Example

Finding the Slope 35\frac{3}{5} from a Graph

A line is graphed on the xyxy-coordinate plane passing through the points (2,3)(2, 3) and (7,6)(7, 6). To find its slope, apply the four-step rise-over-run procedure.

Step 1 — Locate two points with integer coordinates. The points (2,3)(2, 3) and (7,6)(7, 6) both have integer coordinates.

Step 2 — Identify the leftmost point. The point (2,3)(2, 3) is farther to the left, so begin there.

Step 3 — Sketch a right triangle and count the rise and run. Starting at (2,3)(2, 3), move up to (2,6)(2, 6) (a rise of 33) and then across to (7,6)(7, 6) (a run of 55).

Step 4 — Take the ratio of rise to run:

m=riserun=35m = \frac{\text{rise}}{\text{run}} = \frac{3}{5}

The slope of the line is 35\frac{3}{5}.

Reversing direction: Starting instead at (7,6)(7, 6) and moving to (2,3)(2, 3), the rise is 3-3 (downward) and the run is 5-5 (leftward). The slope formula gives m=35=35m = \frac{-3}{-5} = \frac{3}{5}. Because both the rise and the run change sign when the starting point is reversed, the negatives cancel and the slope remains the same. This confirms that it does not matter which point is used as the starting point — the slope of the line is always identical.

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Updated 2026-04-21

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