GCSE Maths: Gradients

The steepness of graphs is called their gradients.

graphs of y=x, y=2x and y=0.5x

The green line's gradient is 2
The red line's gradient is 1
The blue line's gradient is 0.5

The equations give the gradient, since they show by how much y relates to x.

The general formula is y=±mx where m is the gradient. Negative gradients slope downwards.