IM4_Ch08_3pp.

fm Page 210 Thursday, April 9, 2009 1:24 PM

8:03 | The Gradient of a Line

quiz
ep y
F (15, 6)
pr

6
5 D
4
8:03 3 B (10, 4)
2 A C E
1 (1, 1) (4, 2) (7, 1) (13, 1) (17, 1) G
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 x

1 Which is steepest, AB or EF?

2 3 and 4 If I travel from left to right, between which 3 pairs of letters am I travelling
upwards?
5 6 and 7 Between which 3 pairs of letters am I travelling downwards?
Say whether the hill is sloping up, down, or not at all, at the points
8 A 9 G 10 F

The gradient or slope of a line is a measure of how steep it is.

Negative gradient Positive gradient A higher positive gradient

• If we move from left to right the line going down is said to have a negative gradient (or slope).
The line going up is said to have a positive gradient (or slope).
• If the line is horizontal (not going up or down) its gradient is zero.
• We find the gradient of a line by comparing its rise (change in y) with its run (change in x).

rise change in y
Gradient = --------- = -----------------------------
run change in x

• So a gradient of 1--2- means that for every run of 2 there is a rise of 1 y

(or for every 2 that you go across you go up 1). 2
1
1
2
2 1
–2 1 1 2 3 4 x
–1
2

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Finding the gradient of a line

1 Select any two points on the line.
B
2 Join the points and form a right-angled triangle by drawing a
vertical line from the higher point and a horizontal side from
the lower point. rise
3 Find the change in the y-coordinates (rise) and the change
A
in the x-coordinates (run). run
4 Use the formula above to find the gradient.

worked examples
Use the points A and B to find the gradient of the line AB in each case.
1 y 2 y 3 y
6 6 6
B(–1, 5)
5 5 5
4 4 B(4, 3) 4
B(4, 4)
3 3 3
3 6
2 2 2 2
2 A(–1, 1)
1 1 1
A(2, 1) 5
0 1 2 3 4 5 x –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 x 0 1 2 3 4 5 x
–1 –1 –1 3 A(2, –1)

Solutions
change in y change in y ■ m is used
1 Gradient 2 m = ---------------------------- 3 m = ----------------------------
change in x change in x for ‘gradient’
change in y
= ---------------------------- up 2 down 6
change in x = -------------------- = --------------------
across 5 across 3 ■ Gradient is
up 3 generally left as an
= -------------------- 2 6
across 2 = --- = − --- improper fraction
5 3
3 instead of a mixed
= --- = −2 numeral. So we write
2
3 1
--- instead of 1 --- .
2 2

• Architectural design often

requires an understanding
of gradients (slopes).

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Gradient formula
We wish to find a formula for the gradient of a line AB where A is (x1, y1) and B is (x2, y2).
rise
Gradient of AB = --------
y run
y2 ■ m is used
B(x2, y2) change in y
y2 – y1
= ---------------------------- for ‘gradient’
change in x
y1
A(x1, y1) C(x2, y1) BC
= --------
AC
0 x1 x2 x
x2 – x1
y 2 – y 1 (opposite sides of a
∴ m = ----------------
x 2 – x 1 rectangle are equal)

The gradient of the line that passes through the points A(x1, y1) and B(x2, y2) is
given by the formula: y –y 2 1
m = ----------------
-
x2 – x1

worked examples
Find the gradient of the straight line passing through the following points.
1 (1, 3) and (4, 7) 2 (6, −2) and (2, −1) It doesn't matter
Solutions which point is
1 Let (x1, y1) be (1, 3) 2 Let (x1, y1) be (6, −2) called (x1, y1).
and (x2, y2) be (4, 7). and (x2, y2) be (2, −1).
y2 – y1 y2 – y1
Gradient = ---------------- m = ----------------
x2 – x1 x2 – x1
7–3 –1 – ( – 2 )
= ------------ = -----------------------
4–1 2–6
4 1
= --- = ------
3 –4
∴ The gradient is 1 1--3- . ∴ The gradient is − 1--4- .

Exercise 8:03 Foundation Worksheet 8:03

Gradients
1 Find the gradient of the line from the graph.
a y b y
1 For each of the following, state if the line has a positive
or negative gradient. 2 2

a b 4 x 1 x
y y
2 Find the lengths of the missing sides on each
triangle and then find the gradient.
x a y b y
(3, 3)
x
x (–4, –1)

x (2, –3)
(1, 0)

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c y d y e y

x x
x

2 Using Gradient = ---------- find the gradient of AB in each of the following:

Run
a y b y c y
B(2, 6) A(0, 6)
6 6 6
B(1, 5)
5 5 5
4 4 4
5 5
3 3 3
B(3, 2) 6
2 2 2
A(1, 1)
1 1 3 1
1
–1 0 1 2 3 4 5 x –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 x –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 x
–1 2 A(3, –1)
d A(2, 9), B(−1, 0) e A(0, 5), B(5, 0) f A(−3, −8), B(1, 8)
3 a Calculate the gradients of the four lines. y
B
E D
b Which lines have the same gradients? 5
c Which lines are parallel? 4

G 3 F
2
1

0 1 2 3 4 5 x
A H
C

4 On the same number plane, draw:

■ If two lines have
a a line through (0, 0) with a gradient of −2 the same gradient
b a line through (1, 1) which is parallel to the line in a. they are parallel.
c Do the lines in a and b have the same gradient?
y2 – y1
5 Use the formula m = ---------------
- to find the gradient of the straight line passing through
x2 – x1
the points:
a (2, 6) and (5, 7) b (4, 2) and (5, 6)
c (3, 1) and (7, 3) d (0, 0) and (5, 2) If a line has no
e (0, 5) and (6, 6) f (3, 0) and (5, 6) slope m = 0.
g (6, 2) and (2, 1) h (7, 7) and (5, 6)
i (9, 12) and (3, 7) j (−4, 3) and (1, 4)
k (−3, −2) and (0, 6) l (4, −1) and (3, 3)
m (2, 3) and (−4, 9) n (−4, 1) and (−2, −4)
o (5, 2) and (7, −6) p (−3, −1) and (−6, −7)
q (4, −2) and (−4, −2) r (−6, 3) and (1, 3)

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6 a Find the gradient of the line that passes through y

A(3, 1) and B(5, 11). 5
b Find the slope of the line that passes through 4
A(0, 3)
3
O(0, 0) and B(−1, −2). B(2, 2)
2
c On the graph shown, all of the points A, B, C and D C(4, 1)
1 C(6, 0)
lie on the same straight line, x + 2y = 6.
Find the gradient of the line using the points: –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 x
i A and B ii C and D
iii A and D iv B and C
Conclusion: Any two points on a straight line
can be used to find the gradient of that line.
A straight line has only one gradient.
d Use the gradient of an interval to show that the
points (−2, 5), (2, 13) and (6, 21) are collinear
(ie, lie on the same straight line).
7 a i Find the gradient of BC and of AD. y
B(3, 7) C(7, 8)
ii Find the gradient of AB and of DC.
iii What kind of quadrilateral is ABCD?
Give a reason for your answer.
b Prove that a quadrilateral that has vertices A(2, 3), A(1, 2) D(5, 3)
B(9, 5), C(4, 0) and D(−3, −2) is a parallelogram. x
(It will be necessary to prove that opposite sides
are parallel.)
8 Use the fact that a rhombus is a parallelogram with a pair of adjacent sides equal to prove that the
points A(−1, 1), B(11, 4), C(8, −8) and D(−4, −11) form the vertices of a rhombus.

214 INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICS 4