SOLUTION: I am having a problem understanding how the slope is obtained on a graph. What exactly is the slope? How do you find it when you only have one point given? I have a word problem

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Question 84547: I am having a problem understanding how the slope is obtained on a graph. What exactly is the slope? How do you find it when you only have one point given? I have a word problem that needs to be solved. If someone descends 1800 ft in elevation by the time he is 3.25 miles horizontally away from the top of the mountain, what is the slope of his descent to the nearest hundredth. I do not know how to set up the equation until I can understand what slope is. I look at the graphs and understand the points, but not what the slope is. Please help if possible. Thank you
Answer by funmath(2933) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
I am having a problem understanding how the slope is obtained on a graph. What exactly is the slope? How do you find it when you only have one point given? I have a word problem that needs to be solved. If someone descends 1800 ft in elevation by the time he is 3.25 miles horizontally away from the top of the mountain, what is the slope of his descent to the nearest hundredth. I do not know how to set up the equation until I can understand what slope is. I look at the graphs and understand the points, but not what the slope is.
Slope is the ration of the change of vertical over change of horizontal, or rise over run
Your change in vertical is negative because you're going down -1800 ft
Your change in horizontal is 3.25 mi
Because your getting this from a graph, you may not need to change your units to ft or mi so that they match and cancel. But depending on your course, your teacher may want that.
ft/mi or ft per mi
-553.846 ft/mi
-553.85 ft/ mi
If you need to cancel your units, let me know and I'll show you how.
Happy Calculating!!!