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
Answer:
The slope of the line is 2.Postive And Negative Slopes
A positive slope means the line slopes up and to the right:
A negative slope means the line slopes down and to the right:
Fractional Slope
Slope can be a fraction, such as ½ and ¾. An improper fraction is positive, but less than 1. A slope of 1 gives a 45° line. A fractional slope is less steep than this:
Zero Slope And Undefined Slope
A line that goes straight across has zero slope:
A line that goes straight across has an undefined slope:
)