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The grade (US) or gradient (UK) (also called stepth, slope, incline, mainfall, pitch or rise) of a physical feature, landform or constructed line is either the elevation angle of that surface to the horizontal or its tangent.
Slope illustrated for y = (3/2)x − 1.Click on to enlarge Slope of a line in coordinates system, from f(x) = −12x + 2 to f(x) = 12x + 2. The slope of a line in the plane containing the x and y axes is generally represented by the letter m, [5] and is defined as the change in the y coordinate divided by the corresponding change in the x coordinate, between two distinct points on the line.
Stream gradient (or stream slope) is the grade (or slope) of a stream. It is measured by the ratio of drop in elevation and horizontal distance. [ 1 ] It is a dimensionless quantity , usually expressed in units of meters per kilometer (m/km) or feet per mile (ft/mi); it may also be expressed in percent (%).
Cross slope, cross fall or camber is a geometric feature of pavement surfaces: the transverse slope with respect to the horizon. It is a very important safety factor. Cross slope is provided to provide a drainage gradient so that water will run off the surface to a drainage system such as a street gutter or ditch.
Intervening angles are marked, and, with the aid of simple conversion tables, the instrument indicates the rate of fall per set distance of horizontal measurement, and set distance of the sloping line. Al-Biruni, a Persian polymath, once wanted to measure the height of the sun. He lacked the necessary equipment to measure this height.
Drainage gradient (DG) is a term in road design, defined as the combined slope due to road surface cross slope (CS) and longitudinal slope (hilliness). Although the term may not be used, the concept is also used in roof design and landscape architecture. If the drainage gradient is too low, rain and melt water drainage will be insufficient.
A fall line refers to the line down a mountain or hill which is most directly downhill; that is, the direction a ball or other body would accelerate if it were free to move on the slope under gravity. Mathematically the fall line, the line of greatest slope, is the negative of the gradient (which points uphill) and perpendicular to the contour ...
The gradient of F is then normal to the hypersurface. Similarly, an affine algebraic hypersurface may be defined by an equation F(x 1, ..., x n) = 0, where F is a polynomial. The gradient of F is zero at a singular point of the hypersurface (this is the definition of a singular point). At a non-singular point, it is a nonzero normal vector.