IntroductionTo Slope

Slope is a measure ofsteepness.

Types of Slope

PositiveNegative

Zero

Undefinedor

No Slope

Slope is sometimesreferred to as the“rate of change”

between 2 points.

The letter “m” isused to represent

slope.

run

risem

When given two points (x1,y1) and (x2,y2), use the formula:

12

12

xx

yym

Find the slope of the line through the

points (3,7) and (5, 19).

x1y1 x2y2

Example #1:

Find the slope of the line through the

points (3,7) and (5, 19).

m = 19 – 7

5 – 3 m = 12 2

m = 6

Example #1 (continued):

(3, 4) and (-6, -2)

m = -2 – 4 -6 – 3 m = -6 -9

m = ⅔

Example #2:

What if thenumerator is 0?

Then the line has a slope of zero.

What if thedenominator is 0?

Then the line has no slope, because division by zero

is undefined.

Tonight’s HomeworkTonight’s Homework

pg. 321 #1-27 (odd)

The End