4 Types of Slopes

There are 4 different types of slopes: positive slope,

negative slope, undefined slope, and zero slope. Here are
ways to figure out a slopes type:

1) Positive slope:
Equation if y and the coefficient, or the number to
the left of the variable x, is positive, then the slope is
positive.

Ex: 17 = 3x + 2

Table when the change in y divided by the change
in x is positive.

Ex:
X Y
0 2
1 4 + 2
2 6 + 2
3 8 + 2





Graph when the line on the graph goes up from the
bottom left to the top right.
Ex:

Two points when (y2 y1) / (x2 x1) is positive.

Ex: (1, 2) (3, 9) y2 = 9 y1 = 2 x2 = 3 x1 = 1

2) Negative slope:
Equation when the coefficient of x is negative.

Ex: 15 = 4x + 3





+ 1
+ 1
+ 1
Table when the change in y divided by the change
in x is positive.

Ex:
X Y
0 5
1 3 + 2
2 1 + 2
3 -1 + 2

Graph when the line on the graph goes down from
the top left to the bottom right.

Ex:

Two points when (y2 y1) / (x2 x1) is negative.

Ex: (6, 2) (1, 5) y2 = 5 y1 = 6 x2 = 1 x1 = 2
3) Undefined slope:
Equation when there is no y or when x is always the
same.

Ex: x = 2

Table when the change in y divided by the change
in x is undefined.

Ex:
X Y
4 3
4 6
4 9

Graph when the line on the graph is vertical or
parallel to the y-axis.

Ex:

+ 1
+ 1
+ 1
Two points when (y2 y1) / (x2 x1) is undefined.
Ex: (7, 3) (11, 3) y2 = 3 y1 = 3 x2 = 11 x1 = 7

4) Zero slope:
Equation when there is no x or when y is the same.

Ex: y = 7

Table when the change in y divided by x equals
zero.

Ex:
X Y
1 3
2 3
3 3










Graph when the line is horizontal or parallel to the
x-axis.

Ex:

Two points when (y2 y1) / (x2 x1) is zero.
Ex: (3, 9) (4, 9) y2 = 9 y1 = 9 x2 = 4 x1 = 3







Finding Slope from an Equation

To find the slope from an equation, you find the coefficient
of x. You use the equation y = mx + b. M equals the slope
so the coefficient of x is also the slope. Here are some
examples:

Positive slope:
15 = 5x + 3
The slope is 5 because its the coefficient of x.

Negative slope:
23 = 7x + 2
The slope is 7 because its the coefficient of x.

Undefined slope:
X = 3
The slope is undefined because there is no y.

Zero slope:
Y = 8
The slope is 0 because there is no x.




Finding Slope from a Table

To find the slope from a table, you find the change in y over
the change in x. Here are some examples:

Positive slope:
X Y
0 5
2 10
4 15
6 20

Slope = 5/2 = 2

Negative slope:
X Y
0 4
3 8
6 12
9 16

Slope = 4/3 = 1 1/3



Undefined slope:
X Y
2 5
2 10
2 15
2 20

Slope: 5/0 = undefined
Zero slope:
X Y
4 5
7 5
10 5
13 5

Slope: 0/3 = 0
Finding Slope from a Graph

To find the slope from a graph, you do rise divided by run. Between
two points, start at the point further to the left and find out how far
its y-coordinate is from the y-coordinate of the other point. Then,
divide the distance by how far its x-coordinate is from the x-
coordinate of the other point. Here are some examples:

Positive slope:

Slope: 13/10 Slope: undefined

Negative slope:

Slope: 7/7 = 1 Slope: 0
Finding Slope from Two Points

To find the slope from two points, you subtract the first y-
coordinate from the second y-coordinate and divide the
difference by the difference between the second x-
coordinate and the first x-coordinate. The formula
becomes (y2 y1) / (x2 x1) = m. Here are some examples:

Positive slope:
(4, 3) (6, 9)
Slope = (9 3) / (6 4) = 6/2 = 3

Negative slope:
(8, 3) (6, 7)
Slope = (7 3) / (6 8) = 4/2 = 2

Undefined slope:
(5, 9) (5, 4)
Slope = (4 9) / (5 5) = 5/0 = undefined

Zero slope:
(3, 7) (8, 7)
Slope = (7 7) / (8 3) = 0/5 = 0



+13
+10
7
+7
Undefined slope:
Zero slope:
Finding the X-intercept

The x-intercept is when y equals 0.

Equation Substitute 0 for y and solve the equation
for x.

Ex: 6x + 7y = 42
6x + 7(0) = 42
6x = 42
x = 7
The x-intercept is 7 or (7, 0).

Table Find what x is when y is 0 in the table.

Ex:
X Y
5 2
6 1
4 0
3 1
2 2
X is 4 when y is 0, so the x-intercept is 4 or (4, 0).



Graph when the line crosses the x-axis.

Ex:

The line crosses the x-axis at (6, 0), so the x-intercept
is 6 or (6, 0).

Two points First find m or the slope. Then, pick
one out of the two coordinates given and find b or
the y-intercept. Finally, plug in 0 for y and solve for x.

Ex: (2, 4) (4, 12)





The x-intercept is 2 or (2, 0).
m = (y2 y1)/ (x2 x1)
= (8 4) / (4 2)
= 4 /2
= 2
y = mx + b
12 = 2 * 4 + b
12 8 = 2 * 4 8 + b
12 8 = b
4 = b
y = 0
0 = 2x + 4
0 4 = 2x + 4 4
4 = 2x
4 / 2 = 2x / 2
2 = x
Finding the Y-intercept

The y-intercept is when x equals 0.

Equation Substitute 0 for x and solve the equation
for y.

Ex: 3x + 9y = 27
3x + 9(0) = 27
3x = 27
x = 9
The y-intercept is 9 or (0, 9).

Table Find what y is when x is 0 in the table.

Ex:
X Y
2 8
1 5
0 2
1 1
2 4
Y is 2 when x is 0, so the y-intercept is 2 or (0, 2).



Graph when the line crosses the y-axis.

Ex:



Two points First find m or the slope. Then, pick one
out of the two coordinates given and find b or the y-
intercept.

Ex: (12, 9) (18, 12)





The y-intercept is 4 or (0, 4).
The line crosses the y-axis at (0, 8), so the y-intercept
is 8 or (0, 8).

m = (y2 y1)/ (x2 x1)
= (12 9) / (18 12)
= 3 / 6
= 1 / 2
y = mx + b
12 = 1/2 * 18 + b
12 9 = 1/2 * 18 9 + b
12 9 = b
4 = b