Name Class Date

5.3 
Interpreting Rate
of Change and Slope
Essential question: How can you relate rate of change and slope in linear relationships?
Resource
Locker

Determining Rates of Change

Explore  
For a function defined in terms of x and y, the rate of change over a part of the domain of the function is a ratio that
compares the change in y to the change in x in that part of the domain.
change in y
rate of change = ​ _ ​
change in x
The table shows the year and the cost of sending 1-ounce letter in cents.

Years after 2000 (x) 3 4 6 8 13

Cost (cents) 37 37 39 42 46
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__
change in postage
  
Find the rate of change, ​     ​, for each time period using the table.
change in year
Frazier Photolibrary, Inc./Alamy

From 2003 to 2004: ​ __-  ​ =

A   
4-3
cent(s) per year

-
B From 2004 to 2006: ​ __
    ​ = = cent(s) per year
6-4

-
C From 2006 to 2008: ​ __
    ​ = = cent(s) per year
8-6

-
D From 2008 to 2013: ​ __
    ​ = = cent(s) per year
13 - 8

Module 5 221 Lesson 3

E Plot the points represented in the table. Connect the points with line segments to make a
statistical line graph.

Postage Costs

46
44
42
Cost (cents) 40
38
36
34
32
30
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Years after 2000

Find the rate of change for each time period using the graph.

F Label the vertical increase (rise) and the G Label the vertical increase (rise) and the
horizontal increase (run) between points (4, 37) horizontal increase (run) between points (6, 39)
rise rise
and (6, 39). Then find the rate of change, ​ ___
run ​. and (8, 42). Then find the rate of change, ​ ___
run ​.

rise _ ​ =
​ _ rise _____​ =
​ _
run ​ = ​  cent(s) per year run ​ = ​  cent(s) per year

H Label the vertical increase (rise) and the horizontal increase (run) between points (8, 42)
rise
and (13, 46). Then find the rate of change, ​ ___
run ​.

rise _____​ =
​ _
run ​ = ​  cent(s) per year

Reflect

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change in postage
1. Discussion Between which two years is the rate of change ​ __
       ​the greatest?
change in years

2. Discussion Compare the line segment between 2006 and 2008 with the line segment between 2008 and
2013. Which is steeper? Which represents a greater rate of change?

3. Discuss How do you think the steepness of the line segment between two points is related to the rate of
change it represents?

Module 5 222 Lesson 3

 Explain 1 Determining the Slope of a Line
The rate of change for a linear function can be calculated using the rise and run of the graph of the function. The rise
is the difference in the y-values of two points on a line. The run is the difference in the x-values of two points on a
line.

The slope of a line is the ratio of rise to run for any two points on the line.
rise difference in y-values
Slope = _ __
run = difference in x-values

Example 1 Determine the slope of each line. y

8

A Use (3, 4) as the first point. Subtract y-values to find the change in y, 4 (3, 4)
or rise. Then subtract x-values to find the change in x, or run. x
(2, 1)
slope = _4-1 =_ 3 = 3. -8 -4 0 4 8
3-2 1
-4
Slope of the line is 3.

B Use -2,( ) as the first point. Subtract y-values to find the change 8
y
in y, or rise. Then subtract x-values to find the change in x, or run.
4
- (-2, 3)
(1, 0) x
slope = __ = _ = .
-8 -4 0 4 8
-
-4
The slope of the line is .
-8

Reflect

4. Find the rise of a horizontal line. What is the slope of a horizontal line?
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5. Find the run of a vertical line. What is the slope of a vertical line?

6. Discussion If you have a graph of a line, how can you determine whether the slope is positive, negative,
zero, or undefined without using points on the line?

Module 5 223 Lesson 3

 Your Turn

Find the slope of each line.

7. y 8. y
8 8

4 4
(5, 3) x (-3, 2) x
-8 -4 0 4 8 -8 -4 0 4 8
(0, -3) (-2, -3)

-8

Explain 2 Determining Slope Using the Slope Formula

The slope formula for the slope of a line is the ratio of the difference in y-values to the difference in x-values between
any two points on the line.

Slope Formula
y2 - y1
If (x 1, x 2) and (y 1, y 2) are any two points on a line, the slope of the line is m = _
x2 - x1 .

