To find the slope of a trend line that passes through two points, you can use the slope formula, which is:
Slope (m) = (y2 – y1) / (x2 – x1)
For the points (3, 3) and (18, 26):
- Point 1 (x1, y1) = (3, 3)
- Point 2 (x2, y2) = (18, 26)
Now, substitute the values into the slope formula:
m = (26 – 3) / (18 – 3)
Calculate the differences:
- y2 – y1 = 26 – 3 = 23
- x2 – x1 = 18 – 3 = 15
Now, plug these results back into the slope formula:
m = 23 / 15
Therefore, the slope of the trend line that passes through the points (3, 3) and (18, 26) is:
m = 1.53 (approximately)
This means that for every 15 units that the x-coordinate increases, the y-coordinate increases by about 23 units, indicating a positive trend in the data represented by these points.