What is the equation of the line that passes through the points (6, 3) and (4, 9)?

To find the equation of the line that passes through the points (6, 3) and (4, 9), we can follow these steps:

  1. Find the slope (m): The slope of a line passing through two points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) is calculated with the formula:
  2. m = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1)

  3. Using the given points (6, 3) and (4, 9):
    Let (x1, y1) = (6, 3) and (x2, y2) = (4, 9).
    So, we have:
  4. m = (9 - 3) / (4 - 6)

    m = 6 / -2

    m = -3

  5. Use the point-slope form to find the equation: Now that we have the slope, we can use one of the points to find the equation of the line. The point-slope form of the equation is:
  6. y - y1 = m(x - x1)

  7. Using the point (6, 3):
    Plugging in the slope and the coordinates of the point provides:
  8. y - 3 = -3(x - 6)

  9. Now, distribute and simplify the equation:
  10. y - 3 = -3x + 18

    y = -3x + 18 + 3

    y = -3x + 21

  11. Final Equation: Therefore, the equation of the line that passes through the points (6, 3) and (4, 9) is:
  12. y = -3x + 21

This linear equation can effectively be used for further analysis or plotting on a graph. It indicates a downward slope, which confirms the line goes down as x increases, exactly as expected from the two given points.

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