Slope

The slope of a line measures the steepness of the line. The slope is associated with "rise over run".

Rise means how many units you move up or down from point to point. On the graph that would be a change in the y values.

Run means how far left or right you move from point to point. On the graph, that would mean a change of x values.

Positive slope: when a line has a positive slope it goes up from left to right.

Negative slope: when a line has a negative slope it goes down from left to right.

Zero slope: when a line is horizontal the slope is 0.

Undefined slope: when the line is vertical the slope is undefined.

Learn more about slopes from the explanation below.

Practice: Find the slope of a line given the coordinates of two points on the line in the exercises below.