How do you write y-1/4 = -3( x + 1/4 ) in standard form?

1 Answer
Sep 22, 2015

12x+4y = -2
Note: I'm assuming that by "standard form", you mean Ax+By = C.

Explanation:

First we begin by distributing the -3 on the right side of the equation:
y-1/4 = -3x-3/4
From here, there are a few ways you can proceed. You can work with the fractions, but I prefer to get rid of them, in this case by multiplying by 4:
4y-1 = -12x-3
Now it's just a little algebra:
4y = -12x-2 (adding 1 to both sides)
12x+4y = -2 (adding 12x to both sides)

This is the official standard form of a linear equation, but most of the time you see them in slope-intercept form, y = mx+b. If this is what you meant by "standard form", or if you just want to know just in case, with a little work you can get there:
12x+4y = -2
4y = -2-12x (subtracting 12x from both sides)
y = -3x-1/2 (dividing by 4)
And there you go.