Lecture 3: Graphing Linear Equations

Last week, we discussed a bit more about linear equations and how to
simplify equations with the variable on both sides, and also we
discussed how to set up an algebraic equation from a word description.
This week, we expand again upon some of those ideas and start to
discuss how to find solutions to linear equations of more than one
variable. In your textbook reading this week, you see that there is a
correspondence between the ordered pairs and graphs of section 1.3
and the solution of linear equations of two variables, as in section 4.1.
The key idea this week is that there are several ordered pairs that
satisfy any linear equation of the form ax + by = c, where a, b, and c
are constants and x and y are the variables. In fact, if we allow x and y
to belong to the set of all real numbers, there are an infinite number
of ordered pairs that satisfy the equation. When we look at all of
these ordered pairs visually, it will look like a straight line, hence the
word linear equation.
The method by which the equation solutions can be visualized is by
plotting the ordered pairs on the Cartesian coordinate system. For
those of you unfamiliar with this system, recall the old game
Battleship, where the players kept calling out points on the grid like
G-4, or C-5. These pairs represent a point on the map, with the
alphabetic character representing a particular row of points, and the
number representing a column in that row. The Cartesian coordinate
system similarly represents a map of the ordered pairs, with a pair
(x,y) representing a point that is x units away horizontally and y units
away vertically from the origin, which is the point (0,0). The ability to
represent the solutions to linear equations and inequalities in this way
is of great help in the solutions of many problems, as the next few
examples will show.

The minimum amount of information needed to create a graph of a

straight line is two ordered pairs. For example, take the ordered pairs
(4,7) and (3,4). When these points are placed on the Cartesian
coordinate system, one can draw the line that passes through both
points. But what is the associated equation?
Slope
The first thing we can do is determine the slope of the line, which is
defined as the vertical (north-south) distance between the two points
(the rise) divided by the horizontal (east-west) distance between the
points (the run). It is most often represented by the variable m and
for the ordered pairs (X1,Y1) and (X2,Y2), the equation for the slope is:

m=

y2 y1
x2 x1

The slope of the line defines its steepness on the graph. Once it is
known, it can be used to generate the various equations for lines as are
described below.
There are two special cases of slope as described in section 4.2 of the
text. If Y2- Y1 = 0, the slope is zero, and thus the line is all run and no
rise. This is a horizontal line. Conversely, if X2- X1 = 0, the slope is
infinite (undefined), and thus is all rise and no run. This is a vertical
line.
Example 1Slope of line through (3,4) and (4,7)
Before we move onto the equations, we can figure out the slope of our
line through the ordered pairs (3,4) and (4,7). In this case, Y2 = 7 and
Y1 = 4, while X2 = 4 and X1 = 3. Thus:

m=

74 3
= =3
43 1
m=3

Thus, the slope of the line is 3.

Equations of lines
Once we know the slope of a line and at least one point, we can write
an equation for it in terms of x and y. The first of these is the pointslope form of a line.
If you know the slope and at least one ordered pair that belongs to
that line (for example, lets use (3,4) from our previous example), we
can use an arbitrary point on the line represented by x and y, or (x,y)
and solve the slope equation for y to get the slope. This is done in
section 4.5 of the text and is repeated here with our known ordered
pair (X1,Y1) = (3,4). If we use Y2 = Y and X2 = X in the slope equation,
we get:

m=

y4
x3

To solve for Y, start by multiplying both sides by (x - 3):

y4
( x 3)
x3
m( x 3) = y 4
y 4 = m( x 3)

m ( x 3) =

Finally, substitute the previously-calculated slope, m=3:

y 4 = 3( x 3)
This is the point-slope equation of our line. It should be used when one
knows the slope of a line and one ordered pair through which the line
passes, or when one knows two ordered pairs, as is our case. Note that

we started by calculating the slope m, then picked an arbitrary point

(X,Y) on the line and solved the slope equation for Y to arrive at this
form.
The general form of the point-slope equation is:

y y1 = m( x x1 )
Where the subscript 1 refers to the ordered pair (X1,Y1) that we knew
in advance, (3,4).
The second form of an equation for a line is called the slope-intercept
form. It is the equation we can derive if we know the slope of a line
and its y-intercept, which is the point at which the line crosses the yaxis (the point where x = 0). In this case, rather than starting with
just any ordered pair on the line and its slope, we need to start with
the y-intercept, which is the ordered pair (0,b).
If we solve the slope equation with an arbitrary point on the line (X,Y)
and the y-intercept (0,b), we get the following when we solve for y:

m=

y b y b
=
x0
x

Multiply both sides by X:

y b
x
x
y b = mx

m x =

Now add b to both sides:

y b (+ b ) = mx (+b)
y = mx + b
This is the general form of the slope-intercept equation for a line.
Unfortunately, we do not know the intercept for the line from example
1 that passes through (3,4) and (4,7). However, by simply reducing the
point-slope form of that line, we can get the y-intercept:

