Mathematics

Grade 8 • Unit 3: Linear Equations

LESSON 3.3
Slope of a Line
Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Test Your Prerequisite Skills 2

DepEd Competency 2

Objectives 3

Warm-Up! 3

Learn about It! 4

Let’s Practice 10

Check Your Understanding 19

Key Points 20

Bibliography 21
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Grade 8 • Unit 3: Linear Equations

Lesson 3.3
Slope of a Line

Figure 1. Steep Warning Sign

Introduction
Have you tried passing through a steep road? It may be terrifying to pass through a very steep
road because you do not know what danger it could bring to you. But seeing these road signs
on the road warn you to be more careful on the road that you are traveling on.

In mathematics, we have a way to illustrate the steepness of a line, which is called the slope.
Engineers use the concept of the slope to compute the steepness of several objects, such as
roads and stairs. In this lesson, you will learn about the slope of a line.

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Grade 8 • Unit 3: Linear Equations

Test Your Prerequisite Skills

Before you get started, answer the following items on a separate sheet of paper. This will
help you assess your prior knowledge and practice some skills that you will need in studying
this lesson. Show your complete solution.

1. Evaluate the following algebraic expressions given the values of the variables:
a. −3𝑥 + 7, where 𝑥 = 5
b. 9 − 2𝑥, where 𝑥 = −4
𝑦2 −𝑦1
c. 𝑥2 −𝑥1
, where 𝑥1 = 3, 𝑥2 = 5, 𝑦1 = −1, 𝑦2 = 1

2. Simplify the following rational expressions

3
a. 6
𝑥
4
b. 𝑥
6
2
c. 4
𝑥

DepEd Competency
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to illustrate and find the slope of a
line given two points, equation, and graph.

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Grade 8 • Unit 3: Linear Equations

Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Accurately determine the slope of a line given its graph.

● Correctly use the formula in finding the slope of a line when given two
points.

● Correctly solve word problems involving the slope of a line.

Warm-Up!

You Raise Me Up!

Materials
● measuring tape or meter stick
● pen and paper

Instructions
1. This activity will be done in pairs.
2. You and your partner are to find a staircase inside your school premises and you are
to measure the steps before one landing.
3. Below are basic terminologies of some parts of the stairs:
a. Riser – vertical section of a step
b. Tread – horizontal section of a step
c. Landing – a level platform installed at a point where stairs change direction
4. Using the varying number of steps, measure the total height of the risers of the steps
you are considering, as well as the total width of the treads.

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Grade 8 • Unit 3: Linear Equations

5. Record your measurements on the table below.

Data Table
Table 1. Stairs Measurements

Names: Location of Stairs:

Ratio of Total Height of
No. of Total Height of the Total Width of the
the Risers to Total
Steps Risers Treads
Width of the Treads

1
2
3
4
5

Learn about It!

Slope of a Line
Every line is characterized by a slope. The slope gives us an idea of how steep the line is.

Essential Question
How will you determine the slope of a line given its graph?

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Grade 8 • Unit 3: Linear Equations

Looking at the mountain in the figure, the person at the foot of it can say it is very steep. A
person near a hill would describe the hill as less steep than the mountain. Lastly, a person on
a plain would say the plain is not steep at all.

If we use a line to model the sides of the mountain, the hill, and the plain, we can describe
how steep it is using the value of the slope.

However, to be exact, the slope of a line is defined as the following:

Definition 3.1: The slope of a line is the ratio of the change

in vertical distance (rise) to the change in
horizontal distance (run).

The variable frequently used to denote the slope is 𝑚.

In the Warm-Up! activity, the total height of the risers may be thought of as the rise and the
total width of the treads may be thought of as the run.

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Grade 8 • Unit 3: Linear Equations

This concept can be illustrated by the following formula.

𝑦2 − 𝑦1
𝑚=
𝑥2 − 𝑥1

There are three ways to find the slope depending on the information given. We will
concentrate on two of these in this lesson. The third way shall be presented in the next lesson.

Given a Graph
When you are given a graph of a line, find the slope of the line by using the formula:

rise
𝑚=
run

This may be computed when you have chosen two points on the line. For instance, to calculate
the slope of the following line, the following steps would be helpful:

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Step 1: Find the rise value.

Start at the lower point and count upwards until you reach the line where the
second point is. Note that counting upwards is assigned a positive value while
counting downwards is assigned a negative value.

We count 4 units up, thus 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 = 𝟒.

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Step 2: Find the run value.