Example 2 Find the slope of each line passing through the given y
points using the slope formula. Describe the slope as
4
positive, negative, zero, or undefined.
(2, 3)
2
A The graph shows the linear relationship. x
y 2 - y 1 = 3 - (-1) = 3 + 1 = 4 -4 0 2 4
(-2, -1)
-2
x 2 - x 1 = 2 - (-2) = 2 + 2 = 4
y2 - y1 -4

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m=_ 4
_
x2 - x1 = 4 = 1
The slope is positive. The line rises from left to right.

B x 3 3 3 3 Let ( )
, 4 be (x 1, y 1) and ( )
, 8 be (x 2, y 2).

y 2 4 6 8

y2 - y1 = 8 - = y2 - y1 _
m= _
x2 - x1 =
x2 - x1 = - =

The slope is and the line is .

Module 5 224 Lesson 3

 Your Turn

Find the slope of each line passing through the given points using the slope formula.
Describe the slope as positive, negative, zero, or undefined.
(-1, 9) y
9. The graph shows the linear relationship.
4
x
-8 -4 0 4 8
-4
(2, -5)
-8

10.
x 1 2 3 4

y 5 5 5 5

Explain 3 Interpreting Slope

Given a real-world situation, you can find the slope and then interpret the slope in terms of the context of
the situation.

Example 3 Find and interpret the slope for each real-world situation.

A The graph shows the relationship between a person’s age Estimated Maximum Heart Rate
and his or her estimated maximum heart rate.
180 (20, 180)
Maximum heart rate

Use the two points that are labeled on the graph. 160 (50, 150)
rise _
slope = _ 180 - 150 = _30 = -1 140
(beats/min)

run = 50 -30 120

100
Interpret the slope. 80
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60
The slope being -1 means that for every year a person’s 40
age increases, his or her maximum heart rate decreases 20
by 1 beat per minute.
0 20 40 60 80 100
B The height of a plant y in centimeters after x days is a Age (yr)
linear relationship. The points (30, 15) and (40, 25) are
on the line.

Use the two points that are given.

- 15
rise = __ = _ =
slope = _
run
-

Interpret the slope.

The slope being means .

Module 5 225 Lesson 3

 Your Turn

Find and interpret the slope.

11. The graph shows the relationship between the

Temperature (°C)
25 (77, 25)
temperature expressed in °F and the temperature
expressed in °C. 20
15
10
(50, 10)
5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Temperature (°F)

12. The number of cubic feet of water y in a reservoir x hours after the water starts flowing into the reservoir is
a linear function. The points (40, 3000) and (60, 4000) are on the line of the function.

v Elaborate
13. How can you relate the rate of change and slope in the linear relationships?

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14. How is the slope formula related to the definition of slope?

15. How can you interpret slope in a real-world situation?

Module 5 226 Lesson 3

 Evaluate: Homework and Practice
• Online Homework
Determine the slope of each line. • Hints and Help
• Extra Practice
1. y 2. y
8 8
(5, 7)
4 (-6, 5) 4
x x
-8 -4 0 4 8 -8 0 4 8
-4 (2, -2)
(-4, -3) -4

-8 -8

3. y (5, 9) 4. y
8 8

4 4
x x
-8 -4 0 4 8 -8 -4 0 4 8
-4 (5, -2) -4
(-3, -7) (6, -7)
-8 -8
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5. y 6.
8 8
(-4, 7) (-1, 5)
4
x x
-8 -4 4 8 -8 0 4 8
-4 -4
(-7, -9)
(2, -8)
-8 -8

Module 5 227 Lesson 3

Find the slope of each line passing through the given points using the slope formula.
Describe the slope as positive, negative, zero, or undefined.
7. (​ 5, 3)​and (​ 10, 8)​ 8. (​ -5, 14)​and (​ -1, 2)​ 9. (​ -5, 6)​and (​ 8, 6)​

10. ​(-4, -17)​and (​ -4, -3)​ 11. (​ 12, -7)​and (​ 2, -2)​ 12. (​ -3, -10)​and (​ -1, -1)​

Find and interpret the slope for each real-world situation.

