1 Section 2.2.

Lines and Linear Functions

Geometric Principle. Given two different points in the plane, there is a
(unique) straight line that passes through those points.

Definition 1.1. The general equation of a line is given by

ax + by = c

where a, b, and c are real numbers. That is, a point (x, y) is on a given line if
it solves the equation of that line.

For example, the point (1, 2) is on the line 2x + y = 4 because 2(1) + 2 = 4;

however, the point (1, 0) is not on the line because 2(1) + 0 ̸= 4.

Now, we will learn how to graph a line using the geometric principle. That is,
we only need to know two points on a line to graph it.

Example 1.1. Sketch the lines

(a) 2x + 3y = 6 (b) x − 2y = 4
(c) y = 3 (d) x = 2

Definition 1.2. A horizontal line is a line that has an equation of the form
y = b. A vertical line has an equation of the form x = a.
In the previous example, y = 3 is a horizontal line and x = 2 is a vertical line.

1
Example 1.2. Find the x-intercept and y-intercept of the line

−2x + 3y = 6

The Slope of a Line

The slope m of the line passing through the points (x1 , y1 ) and (x2 , y2 ) is
given by
y2 − y1
m=
x2 − x1
where x1 ̸= x2 .

The slope of a line measures the inclination of the line with respect to the
x-axis.

Example 1.3. Find the slope of the line passing through each pair of points.
(a) (1.3) and (3, −2)
(b) (2, 3) and (3, 3)

(c) (1, −3) and (1, −1)

2
Remark 1.1.

If the slope m > 0, then the line rises up from left to right.
If the slope m < 0, then the line falls down from left to right.
If the slope m = 0, then the line is horizontal.
If the slope m = undef ined, then the line is vertical.
Remark 1.2. Note that
y2 − y1 −(y1 − y2 ) y1 − y2
m= = =
x2 − x1 −(x1 − x2 ) x1 − x2

That means we can use

y1 − y2
x1 − x2
to find the slope of a line.

For instance, applying this latter formula to part (a) of the previous example
using we get
3 − (−2) 5
m= =−
1−3 2
which is the same answer we got before.
Definition 1.3. The equation of the line written in the form

y = mx + b

is called Slope-Intercept form. The reason is because the coefficient of x,

which is m, is the slope of the line and b is the y-intercept.
Example 1.4. Find the slope and y-intercept of the line
(a) 3x + 5y = −4

(b) 3y = 8
(c) x = 2

3
Example 1.5. Find the equations of the lines passing through each pair of
points. Write you answers as Slope-Intercept form.
(a) (5, 1) and (1, 2)
(b) (1, 3) and (−2, 3)

4
2 Section 2.3 Parallel and Perpendicular Lines
Definition 2.1. We say that two lines are parallel if they have the same
direction. We say that two lines are perpendicular if they intersect in a right
angle (90 degrees).

Figure 1: Lines

We can use the slopes to determine whether two lines are parallel or
perpendicular.
1. Two lines are parallel ⇐⇒ their slopes are equal or both lines are
vertical.

2. Two lines are perpendicular ⇐⇒ the product of their slopes is −1 or

one line is horizontal and the other line is vertical.
Example 2.1. Determine whether the lines are parallel, perpendicular or
neither.

(a) y = 3x + 1 and y = 3x − 4
(b) 2x + 4y = 3 and y = 2x
(c) x + y = 2 and 2x + 3y = 1
(d) y = 1 and x = −2

5
Example 2.2. In each case find the equation of the line with the given
characteristics.
(a) Find the equation of the line passing through (2, −1) and parallel to
x − 3y = 2

(b) Find the equation of the line passing through (−3, 2) and perpendicular
to y = 2x + 5
(c) Find the equation of the line passing through (3/2, 3) and perpendicular
to x = 4
(d) Find the equation of the line passing through (1, −1) and parallel to
x = 1.5

Linear Functions and Applications

Definition 2.2. A linear function is a function given by the equation of a
line
f (x) = mx + b
Example 2.3. A store has predicted that the daily sales of sunblock X is
linear during the months of January and February. In the first day, the store
sold 50 units of sunblock X and in the fifth day the sales were 60 units.
Estimate the sales of sunblock X on February 10th.

6
Some Functions used in Business and Economics
We define some of the most important functions used in Business and
Economics. They could be linear or nonlinear functions.

Notation. x: the number of units produced and sold. p: the selling price per
unit.

Definition 2.3. The fixed cost is the cost that is independent from the
production and sales. For example, rent, utilities, salary of the employees, etc.
are fixed costs. The variable cost is the cost that depends on the production
and sales. For example, production that depends on the supplies, commission
on salesperson for sales, etc. are variable cost. The total cost, denoted by C,
is the sum of the fixed cost and the variable cost.

Definition 2.4. The revenue, denoted by R, is the total income obtained

from the sales of a product. We obtain the revenue using the formula

R = xp

Definition 2.5. The profit, denoted by P , is the benefit obtained from the
production and sales of a product. We obtain the profit using the formula

P =R−C

The point at which the profit is zero; that is, when the revenue and the total
cost are the same, is called the break-even point.
Example 2.4. An entrepreneur plans to produce his on brand of handmade
beer. He calculated that the cost to produce a six pack of beer is $2.00. He
needs to pay $500 per month to a distributor to sell his beer.
(a) What is the total cost of producing 100 six packs of beer in one month?
(b) What is the revenue of producing and selling 100 six packs of beer if the
selling price per bottle is set to $2.00?
(c) What is the profit resulting from producing and selling 100 six packs of
beer in one month if the selling price per bottle is set to $2.00?
(d) What should be the production level to break-even in a month if the
selling price per bottle is set to $2.00?

7
The Slope as Average Rate of Change
If a quantity y is represented by a linear equation on x, then the slope of the
line can be thought as the average rate of change of the quantity y per unit
of x.
change in y y2 − y1
The reason is because m = = . That is
change in x x2 − x1
m = average rate of change

Definition 2.6. The value of an item, that depreciates or lose its value over
the years at a constant rate, can be modeled by a linear equation called linear
depreciation.

Example 2.5. A company constructs a warehouse for $825, 000. The

warehouse has an estimated useful life of 25 years, after which its value is
expected to be $75, 000. Write a linear equation giving the value y of the
warehouse during its 25 years of useful life. (Let t represent the time in years.)
What is the depreciation per year?

Example 2.6. The price of an iPhone 6 was 300 dollars in the year 2014. The
price of an iPhone 6 dropped to 192 dollars in 2018. Find the average rate of
change of the price per year (assuming the price is linear). Use the price as a
linear equation of the time (in years) to estimate the price of an iPhone6 in
2016.

8
Example 2.7. A company determines that the total cost in dollars of
producing x units of a product is C = 15x + 5400. Describe the practical
significance of the slope and y-intercept of the line given by this equation.