Question

In your own words, explain the steps you would need to take to find slope from data in a table.

Answer 1

To find the slope from data in a table, you would follow these steps:

1. **Identify Data Points**: Look at the table and identify the pairs of values. Each row typically represents a point, with one value for the x-coordinate and one for the y-coordinate.

2. **Select Two Points**: Choose two specific data points from the table. Let's call them (x1, y1) and (x2, y2).

3. **Use the Slope Formula**: Apply the slope formula, which is:
\[
\text{slope} (m) = \frac{(y2 - y1)}{(x2 - x1)}
\]
This formula calculates the change in the y-values (rise) over the change in the x-values (run).

4. **Calculate Changes**:
- Find the difference between the y-values: \( y2 - y1 \)
- Find the difference between the x-values: \( x2 - x1 \)

5. **Compute the Slope**: Insert the differences you calculated into the slope formula to get the value of the slope.

6. **Interpret the Slope**: Finally, consider what the slope represents in the context of the data. A positive slope indicates an upward trend, while a negative slope indicates a downward trend.

By carefully following these steps, you can find the slope based on the data provided in the table.