Graphing a Linear Equation
Using Slope Intercept Form

Now that you've completed a lesson on graphing slope you are finally ready to graph linear equations.

There are several different ways to graph linear equations. You've already learned how to graph using a table of values. That's okay for the beginner, but it can be a little time consuming.

Using slope intercept form is one of the quickest and easiest ways to graph a linear equation.

Before we begin, I need to introduce a little vocabulary. We are going to talk about x and y intercepts.

An x intercept is the point where your line crosses the x-axis. The y intercept is the point where your line crosses the y-axis.

We are only going to focus on the y intercept in this lesson, but you'll need to know x intercept for later.

Let's look at an example:

Slope intercept form is used when your linear equation is written in the form:

y = mx+b

x and y are your variables. m will be a numeral, which is your slope. b will also be a numeral and this is the y-intercept.

In this form only (when your equation is written as y = ....) the coefficient of x is the slope and the constant is the y intercept.

Let's look at a few examples and I promise that you'll LOVE this new way of graphing!

Example 1

Example 2

Here's a quick summary of this lesson:

Ok... ready to practice?

Click here to move onto the practice problems! Good Luck!