slope
Idioms about slope
synonym study for slope
usage note for slope
OTHER WORDS FROM slope
slop·ing·ly, adverbslop·ing·ness, nounun·sloped, adjectiveun·slop·ing, adjectiveWords nearby slope
MORE ABOUT SLOPE
What does slope mean?
In mathematics, the slope (also called the gradient) of a line is a measurement of how steep the line is or how much of a slant it has.
In math, a line is an object with no thickness that extends forever in both directions. In basic math, we assume lines to be perfectly straight, meaning they don’t curve or change directions to form angles.
Take a piece of graph paper to create a Cartesian plane by drawing two perpendicular lines. These two lines are called the axes. The axis going sideways is the x-axis, and the axis going up and down is the y-axis. We use these axes to label where any point on the plane is located. You can then measure the slope of a line compared to the x-axis by using the Cartesian coordinates on your Cartesian plane.
Why is slope important?
The first records of the word slope, which has several other meanings, come from around 1495. It emerged as a variant of the word aslope, meaning “diagonally” or “aslant.” Mathematical slopes and (Cartesian coordinates) were formulated by mathematician and philosopher René Descartes (1596–1650).
In basic math, we only measure slopes of straight lines. Finding the slopes of curved or nonlinear lines is much more complicated and is usually used to introduce students to derivatives in calculus.
Did you know … ?
A horizontal line has a slope of 0, while a vertical line has an undefined slope. The reason for the undefined slope is that the x coordinates would be the same and equal 0 when subtracted from each other. Because you cannot divide by 0, the slope of a vertical line is impossible to determine.
What are real-life examples of slope?
Slopes and slope formulas are a relatively simple mathematical concept that will nonetheless cause misery to students who don’t enjoy math.
Got a B- in 8th grade algebra but I still remember how to calculate a slope, so I've got that going for me
— Michael’s Twiter.com Page (@ErrorAustralis) November 21, 2016
8th gr. math students draw their name using only straight lines and then identify the different types of slope using Apple notes! #WPSIgnitelearning #WPSProud @WichitaUSD259 pic.twitter.com/COjQVCVtDp
— Curtis Middle School (@curtisusd259) September 16, 2021
What other words are related to slope?
Quiz yourself!
True or False?
In mathematics, the slope of a line is calculated using Cartesian coordinates.