Understand Slope
Grade 8 · Algebra · Worksheet 1
- Liam is designing a wheelchair ramp for his school's new accessibility project. The building code requires that for every 3 inches of vertical rise, the ramp must extend at least 36 inches horizontally. If the ramp needs to reach a doorway that is 15 inches above ground level, what is the minimum horizontal length the ramp must extend? Answer: ______________
- (2x + 8) ÷ 2 = 10 Answer: ______________
- A rectangular garden is drawn on a coordinate plane with corners at (1, 2), (7, 2), (7, 8), and (1, 8). A diagonal path is drawn from the bottom-left corner to the top-right corner. What is the slope of this diagonal path? Answer: ______________
- (3x + 7) = 22 Answer: ______________
- Liam is designing a wheelchair ramp for a community center. The building code requires that the ramp must rise no more than 1 foot for every 12 feet of horizontal distance. If the ramp needs to reach a platform that is 3 feet high, what is the minimum horizontal distance, in feet, that the ramp must cover? Answer: ______________
- Mason is analyzing the steepness of a ramp on a coordinate grid. The ramp starts at point (12, 8) and ends at point (20, 32). What is the slope of the ramp? Answer: ______________
- A line passes through the points (2, 8) and (6, 24). What is the slope of this line? Answer: ______________
- Oliver is hiking up a mountain trail. The trail rises 24 meters vertically for every 4 meters horizontally. What is the slope of the trail? Answer: ______________
- Find the slope of the line passing through points (3, 7) and (5, 13) = ? Answer: ______________
Answer Key & Explanations
Understand Slope · Grade 8 · Worksheet 1
- Liam is designing a wheelchair ramp for his school's new accessibility project. The building code requires that for every 3 inches of vertical rise, the ramp must extend at least 36 inches horizontally. If the ramp needs to reach a doorway that is 15 inches above ground level, what is the minimum horizontal length the ramp must extend? Answer: 180 inches Solution: 1. This means the ratio of vertical rise to horizontal run is 3 : 36. 2.
Full step-by-step solution
Let's go step by step.
1. Understand the requirement:
The code says: for every 3 inches of vertical rise, the ramp must extend at least 36 inches horizontally.
This means the ratio of vertical rise to horizontal run is 3 : 36.
2. Write the ratio as a fraction:
Vertical rise / Horizontal run = 3 / 36.
This simplifies to 1 / 12 (since 3 ÷ 3 = 1 and 36 ÷ 3 = 12).
So for every 1 inch of rise, you need 12 inches of horizontal run.
3. Apply this to the given rise:
The doorway is 15 inches above ground level, so the vertical rise = 15 inches.
Let the horizontal length be L inches.
4. Set up the proportion:
Using the ratio:
rise / run = 1 / 12
15 / L = 1 / 12
5. Solve for L:
Cross-multiply:
15 × 12 = 1 × L
L = 180
6. Conclusion:
The minimum horizontal length the ramp must extend is 180 inches.
Answer: 180 inches
- (2x + 8) ÷ 2 = 10 Answer: 6 Solution: The equation is (2x + 8) ÷ 2 = 10 Multiply both sides by 2 to eliminate the division: 2x + 8 = 20 Subtract 8 from both sides to isolate the term with x: 2x = 12 Divide both sides by 2 to solve for x: x = 6 The answer is 6.
Full step-by-step solution
Step 1: The equation is (2x + 8) ÷ 2 = 10
Step 2: Multiply both sides by 2 to eliminate the division: 2x + 8 = 20
Step 3: Subtract 8 from both sides to isolate the term with x: 2x = 12
Step 4: Divide both sides by 2 to solve for x: x = 6
The answer is 6.
- A rectangular garden is drawn on a coordinate plane with corners at (1, 2), (7, 2), (7, 8), and (1, 8). A diagonal path is drawn from the bottom-left corner to the top-right corner. What is the slope of this diagonal path? Answer: 1 Solution: Identify the two points for the diagonal path: bottom-left corner (1, 2) and top-right corner (7, 8).
Full step-by-step solution
Step 1: Identify the two points for the diagonal path: bottom-left corner (1, 2) and top-right corner (7, 8).
Step 2: Calculate the change in y (vertical change): 8 - 2 = 6
Step 3: Calculate the change in x (horizontal change): 7 - 1 = 6
Step 4: Calculate the slope using the formula: slope = (change in y)/(change in x) = 6/6
Step 5: Simplify the fraction: 6/6 = 1
The answer is 1.
- (3x + 7) = 22 Answer: 5 Solution: We are solving the equation: (3x + 7) = 22. The equation is 3x + 7 = 22. We want to isolate the term with x.
Full step-by-step solution
We are solving the equation: (3x + 7) = 22.
Step 1: The equation is 3x + 7 = 22.
We want to isolate the term with x. First, subtract 7 from both sides to remove the constant term on the left.
