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Here are some tips for Determining Slope, which aligns with California state standards:

Determining Slope

The slope of a line (m) tells you how steep is the line. You can figure out the slope of a line when you know the coordinates of two points on the line.

m

=

y2 - y1 x2 - x1

where (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) are two points on the line

A simple way to remember the formula is "rise over run" where rise is the change in y (or change in up and down) and run is the change in x (or change in left and right).

There are four types of slopes: positive, negative, zero, and undefined.

Positive slope:

Lines with positive slopes go up from left to right. (5,5) and (0,1) are two points on the line. m = y2 - y1 x2 - x1   = 5 - 1 5 - 0   = 4 5

Negative slope:

Lines with negative slopes go down from left to right. (0,0) and (4,-3) are two points on the line. m = y2 - y1 x2 - x1   = - 3 - 0 4 - 0   = - 3 4

Zero slope:

Lines with zero slopes are horizontal lines going left and right. (-6,5) and (2,5) are two points on the line. m = y2 - y1 x2 - x1   = 5 - 5 - 6 - 2   = 0 - 8   = 0

Undefined slope:

Lines with undefined slopes are vertical lines going up and down. (4,6) and (4,2) are two points on the line. m = y2 - y1 x2 - x1   = 6 - 2 4 - 4   = 4 0   = undefined

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