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| Slope Formula: Slope = (Y2 - Y1)/(X2 - X1) | |||
Slope Definition Calculating the slope of a line is a cinch with our online slope calculator. It’s quick, easy and takes but a moment to do because you only need to enter the x and y coordinates of two points and click a button to calculate it. Being able to calculate the slope between two points is something that is absolutely essential to mathematics. It is a concept that is introduced in most schools around the world at the same time pre-algebra or trigonometry is taught and it stays useful even as studies advance past the level of calculus. It’s also a skill that stays useful into more advanced professions, such as in the fields of financial analysis, engineering and economics. Regardless of why you are using it, you will find that slope can make figuring out the direction between two points much easier. What Exactly is Slope? Slope is defined as the ratio of how much something ‘rises’ compared to how much it ‘runs’. In an analysis between two things that are of only two dimensions, this can describe how quickly or slowly something rises or falls. In more mathematical terms, it describes the change in ‘y’ over ‘x’. Calculating the Slope Using Our Calculator The process of using our calculator to obtain the slope of a line is very easy and streamlined. In order to be able to find the slope between two points, two things are required:
Once you have all of this data, you can simply follow the steps below in order to promptly receive the slope of your line.
It should be noted that you have to make sure to go from left to right with your coordinates or your slope will be negative. This means that the coordinate pair (x2, y2) should have an x2 value that is smaller than the x1 value in (x1, y1). The reason that you need to be wary of your coordinate pairs being reversed is because slope is calculated from left to right in terms of the domain. More Advanced Uses of Slope The more advanced uses of slope typically fall into differential calculus. Given the fact that slope describes the change between one point and another along a line, it only makes sense that the slope of any point on a line or curve can be deduced. This is exactly what differential calculus attempts to do. If you need to think of it another way, take any point on a curve. If you were to pick any point along a curve and then draw a line that ran parallel to that point, you would obtain a line that gives you an idea of the slope of the curve at that point. Real Life Uses of Slope As mentioned earlier, slope is something that is vital to be able to calculate. If imagine that slope is one of those things that you will never use outside of the classroom, you are incorrect. Because the introduction of slope is generally accompanied by the ability to graph a line, start off with the financial business example first. Profits earned on one day by a company can be described the coordinate (0, p0) where p0 is the amount of profits gained on one day. The next day can be described by (1, p1) where p1 is the next day’s profits. If the slope of those two coordinate pairs are taken, then you can easily see whether or not your company’s profits are increasing or decreasing between days. Other uses of slope include finding the gradient of a street, the slope of a roof and the acceleration of an object. Be sure to check out the rest of our math calculators How to Calculate Slope Let's be honest - sometimes the best slope calculator is the one that is easy to use and doesn't require us to even know what the slope formula is in the first place! But if you want to know the exact formula for calculating slope then please check out the "Formula" box above. |