ACT-Style: Finding Slope from Two Points

ACT Math · Axiom Academy

EXAMPLE ACT-Style: Finding Slope from Two Points Working a real 5-choice ACT coordinate-geometry question, start to finish. In the standard (x,y) coordinate plane, what is the slope of the line that passes through the points (2,-3) and (6,9) ? The two given points, with the rise and run marked between them. Nice work — you just worked a genuine ACT coordinate-geometry question the way it would appear on test day. The formula: — always subtract in the SAME order in the numerator and denominator. Watch the labeling: it doesn't matter which point you call "1" and which you call "2," as long as you're consistent in both the top and the bottom of the fraction. The ACT loves this exact trap: flipping the formula upside down, or swapping the subtraction order in just the numerator or just the denominator, each lands you on a different WRONG answer choice — not a random one. Every one of the ACT's 5 answer choices here corresponds to a specific slip — if your answer doesn't match one of them, that's often a sign of a different kind of arithmetic error worth double-checking.

This is the written version of the interactive lesson above. See the full ACT Math course.