Slope of a given line, by definition, describes its incline, grade or steepness. Our slope calculator effectively calculates the values of slopes according to the mathematical formulas used for the same.
In mathematics terms, it is sometimes called as gradient. It is used for measuring direction and steepness of any given line or even a particular section of the line that connects two points. Usually, it is denoted by the letter m. The steepness of a line is determined by its slope's absolute value. Greater value of m means steeper line. With slope, you can also find out the line's direction depending on its value and sign.
. If m > 0 then it means it's an increasing line and it goes in upward direction from left-to-right
. If m < 0 then it means it's a decreasing line and it goes in downward direction from left-to-right
. The line's slope is constant and it is horizontal if the value of m is equal to 0
. For vertical lines, the slope is undefined as it leads to fraction with zero in the denominator.
Slope essentially refers to the height change over horizontal distance travelled. It is used in civil engineering as well as geography where gradients are used.
Here is the mathematical representation of slope:
m = y2 - y1 / x2 - x1
The above equation shows vertical change i.e. y2 - y1 and horizontal change i.e. x2 - x1 These changes are, basically, the line segments which form right triangle when combined with the hypotenuse d. Here, d is actually the distance between (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) points.