1. Slope (Gradient) of a
Straight Line
Objective: I can define slope and use a
graph or table to find the slope of a line

3. Define Slope
Slope equals the change in y over the change in x
Change in Y
Change in X
Slope =
The Slope (also called Gradient) of a straight line shows how steep a
straight line is.

4. Examples
The slope on this line is 3/3
So the slope is equal to 1

5. Slope equals 4/2
The line is steeper so the slope is
larger

6. Positive or Negative?
Starting from the left end of the line and going across to the right is
positive (but going across to the left is negative).
Up is positive, and down is negative
That line goes down as you move
along, so it has a negative slope
Slope = -4/2 = -2

7. Straight Across
Slope = =0
0
5

8. Straight Up and Down (vertical)
Slope =
3
0
This one is a bit tricky ... you can't divide by zero, so a "straight up
and down" (Vertical) line's slope is "undefined".
= Undefined

9. Rise and Run
Sometimes the horizontal change is called "run", and the vertical
change is called "rise" or "fall":

10. The slope formula
The slope m of a line passing through points (x1,y1) and
(x2,y2) is the ratio of the difference in the y-coordinates to
the corresponding difference in the x-coordinates.