College Algebra Sample Problems, Lesson 1.3

 

Write this equation in standard form:
 

y=6x-17	Problem
-6x+y=-17	Subtract 6x from both sides of the equation. You are trying to get the "x" and "y" terms on the left side, and the constant term on the right side of the equation
A=-6; B=1; C=-17	Once in standard form the coefficient of x is A, the coefficient of y is B, and the constant is C.

Graph this equation:
 
 

4x+2y+8=0	Problem
2y+8=-4x	Your goal is to first solve the equation for y. Begin by subtracting 4x from both sides
2y=-4x-8	Subtract 8 from both sides
y=-2x-4	Divide both sides by 2
X Y 0 -4 1 -6 .5 -5 -1 -2 -2 0	Make a table of values, by picking at least 5 values for x and calculating the corresponding values for y
	Plot each of the five ordered pairs that resulted from the above step. Try to sketch a line which includes all 5 points. Because this is possible in this problem, it is a linear equation. Because this graph is also a function, this shows we have a linear function.