From where you stopped in Step 1, resume counting towards the second point
(left or right). Counting to the left is assigned a negative sign, while counting to
the right is assigned a positive sign.

We count 3 units to the left, thus 𝐫𝐮𝐧 = −𝟑.

Step 3: Substitute the values obtained in the previous steps to the formula for the
slope.
rise
𝑚=
run
4
=
−3
𝟒
=−
𝟑

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Grade 8 • Unit 3: Linear Equations

Essential Question
How will you compute the slope of a line when given two points?

Given Two Points

When you are given the coordinates of two points 𝐴(𝑥1 , 𝑦1 ) and 𝐵(𝑥2 , 𝑦2 ), find the slope of
𝑦 −𝑦
the line using the formula 𝑚 = 𝑥2 −𝑥1 .
2 1

Let us determine the slope of the line that passes through the points (1, −2) and (−3, 3).

Step 1: Identify the value of the variables.

You can freely assign the names 𝐴 and 𝐵 to the given points. For this problem,
let us use 𝐴(1, −2) and 𝐵(−3, 3).

Since 𝐴(𝑥1 , 𝑦1 ) and 𝐵(𝑥 2 , 𝑦2 ), from point 𝐴, we have 𝑥1 = 1 and 𝑦1 = −2.

Similarly, from point 𝐵, we have 𝑥2 = −3 and 𝑦2 = 3.

Step 2: Substitute the values into the formula.

𝑦2 − 𝑦1
𝑚=
𝑥2 − 𝑥1
3 − (−2)
=
−3 − 1

Step 3: Simplify.
3 − (−2)
𝑚=
−3 − 1

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5
=
−4
𝟓
=−
𝟒

It is also important to note that two or more lines that have the same slope are parallel to
one another. Given lines 𝑙1 and 𝑙2 , we can say that 𝑙1 ∥ 𝑙2 if 𝑚1 = 𝑚2 .

If the slope of one line is the negative reciprocal of the other, the two lines are perpendicular.
1
Given lines 𝑙1 and 𝑙2 , we can say that 𝑙1 ⊥ 𝑙2 if 𝑚1 = − 𝑚 .
2

Essential Question
How will you compute for the slope of a line parallel or perpendicular to a
given line?

Let’s Practice
Example 1
Find the slope of the given line.

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Solution
We randomly choose a point on the line and trace the steps vertically and horizontally until
we get to another random point on the line. In this case, let us select 𝐴(3, −1) and 𝐵(0, 1).

Step 1: Find the rise value.

Start at the lower point and count upwards until you reach the level where the
second point is.

We count 2 units up. Thus, 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 = 𝟐.

Step 2: Find the run value.

From where you stopped in Step 1, resume counting towards the second
point.

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Grade 8 • Unit 3: Linear Equations

We count 3 units to the left. Thus, 𝐫𝐮𝐧 = −𝟑.

Step 3: Identify the slope.

rise
𝑚=
run
2
=
−3
𝟐
=−
𝟑

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Grade 8 • Unit 3: Linear Equations

Try It Yourself!
Find the slope of the given line. (Assume that one grid is one unit.)

Example 2
What is the slope of the line that passes through the points (−4, −6) and (−2, 8)?

Solution
Step 1: Identify the values of the variables.

Let 𝐴(−4, −6) and 𝐵(−2, 8). Thus, 𝑥1 = −4, 𝑦1 = −6, 𝑥2 = −2, and 𝑦2 = 8.

Step 2: Substitute the values into the formula.

𝑦2 − 𝑦1
𝑚=
𝑥2 − 𝑥1
8 − (−6)
=
−2 − (−4)

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Step 3: Simplify.

𝑦2 − 𝑦1
𝑚=
𝑥2 − 𝑥1
8 − (−6)
=
−2 − (−4)
14
=
2
=7

Thus, the slope of the line is 7.

Try It Yourself!
Find the slope of the line that passes through the points (7, −2) and (6, 4).

Example 3
Which has a steeper slope: a line that passes through (4, 5) and (−2, 4) or a line that
contains the points (5, −3) and(−4, −6)?

Solution
Step 1: Find the slope of the first line passing through points (4, 5) and (−2, 4).

𝑦2 − 𝑦1
𝑚=
𝑥2 − 𝑥1
4−5
=
(−2) − 4
−1
=
−6
1
=
6

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Step 2: Find the slope of the second line with points (5, −3) and(−4, −6).

𝑦2 − 𝑦1
𝑚=
𝑥2 − 𝑥1
−6 − (−3)
=
−4 − 5
−3
=
−9
1
=
3

Step 3: Compare the two slopes.