y 4 = 3( x 3)
Distribute 3 on the right side of the equation:

y 4 = (3 x 3 3)
y 4 = 3x 9
Finally, add 4 to both sides:

y 4 (+ 4 ) = 3 x 9 (+4)
y = 3x 5
Thus, the line that passes through (3,4) and (4,7) also passes through
(0,-5) and thus the y-intercept (b) is equal to 5.
Example 2 Demand vs. Price
Suppose you did some market research for a new widget you are
selling. The data suggests that the number of people out of 100 that
would buy the widget decreases by 20 for every 50-dollar increase in
price, with a demand of 79 out of 100 at a price of 100 dollars. You
wish to present this data in your internal marketing report, so what is
the equation of the line if X is the widget price and Y is the associated
demand, measured in number of buyers per 100 people?

First, we calculate the slope, which is, as we recall, rise in Y divided by

run in X. We are given that for every increase of 50 in X, Y drops by
20 out of 100. Thus, the slope is:

20
2
=
50
5
2
m=
5

m=

So the slope is 2/5. Now, since 79 buyers are interested in the

widget at the 100 dollar price range, we have an ordered pair on the
line, (X1,Y1) = (100,79). We can now use the point-slope form to create
an equation. With m=-2/5, we get:

y y1 = m( x x1 )
2
y 79 = ( x 100)
5
We can then reduce it to the slope-intercept form:

2
2
y 79 = ( x ( ) 100)
5
5
2
200
y 79 = x +
5
5
2
y 79 = x + 40
5
2
y 79 (+ 79 ) = x + 40 (+79)
5

2
y = x + 119
5
Which means that the y-intercept is 119. This brings up an interesting
questionsince the y-intercept is the point at which X = 0 and X is
price in this example, and demand Y is measured in interested buyers
per 100 people, how can 119 out of 100 people want a product at zero
dollars?
Graphing Linear Equations
As stated at the beginning of the lecture, the graph of a line is the
visualization of the infinite solutions to the equation of the form aX
+bY=c. It was also mentioned that all we need to know in order to
graph a line are two ordered pairs that fall on the line. Once these
points are placed in the Cartesian coordinate system, one can draw the
line through them.
But how do we get the two points? If we have the point-slope form, we
know that one point that falls on the line is embedded in the equation,
given by (X1,Y1). Another ordered pair can be found by substituting an
arbitrary value for X and solving for Y. Similarly, if we have the slopeintercept form, we already know that one ordered pair is (0,b), where
b is the y-intercept. Another ordered pair can again be found by
substituting an arbitrary value of X into the equation and solving for Y.
Example 3Graph of Y-2 = 2(x-5)
We already know from looking at the equation that one ordered pair on
the line is (5,2) by comparing with the general point-slope form. The
other point necessary for graphing will come from the solution to the
equation with, for example X=2:

y 2 = 2( x 5)
Substituting X=2 gives:

y 2 = 2(2 5)
y 2 = (2 2 2 5)
y 2 = (4 10)
y 2 = 6
y 2 (+2) = 6 (+2)
y = 4
Thus, the ordered pairs we need are (5,2) and (2,-4). The plot of this
equation appears below:

Example 4Linear inequalities of more than one variable

The graph of a linear inequality is slightly different from that of a
line. This is because the solution lies in the infinite area underneath
(for less than) or above (for greater than) the line defined by the
inequality if the inequality symbol were replaced by an equals sign.
As an example, the minimum clock period we can apply to a circuit
element called a flip-flop must be greater than the propagation delay
through the circuit. Without going into too much detail, we represent
the clock period with Y and set up the following inequality:

y > 0.69 x + 1.5

Where x is the propagation delay. We can create a graph for this
inequality of the type shown in section 4.6 of the text. The line
defining the boundary is y = 0.69x + 1.5, and the inequality suggests
that all values above this line are solutions to the inequality. Physically,
this means that only those values of X that create ordered pairs in the
area above the curve have a low enough propagation delay short enough
to allow a clock period given by the value of Y in the ordered pair.
For example, if X=5, as in the plot at the top of the next page, note
that a period of 3 falls below the curve and thus (5,3) does not solve
the inequality. By contrast, a period of 6 falls above the curve and
thus (5,6) solves the inequality, so a period of 6 allows enough time for
the data to propagate through the flip-flop. Note that the boundary
line is dashed, indicating that it is not part of the solution, but
everything in the shaded area (indicated by the parallel lines) solves
the inequality.

In summary, we covered a few examples of how equations for lines are

derived, and how one can use graphs on the Cartesian coordinate
system to visualize the infinite number of solutions to these equations.
We also saw an example of a linear inequality and how it can also be
graphed. These methods are quite useful in finding the solution to
systems of linear equations and inequalities, which will be covered next
week.