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How to Determine a Slope

The slope of a curve represents how steep the curve is over an interval of the its graph. Slope measures the difference between the y-values of two points on the curve and the x-values of two points on the curve. This is equivalent to the "rise" between the two points and the "run" between the two points. The closer the line is to the vertical, the higher the slope of the line must be.

Instructions

- 1
  Subtract the x-value of the first coordinate point from the x-value of the second point. For example, with the two points (0, 0) and (4, 7), the difference in x-values is equal to (7 - 0) = 7.
- 2
  Subtract the y-value of the first coordinate point from the y-value of the second point. For example, with the two points (0, 0) and (4, 7), the difference in y-values is equal to (4 - 0) = 4.
- 3
  Divide the the "rise" by the "run." Since y-values rise up from the x-axis and the x-values run along the x-axis, divide ((difference in y) / difference in (x)). The result is the slope of the curve on the interval. For example, if the difference in y = 7 and the difference in x = 4, the slope equals: (7 / 4) = 1.75.

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