Basic Numeracy
BNU1501
Department of Decision Sciences
Assignment 4: 2020
Semester 2
Due Date: 16 September 2020
Unique Number: 815191
Before answering the assignment questions, please work through the
following study material:
• Chapters 5, 6 and 7
Question 1
1
The Slope of the line joining points (12; 3) and (4; a) is . Find the value of 𝑎
8
[1] 𝑎 = 1
[2] 𝑎 = 2
[3] 𝑎 = −5
[4] 𝑎 = 4
Answer:
Notice that the slope of a line is easily calculated by hand using small, whole number coordinates.
The formula becomes increasingly useful as the coordinates take on larger values or decimal values.
It is worth mentioning that any horizontal line has a gradient of zero because a horizontal line has
the same y-coordinates. This will result in a zero in the numerator of the slope formula. On the other
hand, a vertical line will have an undefined slope since the x-coordinates will always be the same.
This will result the division by zero error when using the formula.
𝑦1 −𝑦2
𝑥1 −𝑥2
= 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒
3−𝑎 1
12−4
=8
1
3−𝑎 = 8×8
3−𝑎 =1
𝑎=2
Question 2
BNU1501
Department of Decision Sciences
Assignment 4: 2020
Semester 2
Due Date: 16 September 2020
Unique Number: 815191
Before answering the assignment questions, please work through the
following study material:
• Chapters 5, 6 and 7
Question 1
1
The Slope of the line joining points (12; 3) and (4; a) is . Find the value of 𝑎
8
[1] 𝑎 = 1
[2] 𝑎 = 2
[3] 𝑎 = −5
[4] 𝑎 = 4
Answer:
Notice that the slope of a line is easily calculated by hand using small, whole number coordinates.
The formula becomes increasingly useful as the coordinates take on larger values or decimal values.
It is worth mentioning that any horizontal line has a gradient of zero because a horizontal line has
the same y-coordinates. This will result in a zero in the numerator of the slope formula. On the other
hand, a vertical line will have an undefined slope since the x-coordinates will always be the same.
This will result the division by zero error when using the formula.
𝑦1 −𝑦2
𝑥1 −𝑥2
= 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒
3−𝑎 1
12−4
=8
1
3−𝑎 = 8×8
3−𝑎 =1
𝑎=2
Question 2
