Semester Review

One of the subjects we focused on this first semester is slope. What is slope? Slope is the ratio of the vertical changes to horizontal changes of a line. It indicates steepness of a line as well as direction. How do you find slope? To find slope you pick any two points on a line (x,y) and (x,y). You then use the rise/run equation (y2-y1)/(x2-x1).

Real Life Example:

Building roller coasters has a lot to do with slope. Roller coasters rely solely on the force generated by the slope of the first hill to glide it to the end. The best slope is one with a curve at the bottom with a flat path. The second slope is known as the “exit path”. The exit path is the slope that helps the roller coaster maintain its velocity after traveling down the first hill. The exit path should have a low slope for a safe exit out of the first hill. This pattern continues for how ever many drops there are.