Q&A for How to Find the Slope of an Equation

Return to Full Article

Coming soon

Add New Question

Question

What is the slope for the equation y=1?

Donagan

Top Answerer

The graph of y=1 is a straight, horizontal line, meaning that it does not rise or fall as it moves left or right. Its slope is therefore zero.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 11 Helpful 20
Question

What if the equation is like x+y=0 or x-y=0?

Community Answer

That's no problem. When x+y=0, y=-x. In this case the slope is -1. On the other hand, when x-y=0, y=x. Here the slope is +1.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 6 Helpful 19
Question

What's the difference between a slope = 0 and slope = undefined?

Donagan

Top Answerer

A zero slope is a horizontal line (parallel to the x-axis), and an undefined slope is a vertical line (parallel to the y-axis).

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 12 Helpful 12
Question

Slope of a line 2x - y +9?

Donagan

Top Answerer

If the equation is 2x - y + 9 = 0, re-write it as y = 2x + 9. Once the equation is written in that form, the slope is seen as the coefficient of the independent variable (x in this case). So the slope is 2.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 10 Helpful 14
Question

How do I find the slope given a single point on a straight line?

Donagan

Top Answerer

If all you're given are the coordinates of a single point on a line, you cannot find a line's slope. You would need the coordinates of at least one more point.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 4 Helpful 7
Question

How do I find the slope in a word problem?

Donagan

Top Answerer

You would have to write an equation that reflects the conditions stated in the word problem. If you can write it in (or change it to) the form y = mx + b, the slope will be the x-coefficient (m).

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 8 Helpful 1
Question

So is the slope of y=-2 .-2?

Community Answer

No. y = -2 is graphed as a horizontal line, meaning its slope is zero. Put another way, there is no x-term in the equation y = -2, meaning that the x-coefficient is zero. The x-coefficient is also the slope.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 4 Helpful 1
Question

How do I find the equation of a vertical line containing the point (2,5)?

Community Answer

Its equation is x=2.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 7 Helpful 4
Question

How would I find the slope of the line y = 4?

Donagan

Top Answerer

Any line whose equation is y = k (where k is any constant) will be horizontal (that is, parallel to the x-axis) and therefore will have a slope of zero. Another way of explaining it is to view y = 4 in the slope-intercept form: y = mx + b, where m (the slope) is zero (and b is 4).

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 7 Helpful 3
Question

How do I find the slope intercept equation using only one set of points?

Donagan

Top Answerer

If you mean that the only information given is one point on the line, that's not enough information to define a line. You must have at least two points to define a straight line, or you must know one point and the slope.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 7 Helpful 5
Question

What is the slope of x = -2?

Community Answer

The slope is "undefined" (or infinity). The graph is a vertical line, meaning that for the only value of x (-2), there are an infinite number of y values on that vertical line.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 1 Helpful 1
Question

What is y if the slope between (4,y) and (10,0) is 4/3?

Community Answer

The slope equals (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1). So 4/3 = (0 - y) / (10 - 4). Now cross-multiply: (4)(6) = (3)(-y). Then 24 = -3y, and y = -8.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
Question

What is y if the slope between (4,y) and (10,0) is 4/3?

Community Answer

The slope is (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1) = (0 - y) / (10 - 4) = -y / 6. Set that equal to the given slope, 4/3: -y/6 = 4/3. Now cross-multiply: (-y)(3) = (6)(4). So -3y = 24, and y = -8.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
Question

What would the slope-intercept form be for the equation -2x+5y=10 be?

Community Answer

Add 2x to both sides of the equation, and then divide both sides by 5. That results in the slope-intercept form: y = (2x + 10) / 5 = (2/5)x + 2. That means the slope is 2/5, and the y-intercept is +2.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
Question

What is the slope of the line y = (-3/2) x - 2?

Community Answer

The slope is -3/2.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
Question

What would the slope be if it was something like y = 4/5x?

Community Answer

Assuming y = (4/5)x, the slope is 4/5. Whenever an equation takes the form of y = mx + b (as this one does -- b being 0), m (the coefficient of x) is the slope.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
Question

Find the slope of the line f(x) = 2x^2 + 4x at point (2, 4)?

GB742

Top Answerer

First off, we need to differentiate f(x) to find f'(x). f'(x) = 4x+4. To find the slope of the tangent to the line at (2, 4), substitute the x ordinate of the point: f'(2) = 4(2)+4 = 12. Therefore, the slope of f(x) at (2, 4) is 12.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
Question

What is the slope for y=15x+100?

GB742

Top Answerer

As this formula is in the form y=mx+c, m is the gradient of the line. In this example m=15, therefore, the slope of the line is 15.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
Question

How do I figure out the slope of a line?

Community Answer

Rise over run. Find the closest simple points. so let's take (4,8) and (7,4). The rise over run is (-4, 3) or (3,-4) but it does not matter which you choose to do. Then, (saying we are doing 3 and -4), we would divide 3/-4, which is -0.75.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
Question

How do I find the slope of a tangent line?

Community Answer

Multiply the x by y value, then divide the number into its factors and subtract it by the numbers you multiplied.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
Question

How do you find a slope if the line is straight?

MightBeCherryPie

Community Answer

If the line is straight, the slope is zero (0). This is because you aren't going up or away any. If the line is horizontal, then the slope would be 0/1 which would simplify to 0. If the line is vertical, then the slope is 1/0, which isn't a rational fraction, and the slope would be undefined.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
Question

How do you know which number goes at the bottom?

MightBeCherryPie

Community Answer

Slope is found by rise/run. That means that the change in Y is on top and the change X is on the bottom.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
Question

What if its a plus sign? Am I going to minus the number? It is about y=mx+b.

MightBeCherryPie

Community Answer

If the equation is y = mx + b, then the b is a positive number. If it is y = mx - b, then the b is a negative number.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
Question

How do I find the slope when I know 2 points on a line?

Community Answer

When finding a slope on a number line, you always want to locate the two points and these are called the rise, and the horizontal change is called the run. The slope equals the rise divided by the run. You can determine the slope of a line from its graph by looking at the rise and run. One characteristic of a line is that its slope is constant all the way along it.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0