1 1
Note that a higher slope means that the line is steeper. Since 3 > 6 , the line

containing the points (𝟓, −𝟑) and(−𝟒, −𝟔) is steeper than the other line.

Try It Yourself!
Compare the line containing (0, −4) and (−1, −7) and the line that passes through the
points (3, 0) and (−3, 2). Which line is steeper? How are the lines related to each other?

Real-World Problems
Example 4
Mrs. Cruz wants to bake a cake for her son’s birthday. She
observed the following readings: the temperature of the oven
after two minutes is 90℃ and 140℃ after four minutes. Find the
rate of change in the temperature.

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Solution:
To find the rate of temperature change, we may use the concept of slope.

Step 1: Identify the ordered pairs.

Let 𝑥 denote the time and 𝑦 denote the temperature.

When the time is two minutes, the temperature is 90°C. We may denote this
using the ordered pair (2, 90).

When the time is four minutes, the temperature is 140°C. We may denote this
using the ordered pair (4, 140).

Step 2: Find the slope.

From the formula of slope, we have

𝑦2 − 𝑦1
𝑚=
𝑥2 − 𝑥1
140 − 90
=
4−2
50
=
2
= 25

Thus, the rate of change of the temperature is 25°C per minute.

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Example 5
As Marina eats frequently in her favorite restaurant, she noticed that the time it takes the
food to be served depends on how many people she is ordering for. If she orders for two
people, their food gets served in about 10 minutes. If she goes with her family, the six of them
will have to wait for 20 minutes to get served. What is the rate at which people are served
their food?

Solution
Similar to Example 4, we may use the concept of slope.

Step 1: Identify the ordered pairs.

Let 𝑥 denote the number of people and 𝑦 denote the time.

When Marina orders for two people, they get served after 10 minutes. We
may denote this using the ordered pair (2, 10).

When Marina orders for six people, they get served after 20 minutes. We may
denote this using the ordered pair (6, 20).

Step 2: Find the slope.

From the formula of slope, we have

𝑦2 − 𝑦1
𝑚=
𝑥2 − 𝑥1
20 − 10
=
6−2

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10
=
4
5
=
2
= 2.5

5
The answer 2 may be interpreted as taking 5 minutes to serve to 2 people. The answer 2.5

may be interpreted as 2.5 minutes is required to serve one person.

Try It Yourself!
From the given table below, find the slope of the linear function and interpret what the
slope represents in the situation.

Daily Wage in a Factory

Amount of Time Worked Compensation
(in hours) (in pesos)
4 240
8 480
12 720

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Grade 8 • Unit 3: Linear Equations

Check Your Understanding

1. Find the slope of the graph below.

2. What is the slope of the line that passes through the points (0, −1) and (0, 9)?

3. Line 𝐴 passes through the points (2, −3) and (5, 6) while line 𝐵 passes though (8, 3) and
(5, 4). What are the slopes of the two lines and how are they related to one another?

4. Stephen walks in an inclined plane from one

point to another (see figure on right). Find the
steepness of the plane.

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5. A ladder touches a house 150 inches above the ground. Its base is 52 inches from the
house. What is the slope of the ladder? Assume the slope is positive.

Key Points

● A slope is the ratio of the change in vertical distance (rise) to the change in horizontal
distance (run). It is usually denoted by the variable 𝑚.
● The higher the absolute value of a slope is, the steeper the line becomes.
○ A horizontal line has a slope 𝑚 = 0.
○ A vertical line has an undefined slope.
● A positive slope means that the line is increasing from left to right. A negative slope
means that the line is decreasing from left to right.
● To find the slope of a line given its graph, we use the formula

rise
𝑚=
run

rise
In the formula, 𝑚 = , rise is the number of units counted upwards from a given
run

point. Run is the number of units counted left or right from where the rise left off. The
direction is left if the slope is negative, and right if the slope is positive.

● Given the coordinates of two points 𝐴(𝑥1 , 𝑦1 ) and 𝐵(𝑥2 , 𝑦2 ), to find the slope of the line
determined by these two points, we use the formula

𝑦2 − 𝑦1
𝑚=
𝑥2 − 𝑥1

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● Two lines that are parallel have the same slope. Two lines that are perpendicular
have slopes which are negative reciprocals of each other.

Bibliography
Math Warehouse. “How to Use the Formula and Calculate Slope.” Retrieved 24 February
2019 from https://www.mathwarehouse.com/algebra/linear_equation/slope-of-a-
line.php.

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