How To Find The Slope Of A Plotted Line With The TI-84 Plus Silver Edition

Texas Instruments manufactures the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition graphing calculator. The calculator comes with several features, such as 2 megabytes of Flash memory, a 15-megahertz dual speed processor, an automatic recovery program and a USB connectivity port. Unlike some of its predecessors, the TI-84 Plus Silver Edition can also calculate the equation of a scatter plot line. With this feature, users can easily find the slope of a plotted line.

Step 1

Press the "Clear" button on the calculator until you reach the home screen, which is a blank screen.

Step 2

Press the "2nd" key and then the "Y=" key on the keyboard. This will take you to the scatter plot menu. Make sure the scatter plot is highlighted under the option map "Type." Press the "Clear" key.

Step 3

Press the "Stat" key on the keyboard. Select the option "Edit." Input the values of your scatter plot. The X values in your scatter plot correspond to L1 figures on your calculator. The Y values correspond to L2 figures on your calculator. Press the "Graph" key.

Step 4

Wait while your calculator plots your scatter line. You may need to adjust the zoom on your calculator to view the entire plotted line. If so, press the "Zoom" key. Scroll down to option 9 and hit "Enter."

Step 5

Wait while your calculator plots your scatter line. Press the "Stat" key. Highlight the "Calc" option. Scroll down to option 4. Press the "Enter" key. Press the "Enter" key again. Wait for the calculation. The "a" value displayed on your calculator represents the slope of the scatter plot line. The "b" value displayed on your calculator represents the y-intercept. Both figures together make up the algebraic equation of the scatter plot line.