Line Match: y = mx + c
Change the gradient and y-intercept until your line sits exactly on the target line.
About this activity
Eight target lines to match on a coordinate grid. Students adjust m and c with buttons and watch their line move, building a feel for what the gradient and the y-intercept do. Positive, negative, half-step and zero gradients are all included, with hints after a wrong check.
How to use Line Match: y = mx + c
- Line Match: y = mx + c is a free Maths activity for Years 9 to 11 that takes about 10 minutes. Try it on this page on a computer, tablet or phone: there’s nothing to download.
- In a lesson, choose Show on the board to play it together as a class.
- To set it for a class, a teacher shares it and gets a code: students type the 6-digit code at lycolearn.co.uk/join with their first name and the first letter of their surname (no accounts needed), and their scores come back to the teacher.
Students will
- Find the gradient of a straight line from its graph
- Find the y-intercept
- Write the equation of a line in the form y = mx + c
Teaching tips
- Ask students to predict the equation before touching the buttons.
- Extension: which two of today’s lines are parallel? (None: why not?)