3x + 7 - 7 = 22 - 7
This simplifies to:
3x = 15.
Step 2: Now, we have 3x = 15.
To solve for x, divide both sides by 3.
3x / 3 = 15 / 3
This gives:
x = 5.
Step 3: Check the solution by substituting x = 5 back into the original equation:
3(5) + 7 = 15 + 7 = 22, which matches the right-hand side of the original equation.
Therefore, the correct answer is x = 5.
- Liam is designing a wheelchair ramp for a community center. The building code requires that the ramp must rise no more than 1 foot for every 12 feet of horizontal distance. If the ramp needs to reach a platform that is 3 feet high, what is the minimum horizontal distance, in feet, that the ramp must cover? Answer: 36 Solution: Rise ≤ 1 foot for every 12 feet of horizontal distance. This means the slope (rise / run) ≤ 1/12.
Full step-by-step solution
Let's go step-by-step.
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**Step 1: Understand the building code requirement**
The code says:
Rise ≤ 1 foot for every 12 feet of horizontal distance.
This means the slope (rise / run) ≤ 1/12.
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**Step 2: Write the slope inequality**
Let:
- Rise = 3 feet (height of platform)
- Run = x feet (horizontal distance we need to find)
Slope = Rise / Run = 3 / x
The requirement:
3 / x ≤ 1 / 12
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**Step 3: Solve the inequality**
Multiply both sides by x (x > 0, so inequality direction stays the same):
3 ≤ (1/12) * x
Multiply both sides by 12:
3 * 12 ≤ x
36 ≤ x
So: x ≥ 36
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**Step 4: Interpret the result**
The minimum horizontal distance occurs when x = 36 feet.
This is because if x is smaller than 36, the slope would be steeper than 1/12, violating the code.
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**Final Answer:** 36
- Mason is analyzing the steepness of a ramp on a coordinate grid. The ramp starts at point (12, 8) and ends at point (20, 32). What is the slope of the ramp? Answer: 3 Solution: Identify the two points on the line: (12, 8) and (20, 32). Use the slope formula: slope = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1). Substitute the values: y2 = 32, y1 = 8, x2 = 20, x1 = 12.
Full step-by-step solution
Step 1: Identify the two points on the line: (12, 8) and (20, 32).
Step 2: Use the slope formula: slope = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1).
Step 3: Substitute the values: y2 = 32, y1 = 8, x2 = 20, x1 = 12.
Step 4: Calculate the rise: 32 - 8 = 24.
Step 5: Calculate the run: 20 - 12 = 8.
Step 6: Divide rise by run: 24 / 8 = 3.
The slope of the ramp is 3.
- A line passes through the points (2, 8) and (6, 24). What is the slope of this line? Answer: 4 Solution: Identify the coordinates of the two points: (2, 8) and (6, 24) Use the slope formula: slope = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1) Substitute the values: slope = (24 - 8) / (6 - 2) Calculate the numerator: 24 - 8 = 16 Calculate the denominator: 6 - 2 = 4 Divide: 16 ÷ 4 = 4 The answer is 4.
Full step-by-step solution
Step 1: Identify the coordinates of the two points: (2, 8) and (6, 24)
Step 2: Use the slope formula: slope = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1)
Step 3: Substitute the values: slope = (24 - 8) / (6 - 2)
Step 4: Calculate the numerator: 24 - 8 = 16
Step 5: Calculate the denominator: 6 - 2 = 4
Step 6: Divide: 16 ÷ 4 = 4
The answer is 4.
- Oliver is hiking up a mountain trail. The trail rises 24 meters vertically for every 4 meters horizontally. What is the slope of the trail? Answer: 6 Solution: Identify the rise and run. The vertical rise is 24 meters, and the horizontal run is 4 meters. Use the slope formula: slope = rise / run.
Full step-by-step solution
Step 1: Identify the rise and run. The vertical rise is 24 meters, and the horizontal run is 4 meters.
Step 2: Use the slope formula: slope = rise / run.
Step 3: Substitute the values: slope = 24 / 4.
Step 4: Simplify: 24 / 4 = 6.
The slope of the trail is 6.
- Find the slope of the line passing through points (3, 7) and (5, 13) = ? Answer: 3 Solution: Identify the coordinates: (3, 7) and (5, 13) Use the slope formula: slope = (y₂ - y₁) ÷ (x₂ - x₁) Substitute the values: slope = (13 - 7) ÷ (5 - 3) Calculate the differences: slope = 6 ÷ 2 Simplify: slope = 3 The answer is 3.
Full step-by-step solution
Step 1: Identify the coordinates: (3, 7) and (5, 13)
Step 2: Use the slope formula: slope = (y₂ - y₁) ÷ (x₂ - x₁)
Step 3: Substitute the values: slope = (13 - 7) ÷ (5 - 3)
Step 4: Calculate the differences: slope = 6 ÷ 2
Step 5: Simplify: slope = 3
The answer is 3.