To answer this question, we need to apply the formula for the slope of a line, and before it, we need to use the given points and label them. Then, we have the points:
(5, -1) and (-3, 3).
We can label them as follows:
(5, -1) ---> x1 = 5, y1 = -1, and
(-3, 3) ---> x2 = -3, y2 = 3.
The formula for the slope of a line is:
[tex]m=\frac{y_2-y_1}{x_2-x_1}[/tex]
Then, we need to substitute each variable with its respective number:
[tex]m=\frac{3-(-1)}{-3-5}=\frac{3+1_{}}{-8}=\frac{4}{-8}=\frac{2}{-4}=\frac{1}{-2}\Rightarrow m=-\frac{1}{2}[/tex]
Therefore, the slope for the line that passes through the points (5, -1) and (-3, 3) is equal to -1/2, or m = -1/2 (third option.)
