Question

What are three ways to find the slope of a line?

Answer 1

Three ways to find the slope of a line:

1. You may have two points `(x_1,y_1)` and `(x_2,y_2)` (often one or both of these points may be intercepts of the `x` and/or `y` axes). The slope is given by the equation
   `m=(y_2-y_1)/(x_2-x_1)`

2. You may have a linear equation that is either in the form or can be manipulated into the form
   `y = mx + b`.
   In this case the slope is `m` (the coefficient of `x`).

3. If the line is a tangent to another function, you may have (or be able to determine) the slope of the tangent as the derivative of the function. Normally in this case the derivative is a function expressed in terms of `x` and you need to substitute the value of `x` into this function for the required location.