Straight Line Graphs

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CIE IGCSE Additional Maths Your notes
Straight-Line Graphs
Contents
Linear Graphs
Parallel & Perpendicular Lines
Page 1 of 14
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Linear Graphs
Your notes
Equations of a Straight Line
How do I find the gradient of a straight line?
Find two points that the line passes through with coordinates (x1, y1) and (x2, y2)
The gradient between these two points is calculated by
y2 − y1
m=
x2 − x1
The gradient of a straight line measures its slope
A line with gradient 1 will go up 1 unit for every unit it goes to the right
A line with gradient -2 will go down two units for every unit it goes to the right
What are the equations of a straight line?

y = mx + c
This is the gradient-intercept form
It clearly shows the gradient m and the y-intercept (0, c)
y − y = m (x − x )
1 1
This is the point-gradient form
Page 2 of 14
It clearly shows the gradient m and a point on the line (x1, y1)
ax + by + d = 0
This is the general form Your notes
⎛ d ⎞⎟ ⎛⎜ d⎞
You can quickly get the x-intercept ⎜⎜ − , 0 ⎟ and y-intercept ⎜0, − ⎟⎟
⎝ a ⎠ ⎝ b⎠
How do I find an equation of a straight line?

You will need the gradient
If you are given two points then first find the gradient
It is easiest to start with the point-gradient form
then rearrange into whatever form is required
multiplying both sides by any denominators will get rid of fractions
Page 3 of 14
Your notes
Exam Tip
Quickly sketching the graph of the straight line(s) can be helpful if you are struggling with an exam
question
Ensure you state equations of straight lines in the format required
Usually or
Check whether coefficients need to be integers (they usually are for )
Page 4 of 14
Worked example
Your notes
(a) Find the equation of the straight line with gradient 3 that passes through (5, 4).
We know that the gradient is 3 so the line takes the form
To find the value of c, substitute (5, 4) into the equation
Replace c with −11 to complete the equation of the line

y = 3x − 11
(b) Find the equation of the straight line that passes through (-2, 6) and (8, 1).
You may find it helpful to sketch the information given
First find m, the gradient
Page 5 of 14
Your notes
We know that the line takes the form
To find the value of c, substitute either of the given points into this equation. Here we will pick (8,
1) as it is doesn't contain negative numbers so is easier to work with
Replace c with −11 to complete the equation of the line
We can check against our sketch that this equation looks correct- it has a negative gradient
and it crosses the y-axis between 1 and 6
Page 6 of 14
Midpoint of a Straight Line

How do I find the midpoint of a line (segment)? Your notes
The midpoint of a line will be the same distance from both endpoints
You can think of a midpoint as being the average (mean) of two coordinates
The midpoint of (x , y ) and (x , y ) is
1 1 2 2
⎛⎜ x 1 + x 2 y 1 + y 2 ⎞⎟
⎜⎜ , ⎟⎟
⎝ 2 2 ⎠
M is often used as the midpoint between two points (x1, y1) (x2, y2)
It is the average of both the x and y coordinates
Page 7 of 14
Worked example
Your notes
The coordinates of A are (−4, 3) and the coordinates of B are (8, −12).
Find M, the midpoint of AB.
The midpoint can be found using M =
Fill in the values of x and y from each coordinate
Simplify
M = (2, −4.5)
Page 8 of 14
Length of a Straight Line

How do I calculate the length of a line? Your notes
The distance between two points with coordinates (x , y ) and (x , y ) can be found using the
1 1 2 2
formula
d= 2 2
(x 1 − x 2) + (y 1 − y 2)
This formula is really just Pythagoras’ Theorem a 2 = b 2 + c 2 , applied to the difference in the x -
coordinates and the difference in the y -coordinates;
You may be asked to find the length of a diagonal in 3D space

This can be answered using 3D Pythagoras
Exam Tip
Work with the square of a distance for as long as possible as this avoids early rounding errors
In the non-calculator paper your answer may need to be left as a surd
Only square root when forced to or for a final answer, and use the ANS button (and other memory
features) on your calculator
Page 9 of 14
Worked example
Your notes
Point A has coordinates (3, -4) and point B has coordinates (-5, 2).
Calculate the distance of the line segment AB.
Using the formula for the distance between two points,
Substituting in the two given coordinates:
Simplify:
Answer = 10 units
Page 10 of 14
Parallel & Perpendicular Lines

Your notes
Parallel Lines
What are parallel lines?
Parallel lines are always equidistant meaning they never intersect
Parallel lines have the same gradient
If the gradient of line l1 is m1 and gradient of line l2 is m2 then...
m = m ⇒ l & l are parallel
1 2 1 2
l 1 & l 2 are parallel ⇒ m 1 = m 2
To determine if two lines are parallel:
Rearrange into the gradient-intercept form y = mx + c
Compare the coefficients of x
If they are equal then the lines are parallel
Exam Tip
Look for hidden parallel lines in an exam question
Parallel lines could be implied in an exam by phrases like “… at the same rate …”
Check the properties of a geometrical shape
Page 11 of 14
Worked example
Your notes
Find the equation of the line that is parallel to y = 3x + 7 and passes through (2,1).
As the gradient is the same, the line that is parallel will be in the form:
Substitute in the coordinate that the line passes through:
Simplify:
Subtract 6 from both sides:
Final answer:
Page 12 of 14
Perpendicular Lines
What are perpendicular lines? Your notes
Perpendicular lines intersect at right angles
The gradients of two perpendicular lines are negative reciprocals
If the gradient of line l1 is m1 and gradient of line l2 is m2 then...
m × m = − 1 ⇒ l & l are perpendicular
1 2 1 2
l 1 & l 2 are perpendicular ⇒ m 1 × m 2 = − 1
To determine if two lines are perpendicular:
Rearrange into the gradient-intercept form y = mx + c
Compare the coefficients of x
If their product is -1 then they are perpendicular
Be careful with horizontal and vertical lines
x = p and y = q are perpendicular where p and q are constants
Exam Tip
Exam questions are good at “hiding” perpendicular lines
For example a tangent and a radius are perpendicular
Page 13 of 14
Worked example
Your notes
Find the equation of the line that is perpendicular to y = 2x − 2 and passes through (2, -3).
Leave your answer in the form ax + by + c = 0 where a , b , c are integers.
L is in the form so we can see that its gradient is 2
Therefore the gradient of the line perpendicular to L will be the negative reciprocal of 2
Now we need to find for the line we're after
Do this by substituting the point into the equation and solving for
Now we know the line we want is
But this is not in the form asked for in the question. So rearrange into the form
where , and are integers
Write the final answer
Page 14 of 14

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CIE IGCSE Additional Maths Your notes

What are the equations of a straight line?

How do I find an equation of a straight line?

We know that the gradient is 3 so the line takes the form

To find the value of c, substitute (5, 4) into the equation

Replace c with −11 to complete the equation of the line

You may find it helpful to sketch the information given

First find m, the gradient

We know that the line takes the form

Replace c with −11 to complete the equation of the line

Midpoint of a Straight Line

The midpoint can be found using M =

Fill in the values of x and y from each coordinate

Length of a Straight Line

You may be asked to find the length of a diagonal in 3D space

Using the formula for the distance between two points,

Substituting in the two given coordinates:

Parallel & Perpendicular Lines

Substitute in the coordinate that the line passes through:

Subtract 6 from both sides:

Leave your answer in the form ax + by + c = 0 where a , b , c are integers.

L is in the form so we can see that its gradient is 2

Now we need to find for the line we're after

Now we know the line we want is

Write the final answer

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