# 2.2 Graphs of linear functions  (Page 5/15)

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Find the x -intercept of $f\left(x\right)=\frac{1}{4}x-4.$

## Describing horizontal and vertical lines

There are two special cases of lines on a graph—horizontal and vertical lines. A horizontal line indicates a constant output, or y -value. In [link] , we see that the output has a value of 2 for every input value. The change in outputs between any two points, therefore, is 0. In the slope formula, the numerator is 0, so the slope is 0. If we use $m=0$ in the equation $f\left(x\right)=mx+b,$ the equation simplifies to $f\left(x\right)=b.$ In other words, the value of the function is a constant. This graph represents the function $f\left(x\right)=2.$

A vertical line indicates a constant input, or x -value. We can see that the input value for every point on the line is 2, but the output value varies. Because this input value is mapped to more than one output value, a vertical line does not represent a function. Notice that between any two points, the change in the input values is zero. In the slope formula, the denominator will be zero, so the slope of a vertical line is undefined.

Notice that a vertical line, such as the one in [link] , has an x -intercept, but no y- intercept unless it’s the line $x=0.$ This graph represents the line $x=2.$

## Horizontal and vertical lines

Lines can be horizontal or vertical.

A horizontal line    is a line defined by an equation in the form $f\left(x\right)=b.$

A vertical line    is a line defined by an equation in the form $x=a.$

## Writing the equation of a horizontal line

Write the equation of the line graphed in [link] .

For any x -value, the y -value is $-4,$ so the equation is $y=-4.$

## Writing the equation of a vertical line

Write the equation of the line graphed in [link] .

The constant x -value is $7,$ so the equation is $x=7.$

## Determining whether lines are parallel or perpendicular

The two lines in [link] are parallel lines : they will never intersect. Notice that they have exactly the same steepness, which means their slopes are identical. The only difference between the two lines is the y -intercept. If we shifted one line vertically toward the y -intercept of the other, they would become the same line.

We can determine from their equations whether two lines are parallel by comparing their slopes. If the slopes are the same and the y -intercepts are different, the lines are parallel. If the slopes are different, the lines are not parallel.

Unlike parallel lines, perpendicular lines do intersect. Their intersection forms a right, or 90-degree, angle. The two lines in [link] are perpendicular.

Perpendicular lines do not have the same slope. The slopes of perpendicular lines are different from one another in a specific way. The slope of one line is the negative reciprocal of the slope of the other line. The product of a number and its reciprocal is $1.$ So, if are negative reciprocals of one another, they can be multiplied together to yield $–1.$

${m}_{1}{m}_{2}=-1$

To find the reciprocal of a number, divide 1 by the number. So the reciprocal of 8 is $\frac{1}{8},$ and the reciprocal of $\frac{1}{8}$ is 8. To find the negative reciprocal, first find the reciprocal and then change the sign.

what is set?
a colony of bacteria is growing exponentially doubling in size every 100 minutes. how much minutes will it take for the colony of bacteria to triple in size
I got 300 minutes. is it right?
Patience
no. should be about 150 minutes.
Jason
It should be 158.5 minutes.
Mr
ok, thanks
Patience
100•3=300 300=50•2^x 6=2^x x=log_2(6) =2.5849625 so, 300=50•2^2.5849625 and, so, the # of bacteria will double every (100•2.5849625) = 258.49625 minutes
Thomas
what is the importance knowing the graph of circular functions?
can get some help basic precalculus
What do you need help with?
Andrew
how to convert general to standard form with not perfect trinomial
can get some help inverse function
ismail
Rectangle coordinate
how to find for x
it depends on the equation
Robert
yeah, it does. why do we attempt to gain all of them one side or the other?
Melissa
whats a domain
The domain of a function is the set of all input on which the function is defined. For example all real numbers are the Domain of any Polynomial function.
Spiro
Spiro; thanks for putting it out there like that, 😁
Melissa
foci (–7,–17) and (–7,17), the absolute value of the differenceof the distances of any point from the foci is 24.
difference between calculus and pre calculus?
give me an example of a problem so that I can practice answering
x³+y³+z³=42
Robert
dont forget the cube in each variable ;)
Robert
of she solves that, well ... then she has a lot of computational force under her command ....
Walter
what is a function?
I want to learn about the law of exponent
explain this
what is functions?
A mathematical relation such that every input has only one out.
Spiro
yes..it is a relationo of orders pairs of sets one or more input that leads to a exactly one output.
Mubita
Is a rule that assigns to each element X in a set A exactly one element, called F(x), in a set B.
RichieRich