SLOPE

The slope of a line in the plane containing the x and y axes is generally
represented by the letter m, and is defined as the change in the y coordinate
divided by the corresponding change in the x coordinate, between two distinct
points on the line. This is described by the following equation:

In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a line is a number that describes both

the direction and the steepness of the line.[1] Slope is often denoted by the letter
m.[2]
The direction of a line is either increasing, decreasing, horizontal or
vertical.
o A line is increasing if it goes up from left to right. The slope is
positive, i.e.
.
o A line is decreasing if it goes down from left to right. The slope is
negative, i.e.
.
o If a line is horizontal the slope is zero. This is a constant function.
o If a line is vertical the slope is undefined (see below).
The steepness, incline, or grade of a line is measured by the absolute
value of the slope. A slope with a greater absolute value indicates a
steeper line
Slope is calculated by finding the ratio of the "vertical change" to the
"horizontal change" between (any) two distinct points on a line. Sometimes the
ratio is expressed as a quotient ("rise over run"), giving the same number for
every two distinct points on the same line. A line that is decreasing has a
negative "rise".
Examples

Suppose a line runs through two points: P = (1, 2) and Q = (13, 8). By dividing
the difference in y-coordinates by the difference in x-coordinates, one can obtain
the slope of the line:
.
Since the slope is positive, the direction of the line is increasing. Since |m|
<1, the incline is not very steep (incline <45).
As another example, consider a line which runs through the points (4, 15) and
(3, 21). Then, the slope of the line is

Since the slope is negative, the direction of the line is decreasing. Since |m|
>1, this decline is fairly steep (decline >45).
Calculus
The concept of a slope is central to differential calculus. For non-linear
functions, the rate of change varies along the curve. The derivative of the
function at a point is the slope of the line tangent to the curve at the point, and is
thus equal to the rate of change of the function at that point.
If we let x and y be the distances (along the x and y axes, respectively)
between two points on a curve, then the slope given by the above definition,
,
is the slope of a secant line to the curve. For a line, the secant between any two
points is the line itself, but this is not the case for any other type of curve.
For example, the slope of the secant intersecting y = x2 at (0,0) and (3,9) is 3.
(The slope of the tangent at x = 32 is also 3a consequence of the mean value
theorem.)
By moving the two points closer together so that y and x decrease, the secant
line more closely approximates a tangent line to the curve, and as such the slope
of the secant approaches that of the tangent. Using differential calculus, we can
determine the limit, or the value that y/x approaches as y and x get closer

to zero; it follows that this limit is the exact slope of the tangent. If y is
dependent on x, then it is sufficient to take the limit where only x approaches
zero. Therefore, the slope of the tangent is the limit of y/x as x approaches
zero, or dy/dx. We call this limit the derivative.

Its value at a point on the function gives us the slope of the tangent at that point.
For example, let y=x2. A point on this function is (-2,4). The derivative of this
function is dy/dx=2x. So the slope of the line tangent to y at (-2,4) is 2(-2) = -4.
The equation of this tangent line is: y-4=(-4)(x-(-2)) or y = -4x - 4.

At each point, the derivative is the slope of a line that is tangent to the curve at that point. Note: the
derivative at the point A is positive where green and dash-dot, negative where red and dashed, and
zero where black and solid.