The Slope of a line

Positive Slopes go up from left to right

Negative Slopes go down from left to right

Horizontal Lines have a slope of zero

Vertical Lines have an undefined slope (or no slope)

Slope is always notated by the lower case “m”

Slope = change in y = vertical change = rise

change in x = horizontal change run

Slope Formula
To find a slope given two ordered pairs (x1,y1), (x2,y2), use the slope formula:

m = y2 – y1
x2 – x 1

Find the slope given two points:

(x1,y1) (x2,y2)
1) (9, 5) (4, 8) 2) (6 , -3) (4, - 5)

m=8–5 = 3 m = -5 – -3 = -5 + 3 = -2 = 1
4–9 -5 4–6 4–6 -2

Try These: Check your answer at the bottom of the page before going on.
1) (4, 3) (7, 2) 2) (-6, 10) (-4, 8) 3) (-7, 2) (-7, 4)

− − 2
1) m = 2) m = -1 or 3) m = = 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒
3 0

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PRACTICE: Name the type of slope each line below has:

1) 2) 3) 4)

_________ _________ _________ _________

−
Find the slope given two points: =
−

1. (2, 3) (9, 7) 2. (3, 4) (4, 6)

m = _________

m = _________

3. (2, 6) (-1, 3) 4. (-3, -4) (5, 1)

m = _________

m = _________

5. (5, 7) (-2, -3) 6. (-2, 3) (8,3)

m = _________

m = _________

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Slopes from Graphs
a) Choose two points on the line
b) Find the Rise: count from the lower point up to where the upper point is
c) Find the Run: count right or left to the second point
- Right is a positive run
- Left is a negative run

m=2=2 m = 1 = -1
1 -1

Try These: Check your answers at the bottom of the page before going on.

m= m=

2 −3
1) m = = 2) m =
5
4 2
Determine the slope of each line. Use the points given. (Reduce if possible)
1. 2. 3.

  
 


4. 5. 6.



  

7. 8. 9.

 



10. 11. 12.

 




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Slopes from tables
Example

1. The table shows the cost of using a computer at an Internet café for a given amount of time.
Find the rate of change in cost with respects to time
Time(hours) 2 4 6
Cost(dollars) 7 14 21

= = =

Practice: DON”T FORGET TO LABEL!!!!!

2. The table shows the distance a person walks for exercise. Find the rate of change in distance
with respect to time.
Time(minutes) 30 60 90
Distance (miles) 1.5 3 4.5

3. The table shows the cost to paint a house for a given number of hours. Find the rate of change
in cost with respect to time .
Time(hours) 4 6 8
Cost(dollars) 90 135 180

4. The table shows the number of days you keep a rented movie before returning it and the total
cost of renting the movie. Find the rate of change in cost with respect to time and interpret its
meaning.
Time(days) 4 5 6 7
Total Cost(dollars) 6.00 8.25 10.50 12.75

5. The table shows the amount of time spent at an amusement park and the admission fee the
park charges. Find the rate of change in the fee with respect to time spent at the park and
interpret its meaning.
Time(hours) 4 5 6
Admission Fee(dollars) 34.99 34.99 34.99

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 Slope-intercept form
The Equation of a line is y = mx + b (This is called slope-intercept form)

m= slope = rise Positive rise goes up Negative rise goes down

run Positive run goes right Negative run goes left

b = y-intercept (where the line crosses the y-axis)

(x,y) represent all of the points on the line

How to graph a line given the equation y = mx + b

1) Solve the equation for y = mx + b
2) Graph the y-intercept (b)
3) Graph the slope (m), starting from the y-intercept
4) Draw a line through the two points

Examples:

1) m = -4/1 b=2 2) m = ½ b = 3
y = -4x + 2 y=½x+3

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 Practice:

Graph the following given a slope and a point:

1) m = - ½ b=2 2) m = 6, b = -3 3) m =0 , b = 4

Graph the following equations of lines: (Hint: Determine the slope and y-intercept)

4) y = -4x + 5 5) y = 3/4x – 1 6) y = 2x - 2

7) y = - 5/2x + 3 8) y = -4x 9) y = 3x - 3

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Writing Equations from Graphs
How to find the equation from graph
a) Find the slope (Rise/Run): slope = m
b) Find the y-intercept (Where the line crosses the y-axis: y-intercept = b
c) Plug the slope (m) and the y-intercept (b) into y = mx + b

2 1
a) Find slope m = 1/1= 1 a) m = =  a) m =
4 2
b) Find y-int b=3 b) b = -2 b) b =
c) y = mx = b y = 1x + 3 c) y = - ½x – 2 c) y =

Practice : Finding Slope-intercept Form

I. Determine the slope and y –intercept for each line shown. Then write the equation of the line

1. y = ____________ 2 . y = ____________ 3. y = ____________

m = _____ b = ____ m = ______ b = _____ m = ______ b = _____

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