Forms of linear equations review (article) | Khan Academy (2024)

There are three major forms of linear equations: point-slope form, standard form, and slope-intercept form. We review all three in this article.

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  • Kelsen Miener

    7 years agoPosted 7 years ago. Direct link to Kelsen Miener's post “In the point slopes form,...”

    In the point slopes form, it looks like you're saying you could use either set of coordinates.I thought it was the first set of coordinates since it says x1 and y1. Please explain. Thanks.

    (19 votes)

    • Scott Ferguson

      4 years agoPosted 4 years ago. Direct link to Scott Ferguson's post “That is correct. You can ...”

      Forms of linear equations review (article) | Khan Academy (4)

      Forms of linear equations review (article) | Khan Academy (5)

      That is correct. You can definitely use either set of coordinates. Don't mix-and-match: you can't use x1 and y2, but you can use (x1, y1) or (x2, y2) and it will work just as well either way.

      (43 votes)

  • Betsy Glad

    3 years agoPosted 3 years ago. Direct link to Betsy Glad's post “How do you know when to u...”

    How do you know when to use point slope form vs slope intercept form?

    (16 votes)

  • ZetaFox

    3 years agoPosted 3 years ago. Direct link to ZetaFox's post “ax + by + c = 0ax + by =...”

    ax + by + c = 0
    ax + by = c

    I've heard of 2 "standard" forms of linear equations. Which one is correct?

    should c in the 1st line be -c though? since im moving it from the right to left...?

    (9 votes)

    • Khushi Viramgami

      3 years agoPosted 3 years ago. Direct link to Khushi Viramgami's post “hey! okay, so I'm pretty ...”

      Forms of linear equations review (article) | Khan Academy (13)

      hey! okay, so I'm pretty sure you're confusing a quadratic equation with a linear equation. A linear equation is a straight line, while a quadratic is a curve/parabola. You'll probably learn that later in algebra 1 and 2.

      anyways, the standard linear equation is ax+by=c, while the standard quadratic equation is slightly different from what you have; it should be ax^2+bx+c=0

      hope this helps!!

      (19 votes)

  • victoria.reed

    6 years agoPosted 6 years ago. Direct link to victoria.reed's post “when do you need to use s...”

    when do you need to use slope?

    (11 votes)

    • James Gallagher

      a year agoPosted a year ago. Direct link to James Gallagher's post “To determining the slope/...”

      To determining the slope/ steepness of a line. You should review the slope videos if you need help.

      (2 votes)

  • Corey Zuk

    3 years agoPosted 3 years ago. Direct link to Corey Zuk's post “i must be behind in math ...”

    i must be behind in math because all of this is way too confusing

    (8 votes)

  • em

    4 years agoPosted 4 years ago. Direct link to em's post “Why are point-slope opera...”

    Why are point-slope operations the opposite?
    For example, the point is (2,-3).
    why is y+3=3/4(x-2) correct but not y-3=3/4(x+2)?

    (4 votes)

    • Kim Seidel

      4 years agoPosted 4 years ago. Direct link to Kim Seidel's post “Point slope form is a var...”

      Point slope form is a variation of the slope formula:
      Slope m = (y2-y1)/(x2-x1)
      If you mulitply both sides by (x2-x1), then you get point slope form:
      (y2-y1) = m(x2-x1)
      Then, they swab a couple of variables to clarify the variables that stay. X2 becomes X, and Y2 becomes Y. And, you have the point slope form.

      Remember, slope is calculated as the change in Y over the change in X. So, it requires the subtraction.

      Hope this helps.

      (8 votes)

  • worldsage

    7 years agoPosted 7 years ago. Direct link to worldsage's post “Is it possible to convert...”

    Is it possible to convert standard form back to point-slope directly?

    (5 votes)

  • mickycarey

    7 months agoPosted 7 months ago. Direct link to mickycarey's post “In the previous exercise:...”

    In the previous exercise: "Linear equations in any form", is there a method to figure out from the graph the equation in standard form directly or do you have to work out one of the slope forms first and then re-arrange the formula?

    (4 votes)

    • Kim Seidel

      7 months agoPosted 7 months ago. Direct link to Kim Seidel's post “You would need to use poi...”

      You would need to use point-slope form or slope intercept form to create an equation. Then, convert it to standard form.

      (6 votes)

  • Stelios Kourentzis

    4 years agoPosted 4 years ago. Direct link to Stelios Kourentzis's post “at the end it says this i...”

    at the end it says this is a standard form y+3x=−10
    it sould be fist 3x +y= -10 isn't ?

    (4 votes)

    • Peter Dresslar

      3 years agoPosted 3 years ago. Direct link to Peter Dresslar's post “Specifically there are a ...”

      Specifically there are a lot of teachers that would mark y+3x=−10 wrong. Maybe correctly; the form is the whole point of the exercise.

      (2 votes)

  • ultraidiotboy

    3 years agoPosted 3 years ago. Direct link to ultraidiotboy's post “what’s point-slope form g...”

    what’s point-slope form going to be useful for?

    (4 votes)

    • etoile~

      3 years agoPosted 3 years ago. Direct link to etoile~'s post “Point slope form is impor...”

