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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.
l = slope length α = angle of inclination. 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. It is a special case of the slope, where zero indicates horizontality. A ...
The mean value theorem proves that this must be true: The slope between any two points on the graph of f must equal the slope of one of the tangent lines of f. All of those slopes are zero, so any line from one point on the graph to another point will also have slope zero.
A function graph with lines tangent to the minimum and maximum. Fermat's theorem guarantees that the slope of these lines will always be zero. In mathematics, Fermat's theorem (also known as interior extremum theorem) is a theorem which states that at the local extrema of a differentiable function, its derivative is always zero.
It can be expressed by numerous definitions, for example "0 for negative inputs, output equals input for non-negative inputs". The term "ramp" can also be used for other functions obtained by scaling and shifting , and the function in this article is the unit ramp function (slope 1, starting at 0).
In algebraic geometry, the first definition of an algebraic variety is through zero sets. Specifically, an affine algebraic set is the intersection of the zero sets of several polynomials, in a polynomial ring [, …,] over a field. In this context, a zero set is sometimes called a zero locus.
A linear function () = + has a constant rate of change equal to its slope a, so its derivative is the constant function ′ =. The fundamental idea of differential calculus is that any smooth function f ( x ) {\displaystyle f(x)} (not necessarily linear) can be closely approximated near a given point x = c {\displaystyle x=c} by a unique linear ...
Calculus can be used in conjunction with other mathematical disciplines. For example, it can be used with linear algebra to find the "best fit" linear approximation for a set of points in a domain. Or, it can be used in probability theory to determine the expectation value of a continuous random variable given a probability density function.