0
The slope of a curved line changes as you go along the curve and so you may have a different slope at each point. Any any particular point, the slope of the curve is the slope of the straight line which is tangent to the curve at that point.
If you know differential calculus, the slope of a curved line at a point is the value of the first derivative of the equation of the curve at that point.
(Actually, even if you don't know differential calculus, the slope is still
the value of the function's first derivative at that point.)
Still curious? Ask our experts.
Chat with our AI personalities
Coach
Maxine
ReneAdd your answer:
Earn +20 pts
The derivative finds the of a curve?
The gradient of the tangents to the curve.
What is a slope of a graph?
Did you mean the slope of a line/parabola/etc.? A slope, in its simplest terms, is how much a line angles away from the horizontal. It describes the steepness, sense, and incline of a line.Finding the slope of a line requires two distinct point ON a line. It's given by the equation: a = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1) where a is the slope, (x1,y1) are the coordinates of the first point, and (x2,y2) the coordinates of the second point. An equation for a straight line is usually represented as y = a*x + b; you could extract the slope by simply looking at the given values of a (the slope).Finding the slope of a curve (parabola, etc.) is taken at the tangent point. As you move along the curve, the slope changes (i.e the slope is NOT constant). The slope of a curve can be found by taking the derivative of the function that defines the curve. After derivation, you just plug in the values of x at where you want to find the slope at.
How do you find the slope of a graph if it is a curve?
You find the slope of the tangent to the curve at the point of interest.
Can you have a slope of 0?
Yes. Slope = rise/run (or in calculus, the derivative, often denoted dy/dx). A slope of zero indicates there is no rise, i.e., a horizontal line (or in the case of a curve, the tangent line at a given point is horizontal).
What is the difference between a line with a slope of zero and no slope?
A line with slope of zero is horizontal. A line with no slope is vertical because slope is undefined on a vertical line.
