Example

Finding the Equation of a Vertical Line Through (5,1)(5, 1) and (5,4)(5, -4)

To formulate the equation of a line passing through the points (5,1)(5, 1) and (5,4)(5, -4), the two-points procedure starts with calculating the slope. Step 11 — Find the slope. m=4155m = \frac{-4 - 1}{5 - 5} m=50m = \frac{-5}{0} The denominator evaluates to zero, meaning the slope is undefined. An undefined slope signifies a vertical line. Step 22 — Write the equation. Inspecting both points reveals they share an xx-coordinate of 55. A vertical line consists of all points that share the identical horizontal position. Thus, the equation of the line is: x=5x = 5 This resulting equation cannot be converted into slope-intercept form, confirming the special case of vertical lines.

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Updated 2026-05-03

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