Question 51250
I know this is algebra and it seems like everything in algebra requires an equation of some sort. But sometimes, a little common sense will get the job done with a lot less confusion.
Try this.
The definition of slope is "rise over run".
In your problem, you could say Tom "rose" (in reverse) 1800 feet while he "ran" (horizontally) 3.25 miles.
So the slope here is Rise/Run = 1800 ft./3.25 miles.
But you'll need to change the units so that they are the same, either all in feet or all in miles. All in feet seems to be the better approach, so how many feet are there in 3.25 miles?
Well, 1 mile = 5280 ft.  Multiply both sides by 3.25
3.25 mies = 3.25(5280) ft.
3.25 miles = 17160 ft. Now we can calculate the slope:
{{{1800/17160 = 0.104895}}} But you need to round to the nearest hundreth.

The slope is 0.10