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what is the difference between a linear equation and a function?
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Mary446

by Mary446 at November 11, 2010

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Mary - A linear equation is always a function except when it is of the form x = c where c is any real number.  So what gives with x = c? Well, this is a "vertical line" and a vertical line would NEVER pass the "vertical line test", agree?  Try graphing a vertical line and see for yourself. All functions must pass the vertical line test so that no single x value maps into more than one y value. For example, a linear equation passing through (2, 5) and (2, 8) maps 2 into 5 and 2 into 8 and thus would NOT be a function.  Hope this helps
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Steve204 Steve204 November 11, 2010

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A linear equation is written with y equal to some value, and can be solved for x.  A linear function is written in terms of y.  For example:0 = 2x - 4 is a linear equation.***In this case, x = 2.  We could solve this algebraically or by graphing its related function and locating the z-intercept.y = 2x - 4 is the related linear function.***If we were to graph this function, we would have a line with a y-intercept, b, at (0,-4) and a slope, m, of 2/1 or -2/-1.  Once this line was drawn, we could see that it has an x-intercept at (2,0), and again, x = 2.
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Bill201 Bill201 November 12, 2010

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