Slope

Slope is the steepness of a line. A positive slope rises; a negative slope falls. Another term for slope is gradient.

For a straight line, the slope (m) is constant and represented by the difference in the vertical direction (y) divided by the difference in the horizontal direction (x):

<math>m = \frac{\Delta y}{\Delta x}</math>

The delta, Δ, represents the difference in values between any two points in the x or y direction for straight line. For a curve, the delta, Δ, represents the difference in values for two points in very close proximity to each other.

For a straight line, another way of representing the slope (m) is as follows:

<math>m = \frac{y_2 - y_1}{x_2 - x_1}</math>

where the two points are located at (x₁, y₁) and (x₂, y₂).