13.
180 (8, 170)
160
Money earned ($)

140
120
100 (4, 110)
80
60
40

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20
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Time worked (hr)

14.
9
Jars of peanut butter

8
7
(3360, 7)
6
5
4
3
2
1 (960, 2)

0
Shutterstock

1000 2000 3000 4000

Peanuts

Module 5 228 Lesson 3

 15. (3500, 460) 16.
450 1000
400 900 (3, 860)
350 800

Balance ($)
300 700
Cost ($)
(1000, 310)
250 600
200 500 (8, 585)
150 400
100 300
50 200
100
0 1000 2000 3000 4000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Pages printed
Time (months)

17. a. The table shows the distance that a group of

18
hikers has traveled from the start of the trail.
16

Distance (km)
14
12
Time (hr) 0.5 1 2 3 10
8
Distance (km) 3 5 7 13 6
4
Use the table to plot the 4 points on the graph 2
and join the points using line segments. 0 1 2 3 4
Time (hr)

b. Find the slope for each of the three line c. Which line segment has the greatest slope? Does
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segments. this line segment appear to be the steepest on

the graph?

Module 5 229 Lesson 3

18. Determine whether each set of points is on a line that has a positive slope, negative
slope, zero slope, or undefined slope. Select the correct answer for each part.

a. (5, 0) and (8, 4) positive negative zero undefined

b. (-6, 1) and (-6, 9) positive negative zero undefined

c. (2, 6) and (11,-3) positive negative zero undefined

d. (3, 4) and (-2, 12) positive negative zero undefined

e. (-3, 5) and (7, 5) positive negative zero undefined

19. What is the slope of the segment shown for a staircase with
10-inch treads and 7.75-inch risers? As you walk up (or down)
the stairs, your vertical distance from the floor is a linear function
of your horizontal distance from the point on the floor where you
started. Is the function discrete or continuous? Explain. Tread

Riser

20. The Mount Washington Cog Railway in New Hampshire is

one of the steepest cog railways in the world. A section of the
railway has a slope of approximately 0.37. In this section, a vertical change of 1 unit
corresponds to a horizontal change of what length? Round your answer to the nearest
hundredth.

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21. a. Biology The table shows how the number of cricket chirps per minute changes
with the air temperature.

Temperature (°F) 40 50 60 70 80 90

Chirps per minute 0 40 80 120 160 200

Find the rates of change.

Shutterstock

b. Is the graph of the data a line? If so, what is the

slope? If not, explain why not.

Module 5 230 Lesson 3

 H.O.T. Focus on Higher Order Thinking

22. Explain the Error A student is asked to find the slope of a line containing the
points (4, 3) and (-2, 15) and finds the slope as shown. Explain the error.
rise 4 - (-2) _ 6 _ 1
slope = ​ _ _
run ​ = ​  3 - 15 ​ = ​  -12 ​ = - ​  2 ​

23. Critical Thinking In this lesson, you learned that the slope of a line is constant.
Does this mean that all lines with the same slope are the same line? Explain.

24. a. R
 epresent Real-World Problems A ladder is leaned against a building. The
bottom of the ladder is 11 feet from the building. The top of the ladder is 19 feet
above the ground. What is the slope of the ladder?

b. What does the slope of the ladder mean in the real world?

c. If the ladder were set closer to the building, would it be harder or easier to climb?
Explain in terms of the slope of the ladder.

25. a. The table shows the cost, in dollars, charged by an electric

180
company for various amounts of energy in kilowatt-hours. 160
Graph the data and show the rates of change. 140
120
Cost ($)

100
Energy (kWh) 0 200 400 600 1000 2000
80
Cost ($) 8 8 34 60 112 157 60
40
20

b. Compares the rates of change for each interval. Are they all 0 400 800 1200 1600
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the same? Explain. Energy (kWh)

c. What do the rates of change represent?

d. Describe in words the electric company’s billing plan.

Module 5 231 Lesson 3

Lesson Performance Task
A city has three Internet service providers (ISP), each of which charges a usage fee when a
subscriber goes over 100 megabytes (MB) per billing cycle. The table below relates the amount
of data a subscriber uses with the cost for each ISP.

ISP 100 MB 200 MB 400 MB

A $54 $74 $94

B $42 $57 $87

C $60 $72 $96

Use the table to find the rate of change for each interval of each ISP, and use the rates of change
to determine whether the usage fee is constant for each ISP. Interpret the meaning of the rates
of change for each ISP. Then determine and explain which ISP would be the least expensive and
which ISP would be the most expensive for a subscriber that uses a high amount of data.

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Module 5 232 Lesson 3