Slope in the Real World

Image of a house.  The slope of the roof is emphasized. Slope is not just a topic relevant to the graphs of linear functions. Slopes are in fact all around us in the real world, from roofs of houses to the incline of ramps and roads, to name just a few examples. So, the concept of slope is important in all areas of construction, design, and engineering, as well as the analysis of data from many areas of study.

In this discussion activity, you will investigate the concept of slope and highlight examples of slope in the real world, as well as gain some practice in calculating slope in such situations.

Let’s begin our discussion:

Before your first post, please watch the video
Introduction to Slope (Links to an external site.) [Video, 5:10 mins]. Link to video transcript
There are many different ways to define slope, and there are examples all around us. In your initial post:
Please start with an explanation of how you conceptualize/understand the term “slope” that you think would be helpful to someone who has never heard of slope before.
Next, list at least two places where you encounter slope in everyday life.
Finally, create a real-life problem involving slope for a classmate to solve.
Be sure to check your peers’ work, making appropriate corrections and comments.

To complete the discussion: Thoroughly complete the directions listed above. To gain full credit, you must reply to the posts of at least two classmates, preferably posts that have not been responded to by anyone else yet. Also, return to your original post throughout the week to read and reply to any posts made there by others. In the two reply posts to your classmates, you can do any of the following:

Solve the slope problem posted by your classmate
Ask a question, such as clarification of a given problem
Give an alternative approach to set-up or solve a given example
Verify the solution to a posted problem solved by a classmate
Your initial post is due by Thursday at 11:59 PM. Your responses are due by Sunday at 11:59 PM.