Intro to Slope                   Page 4 of 4

Example 2
Find the slope of the line below.​

Step 1: The line is going down to the right, so the slope is negative.  The y-values are decreasing as x increases.
Step 2: Count the spaces down and over to find the rise and the run.  

​Step 3: Slope is Rise/Run.  -3 divided by 1 is just -3 so we can simplify the answer.  Double check the sign of your answer. The line is going down to the right, so the slope should be negative.

Be extra careful when the line goes down to the right. A common mistake is to make both the rise and the run negative.  

Practice

Ready to try some problems on your own? Click the START button below to take a practice quiz.

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How do you find the slope of a line without a graph? Check out the lesson on using 2 points to find slope next!

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