The Lesson
The slope is a measure of how steep the line is. Imagine a line is drawn on a graph. We can find the slope of the line.How to Find the Slope of a Line
Finding the slope of a line is easy.Question
Find the slope of the line shown below.Step-by-Step:
1
Find out how many units the line has gone up. In our example, the line goes up by 4 units.
2
Find out how many units the line has gone across. In our example, the line goes across by 2 units.
3
Divide the answer from Step 1 (4) by the answer from Step 2 (2).
Slope = How far up ÷ How far across
Slope = 4 ÷ 2
Slope = 2
Answer:
The slope of the line is 2.A Formula to Find the Slope of a Line
The formula to find the slope is shown below: Let's apply the formula to the example above.Step-by-Step:
1
Find the change in y.
Subtract the y-coordinates of the start and end of the line (or two convenient points on it.)
Change in y = 5 − 1 = 4
The change in y is 4.
2
Find the change in x.
Subtract the x-coordinates of the start and end of the line (or two convenient points on it.)
Change in x = 2 − 0 = 2
The change in x is 2.
3
Divide the change in y (4) by the change in x (2).
Slope = Change in y ÷ Change in x
Slope = 4 ÷ 2
Slope = 2