Slope of a Line
Slope basically describes the
steepness of a line
If a line goes up from left to right, then
the slope has to be positive
Conversely, if a line goes down from left
to right, then the slope has to be negative
Definitions of Slope
Slope is simply the change in the vertical
distance over the change in the
horizontal distance
rise y y2  y1
slope  m 


run x x2  x1
y2  y1
m
x2  x1
The formula above is the one which we
will use to find the slope of specific lines
In order to use that formula we need to
know, or be able to find 2 points on the
line
If a line is in the form Ax + By = C, we
can use the following formula to find the
slope:
A
m
B
Examples
 1,4, 5,6
2x  3y  5
64
m
5   1
2 1
m 
6 3
2
m
3
Horizontal lines have a slope of zero
while vertical lines have no slope
m=0
Vertical
Horizontal
m = no
slope
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