the gradient of

the line perpendicular to it.

Now we have a point on the

perpendicular bisector and
its gradient, use
Test Your Understanding drfrost.org/
s/
495e

5 [SQA Higher 2012 Paper 1 Q23a]

Find the equation of , the perpendicular
bisector of the line joining to .
(4 marks)

Midpoint:

?
Remember: if the exam
question doesn’t ask for your
equation in a particular form,
there’s no need to manipulate
it further!
Recap: Point of Intersection Between 2
Lines

𝑦 Determine the coordinates

of the point for which the
𝑙1 lines , with equation and
the line , with equation ,
intersect.
𝑙2
Solve the equations
𝑥 simultaneously. If
they are both in the
form , we can simply
equate the right-
Substitute this value of hand-sides.
back into one of the
equations, e.g. , to
determine .

Intersect at
Area Enclosed Between Lines & An Axis
The lines and have the equations and 𝑦
respectively. The line intersects the and 𝑙1
axes at the points and and the lines and
intersect at the point . 𝐴𝐶
Determine the area of: 𝑙2
𝑂
a 𝐵 𝑥
b

a 𝑦
Intercepts of with 𝑙1 Area of
coordinate axes:
𝐴 ( 0,3 ) 𝐶 ( 2 , 2) units2
When 𝑙2
heigh
𝑥
When , 𝑂 t
base 𝐵 ( 6,0 )
𝑦
b 𝑙1 Area of
Intersection of and :
𝐴 ( 0,3 ) 𝐶 ( 2 , 2) units2
base heigh 𝑙 2
t
𝑥
𝑂 𝐵 ( 6,0 )
Test Your Understanding drfrost.org/
s/
495f

6 [Edexcel C1 Jan 2012 Q6c]

The line has equation .
The line crosses the -axis at the point and
the -axis at the point , as shown in the figure.
The equation of is .
The line crosses the -axis at the point .
Find the area of triangle .
(4 marks)

When , Area of

units2
When ,

?
Challenge Question drfrost.org/
s/
495g

7 The points and lies on the line . The line is 𝑦

𝑙1
perpendicular to , passes through , crosses the -
axis at and -axis at , as shown. 𝐷𝐵
Determine the exact area of the quadrilateral 𝐴 𝑙2
where is the origin.
𝑂 𝐶 𝑥

Area of We could also do ,

When , but this would be
harder as we’d
When , Area of : need the lengths of
and .
Area of :

?
Area of
Straight Line Equations in Context

On the island of Verity, the population is from years after the island
is discovered. After years the population of the island is .
After years the population of the island is .
The island administrators think the population, in terms of time, can
be described by a linear model.
Determine an equation linking with .

Since depends on , is the ‘’ and

is the ‘’. For convenience we
could write the information
above as coordinates.

Find the gradient in the usual

way, then use (but with the
correct variables).
Test Your Understanding drfrost.org/
s/
495h

8 [Edexcel AS Specimen Papers P1 Q3a]

A tank, which contained water, started to leak from a hole in its base.
The volume of water in the tank minutes after the leak started was
m3
The volume of water in the tank minutes after the leak started was
m3
The volume of water, m3, in the tank minutes after the leak started,
can be described by a linear model between and .
Find an equation linking with .
(4 marks)

?
Recap: Distance Between Two Points

Determine the distance

𝑦 between the points and .
𝐵 (6 , 4 )
𝒅
𝑥
𝚫𝒚
𝐴 (1,−2 ) 𝚫 𝒙

We can use Pythagoras’

theorem, using the
change in () and the
change in () between the
points.

! Distance between two

points:
Area of a Triangle Given 3 Points
A line passes through and . A second line is perpendicular to
and passes through .
a Determine the equation of .
b Determine the coordinate of the point where and
c intersect.
Hence, determine the area of the triangle .
a c 𝑦
Equation of :
𝑙1
𝐶 (9 , 4 )
𝐴 (1 , 3 )

Equation of : 𝐵 ( 5 , 1)
𝑥
𝐷 (7 , 0 )

Area

b
units2

Intersect at
Test Your Understanding drfrost.org/
s/
495i

9 A line passes through and . A second line is perpendicular to

and passes through .
The equation of is .
a Determine the equation of .
b Determine the coordinate of the point where and intersect.
c Hence, determine the area of the triangle .

a c 𝑦
𝑙1
𝐴 ( 0 , 6)

? 𝐶 ( 11, 3 )
𝐷 ( 2 , 0) 𝑥

𝐵 ( 4 ,−?6 )

b Area

? units2