Slope: Practice at Home, Grade 8

Slope tells how steep a line is. In Grade 8 it becomes a number: rise divided by run. It is also the rate of change in real life.

What your child is working on

Pick two points on a line. The rise is how far up (or down) you go, and the run is how far across. For a rise of 3 over a run of 4, the slope is 3/4. Going up to the right gives a positive slope; going down gives a negative one.

Try it at home

Find slope in the real world: a ramp, the steps outside, a hill on a walk. Measure the height of one stair (the rise) and its depth (the run), then work out the slope. Compare a gently sloping ramp with a steep stairway.

On graph paper, plot two points and draw the “staircase” between them. Count the rise and run and write the fraction.

Where children slip

Putting run over rise. A good check: a steeper line has a slope that is bigger in size (ignoring the sign), and a flat line has a slope of 0. A roof is a handy example: a steep roof has a big rise for every foot of run.

Practice online

The free Slope from rise and run page gives short sets. More Grade 8 topics are on the Grade 8 skills list.