The slope of a line represents its steepness and is calculated as the ratio of rise over run, or the vertical change over the horizontal change between two points on the line. To find the slope, identify two points, count the vertical and horizontal change between them, and divide the vertical change by the horizontal change. A positive slope occurs when the vertical change is up or the horizontal change is left to right, while a negative slope occurs when the vertical change is down or the horizontal change is right to left.

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Slope of a Line
 A ratio that represents the steepness of a line
 Ratio of rise to run
 Ratio of vertical change to horizontal change
 Represented by m in linear equations: y = mx + b
Slope = m = rise = vertical change =y
run horizontal change x
How to find the slope:
1) identify two points on the line (3,0) and (6,4)
2) count the units of vertical change (up 4 units)
3) count the units of horizontal change (right 3 units)
4) the slope is 4
3
Positive vs Negative Rise/Run
 change in y = positive value
(counting up)
 change in y = negative value (counting down)
 change in x = positive value (counting left to right)
 change in x = negative value (counting right to left)