I have two questions about finding the slope.
1. If a staircase has 8 inches of rise for every 12 inches of tread, what is the slope of the staircase?
So if I do rise/run that would be 8/12 and reduced would be 2/3
2. My second question is how to leave your slope answer? Could a slope answer be something like 7/8, 3/2, etc, such as an improper fraction?
slope: rise/run=8/12=.67
It can be a fraction, or decimal, or an irrational number, such as PI/4
In many school texts, where number are often whole numbers, it is handy to leave it as a fraction as often numbers divide evenly. In the real world, they seldom do.
1. To find the slope of the staircase, you can use the formula "rise over run" or "change in y over change in x." In this case, the "rise" refers to the vertical height or the change in y-coordinates, and the "run" refers to the horizontal distance or the change in x-coordinates.
Given that the staircase has 8 inches of rise for every 12 inches of tread, you can write the slope as the ratio of rise to run. So the slope is 8/12, which can be simplified to 2/3.
2. When expressing a slope answer, it is common to leave it in the form of a fraction, such as 2/3. This is known as a proper fraction, where the numerator (the top number) is smaller than the denominator (the bottom number).
However, slope values can also be expressed as improper fractions, where the numerator is greater than or equal to the denominator, such as 7/8 or 3/2. Improper fractions can also be expressed as mixed numbers, such as 1 1/4 or 1 1/2. Both forms are valid and can be used to represent the slope accurately.