Standard Form for Linear Equations: Mr.

Hanson Algebra II Fall 2010

Graphing and using linear equations is an important part of High School Algebra. Most students learn the slope-intercept form of an equation first and are most comfortable with it. But, the other two forms are also very useful at different times. As we go forward this year and next, it will make life a good deal easier if youre comfortable working in all three of the common forms and converting equations from one form to another. First: get used to the fact that you can have equations that look different, but say exactly the same thing. Solve these three equations for x:

The three forms side-by-side:

This line has a y-intercept of +2 and a slope

3 . So the equation of the line in slope2 3 intercept form is y x 2 2

of

The easiest way to find the equation of the same line in standard form is found simply by re-arranging the terms of the equation above so that the variables x and y are both on the left side of the equal sign, and a constant is alone on the right:

3 x 2 3 x 2 y

2 2

The last equation is close to standard form; we usually like standard form equations to have integers for the coefficients of x and y, and for the constant on the right. To get there in this example, multiply both sides by 2 to clear the fraction, and youre done:

(2)

3 x y 2(2) 2 3x 2 y 4

So the line on the graph could be represented by either equation

3x 2y 4 or y 3 x 2 2

The two equations are equivalent: they say exactly the same thing about how the two quantities are related to each other.

Its easy to go the other way, too. If you have a linear equation in standard form, just solve it for y. For example: 18 + 3 = 16 3 = 18 + 16 16 = 6 + 3 So you can see that the slope of that line is +6 and the y-intercept is 3 . The two equations are equivalent; you can use either one and mean the same thing. The choice of which one to use is mostly for convenience, depending on what you plan to use the equation for. Standard Form In General: + = .
16

There is nothing weird or magical about standard form!

To be in Standard form, A, B, and C should all be integers, and A should be positive. Converting from one to another is just simple algebra. So what do the A, B, and C really mean??? A and B determine the slope of the line together.

C determines the location of the line (but isnt the same as the intercept.
To see this, convert solve the general equation for y:

Ax By y

By Ax A x B

C C C B
A C , the intercept is . You can use this with any line in B B
Slope, m Intercept, b Equation The last line is in y=mx+b form!

So the slope is just m standard form: Given 4x-3y=12

m=-4/-3=4/3

b=12/-3=-4 y

4 x 3

7x-5y=35

12x-y=18

11x+9y=15

Graphing Standard-Form Linear Equations. You can always convert an equation to slope-intercept form to graph it, which is what many students do. In fact, this extra step can lead to mistakes and is false economy. Its easy to find the x- and y-intercepts from the standard form equation; these two points are all you need to graph the line (remember from geometry: any two points determine a line!)

To find the x-intercept, just remember that the x intercept is on the x-axis, so y=0. If y=0, what value of x would make the equation true? Thats the x-intercept. Follow the same logic to get the y-intercept; let x=0, solve for y.

For example: to graph 5 9 = 12

y=0 give 5x=12 so x=12/5 (2.4) So the point

12 ,0 is on the line. 5

x=0 gives -9y=12, so y

12 9
4 3

4 3

So the y-intercept is at 0,

5 9 = 12 5 9

4/3 4/3

Parallel and Perpendicular lines Parallel lines have the same slope 1 = 2 (the same direction or angle with the axes).

So in standard form, parallel lines always have the same ratio lines.

12x+9y=1 and 12x+9y=-100, 12x+9y=42q and 24x+18y= 7 are all parallel

Perpendicular lines have slopes that are negative reciprocals of each other 1 =

1 2

So perpendicular lines have the same values of A and B, but reversed and with opposite sign:

12x+9y=k is perpendicular to 9x-12y=p

Just swap the 12 and 9, change the + to The values of k and p dont affect the slope, so they could be any real numbers!

Practice Problems: in class & homework. 1. Convert to Slope Intercept Form: a) + = 4 b) 6 + 5 = 30 c)21 15 = 45

d) 18 9 = 1

`e) 5 + 11 = 8

f) =

2 Convert to Standard Form: a) = 7 b) = 3 6 c) = 2 + 8

d) 3 = 2 ( + 1)

e) = 8 + 16

f) = +

3 Graph the following without converting to slope-intercept form first. Find and label the x and y intercepts on your graph! Use the grids on the last page or your own graph paper.

a) 2 4 = 8

b)4 2 = 8

c) + 3 = 9

d) 5x-12y=20

e) 12x+5y=10

f) 21x+35y=49

4 Find all three forms of the equation for the lines described: a)Through the points (5,0) and (12, 9) b) Through the points (-2,-8) and (4,-7) d) Perpendicular to 11x+2y=21 and through (9,-8)

c) Parallel to 5x-8y=17, and through (-2, -11) 5 Find the requested variable: a) Find k so that kx-2y=8 is perpendicular to 4x b) Find p so that 3x+5y=p passes through (4,3)

3 y 12

Grids for practice problems

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Answers to Practice Problems: 1. a) y=x+4 b) y= 5 + 6

6

c) = 5 3

d) = 2 + e) =
9

5 11

8 11

f) =

2. a) + = 7

b) 3 = 6

c) 2 + = 8

d) 2 = 7

e) 14 + 16 = 9

f) =

3. a) 2 = 7

b) 4 2 = 8

c) + 3 = 9

d) 5 12 = 20

e) 12 + 5 = 10

f) 21 + 35 = 49

4 a) 9 = 7 12 , 0 = 7 5 4b) + 8 = ( + 2)
6 5 8 1

= 7 +

45 7

9 7 = 45

= +
6

23 3

; + 6 = 46

4c) ; = 5, = 8 5 8 = 5 2 = 8
5 39 4

8 11
5

= 78

; + 11 = 8 ( + 2)
2 11

4d)

, = 2, = 11 = 11 +
2 106 11

2 11 = 2 9 11 8 = 106 + 8 = 11 ( 9) 5 a) 4 = 2 , = 2
3 3 3 4 2

b) just substitute the coordinate values given for x,y 3 4 + 5 3 = 27 =