Slope Formula
*Note that m is the math variable that stands for slope.
Also note that the slope of a line measures how steep the line is and is often referred to as rise over run. The rise refers to how many units there are when moving up or down from one point to another, this would be the y value. The run refers to how many units there are when moving left or right from one point to another and this change refers to the x value (horizontal).
Sample Slope Problem
Find the slope of a line that passes through points (4,-3) and (-7,3).
The slope is: 6/-11
To put it in other terms, your rise (y value) is 6 and your run (x value) is -11. If you were to graph this, you would start at your initial point and go up 6 (if it was a negative you would go down 6) and you will go to the left (or back) 11. Rise always follows the Y-axis and goes up or down and run always follows the X-axis and will go left or right.
The equation looks like the following:
Your y value will be 3 - (-3)= 6
**Note: Subtacting a negative number turns into a positive.
Your x value will be -7 - 4 = -11