Slope of an equation

Answer 1

For a straight line (a linear equation), solve the equation for "y". That will give you an equation of the form:

y = mx + b

In this case, "m" is the slope (and "b" is the y-intercept).

For an arbitrary equation, solve it for "y" again. Then you need to take the derivative. There are various rules for taking the derivative; you can see an overview in the Wikipedia article on "Derivative", but to understand the concept better, you should read an introductory calculus book.