      Point slope form is important because it can give us another set of coordinate pairs when we are only given one. Using algebraic manipulation, you can find coordinates and the slope from just that equation which helps with graphing. Being able to readily switch from different linear equation forms helps solving complex problems. Hope this helps. 🙃

      (5 votes)

Forms of linear equations review (article) | Khan Academy (2024)

FAQs

What are the 5 different forms of linear equations? ›

Point Slope Form
Linear EquationGeneral FormExample
Point–slope formy – y1 = m(x – x1 )y – 3 = 6(x – 2)
General FormAx + By + C = 02x + 3y – 6 = 0
Intercept formx/a + y/b = 1x/2 + y/3 = 1
As a Functionf(x) instead of y f(x) = x + Cf(x) = x + 3
3 more rows
Oct 31, 2020

What is the linear equation in Algebra 1? ›

The slope-intercept form of a linear equation is y = mx + b. In the equation, x and y are the variables. The numbers m and b give the slope of the line (m) and the value of y when x is 0 (b).

What are the 3 formats for linear equations? ›

There are three major forms of linear equations: point-slope form, standard form, and slope-intercept form. We review all three in this article.

How to make a linear equation? ›

The standard form for linear equations in two variables is Ax+By=C. For example, 2x+3y=5 is a linear equation in standard form.

What are the 5 methods of solving a linear equation? ›

To solve a linear equation in two variables, any of the above-mentioned methods can be used i.e. graphical method, elimination method, substitution method, cross multiplication method, matrix method, determinants method.

What are the 4 types of linear functions? ›

Summary. Students learn about four forms of equations: direct variation, slope-intercept form, standard form and point-slope form.

What are the basics of linear equations? ›

A linear equation is an equation in which the highest power of the variable is always 1. It is also known as a one-degree equation. The standard form of a linear equation in one variable is of the form Ax + B = 0. Here, x is a variable, A is a coefficient and B is constant.

How to solve linear equations step by step? ›

The steps for solving linear equations are:
  1. Simplify both sides of the equation and combine all same-side like terms.
  2. Combine opposite-side like terms to obtain the variable term on one side of the equal sign and the constant term on the other.
  3. Divide or multiply as needed to isolate the variable.
  4. Check the answer.
Oct 6, 2021

Is linear algebra easy? ›

The truth is that linear algebra is less complicated than elementary calculus. On the contrary, it is sometimes difficult to excel in calculus despite having excellent knowledge of theorems. Once you understand the different theorems in linear algebra, you can easily solve different questions.

What is the general form in linear equations? ›

Key Points

The general form of the equation of a straight line is 𝑎 𝑥 + 𝑏 𝑦 + 𝑐 = 0 , where 𝑎 , 𝑏 , and 𝑐 are constants. All straight lines can be represented by an equation in general form. A line represented by an equation in its general form 𝑎 𝑥 + 𝑏 𝑦 + 𝑐 , if 𝑏 ≠ 0 , has slope − 𝑎 𝑏 and 𝑦 -intercept − 𝑐 𝑏 .

How many types of systems of linear equations are there? ›

There are three types of systems of linear equations in two variables, and three types of solutions. An independent system has exactly one solution pair (x,y). The point where the two lines intersect is the only solution. An inconsistent system has no solution.

What are the different forms of the equation of a line? ›

The two most common forms for writing the equation of a line are y=mx+b (slope-intercept form) and y−y1=m(x−x1) (point-slope form), where m is the slope of the line, and b is the y-intercept.

How to teach linear equations in a fun way? ›

Linear Equations Activity Ideas
  1. Model by Using Algebra Tiles. Are you surprised I am starting with Algebra tiles? ...
  2. Student Teacher. Put students into pairs and show an equation on the board. ...
  3. Round Table. Give students individual white boards and have them work in teams of 2-4. ...
  4. Board Races. ...
  5. Digital Activities.
Oct 18, 2022

What is b in standard form? ›

The x and the y are the same variables as the x and y in standard form. The m is the slope of the line and is a co-efficient like the A. The slope is how steep the line is, like the slope of a ramp. The b is the constant, which would be the C in standard form. The b is the point at which the line crosses the y-axis.

What is the trick to solving linear equations? ›

To solve linear equations, find the value of the variable that makes the equation true. Use the inverse of the number that multiplies the variable, and multiply or divide both sides by it. Simplify the result to get the variable value. Check your answer by plugging it back into the equation.

What are any 5 linear equations? ›

Answer. Answer: ) 3x − 1=5 (ii) 4x +2=9 (iii) 6 − 2x = 1 (iv) 5x +1= −9 (v) 3x +1= x − 5 (vi) 6x − 1=3 − 2x (vii) 2 − 3(x − 2) = x + 4 (viii) 5(x − 1) + 1 = 2(x − 2).

What are the five different equations of lines? ›

Equation of a Straight Line Formulas
General formA x + B y + C = 0
Equation of a horizontal liney = a ( a ∈ R )
Equation of a vertical linex = b ( b ∈ R )
Two point formy − y 1 = y 2 − y 1 x 2 − x 1 ( x − x 1 )
Slope-intercept formy = m x + c
2 more rows

What are 5 examples of linear equation in two variables? ›

The following are examples of two-variable linear equations:
  • 3 x + 5 y = 7 \displaystyle 3x + 5y = 7 3x+5y=7.
  • y = 2 3 x − 3 \displaystyle y = \frac{2}{3}x - 3 y=32​x−3.
  • ( y − 2 ) = − 2 7 ( x + 3 ) \displaystyle \left(y-2\right)=\frac{-2}{7}\left(x+3\right) (y−2)=7−2​(x+3)

What are the different systems of linear equations? ›

There are three types of systems of linear equations in two variables, and three types of solutions. An independent system has exactly one solution pair (x,y). The point where the two lines intersect is the only solution. An inconsistent system has no solution.

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