Find the slope of the line that passes through the pair of points. \( (7,-5),(-1,8) \) \( \begin{array}{ll}\text { a. }-\frac{13}{8} & \text { c. } \frac{13}{8} \\ \text { b. } 0 & \text { d. }-\frac{8}{13}\end{array} \) Please select the best answer from the choices provided A C D

To find the slope \( m \) of the line passing through the points \( (7, -5) \) and \( (-1, 8) \), use the slope formula: \[ m = \frac{y_2 - y_1}{x_2 - x_1} \] Substituting the points into the formula, we have: \[ m = \frac{8 - (-5)}{-1 - 7} = \frac{8 + 5}{-8} = \frac{13}{-8} = -\frac{13}{8} \] So, the slope of the line is \( -\frac{13}{8} \), which corresponds to choice **a**. The slope is a measure of how steep a line is, represented as "rise over run." If you can visualize the points on a graph, the rise is the vertical change (from -5 to 8, which is 13), while the run (from 7 to -1, which is -8) shows movement to the left, creating that negative slope. Understanding slopes is crucial not only in geometry but also in fields like economics and physics, where it can represent rates of change. Next time you see a graph, think about how the slope could represent speed or growth in real-life scenarios!