Follow the trail of "slope" through your math education.


Slopes, Tangents, and Derivatives . . . . . .

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Why "m" for slope?

Most likely  "m" is from the French verb  "monter"  which means "to go up",  "to ascend",  "to mount",  "to climb,"  "to rise up,"  "to slope up,"  etc.   Other similar possibilities from the French are  "montaire"  for "mount"  and  "montaigne"  for  "hill."     It has also been suggested the French may be pre-dated by "mons" which is the Latin noun for "mountain."
 
This oscilloscope trace is that 
 of a sound wave 
from a recorder.
The mathematics of "slope" has many applications in business, science, engineering and medicine.