SAT · Heart of Algebra · Linear functions and their graphs
Question sat-q-00024
Medium Multiple choice No calculator
The question
What is the slope of the line passing through (-5, -2) and (3, -3)?
- 0.13
- 0.38
- 8
- -0.13
Show answer & worked solution
Answer: -0.13
Worked solution. Slope = (y₂ − y₁) / (x₂ − x₁) = (-3 − -2) / (3 − -5) = -1 / 8 = -0.13.
Why each wrong choice is wrong. Reversing the subtraction order in the numerator without doing the same in the denominator gives the negative of the slope — a common slip.
Test-day tactic. Pick which point is (x₁, y₁) and which is (x₂, y₂) before computing, and stick with the choice. The order doesn't matter as long as it's consistent.
About this question type
Items here ask you to interpret slope and y-intercept in real-world contexts (revenue per item, cost per minute), to write the equation of a line from two points or from a description, or to identify which graph corresponds to a given equation. The hardest items combine all three at once.
You will see a question shaped like this one on roughly every other official SAT form, typically at a moderate position in the section — solidly within the range that separates a 600-band student from a 700-band student. Treat any miss in this subtopic as a signal to drill the subtopic page before you do another full practice test.