How To Solve For Slope In Algebra 1

In Algebra 1, slope refers a line's ratio of vertical rise to horizontal run. In other words, slope measures the steepness or incline of a line. Slope is used in graphing functions. In formulas, slope is "m." The domain of a line is represented by "x" and the range of a line is "y." It is important to know how to find the slope of a line because understanding slope is the foundation of later Algebra 1 lessons, such as slope-intercept form, standard slope form and point-slope form.

Step 1

Know the meaning of basic terms. Positive slope refers to a line that goes up from left to right on a graph. Negative slope refers to a line that goes down as you move left to right.

Step 2

Understand and memorize the definition, or formula, of slope. When given two points with coordinates, the formula for the slope of the line containing those two points is m = (y2 – y1) / (x2 – x1). The first given coordinate is (x1,y1) and the second given coordinate is (x2, y2).

Step 3

Evaluate the two given points and plug them into the slope formula. For example, if the given coordinates are K (2, 6) and N (4, 5), the formula will look like m = (5 – 6) / (4 – 2).

Step 4

Simply and calculate values in parenthesis. For example, (5 – 6) = -1 and (4 – 2) = 2.

Step 5

Plug the new values back into the slope formula. This value is the slope. For the example, it's -1/2. Therefore, the slope of the line equals -1/2 or 0.5.

Step 6

Evaluate the value of the line's slope and determine whether the line has a negative or positive slope. For example, a line with a slope of -1/2 has a negative slope. Thus, you can visualize the line on a graph moving down as it moves left to right.

Step 7

Practice solving for slope with other examples until you have fully grasped the concept of slope and its formula.