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1. Change in y over change in x. For a linear equation, this is just m = (y2-y1)/(x2-x1) where (x1,y1), (x2,y2) are any two points on the line.

2. Evaluating the tangent of the angle relative to horizontal. For example, if a ramp has a 10 degree angle above horizontal, then the slope is tan(10).

3. For any differentiable function y in terms of x, dy/dx gives the expression for the slope of a tangent line through a point on y. If y = x3+1, then dy/dx = 3x2, and at the point (1,2), dy/dx = 3, so the slope at this point is 3. Finding the derivative of a function is very similar to finding the slope of two points on a function that are infinitely close together.

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13y ago

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