Investigating the Gradients of Graphs of the
Form ‘y=ax’
Aim
To find a formula for the gradient of a ‘y=ax’ graph. To do this I will take a number of values of ‘a’ find the gradients and form a conclusion. Having done this I will test my theory with a different value of ‘a’.
The values of ‘a’ that I will test are: 1,2,3 and 5
Then a fraction and a negative number: 1/5 and –4.
Calculations
To find the gradient, I take a two points on the line and form a right-angled triangle off them, as shown on graph. Then I divide the height of the vertical side by the length of the horizontal, measuring from the axis, and take down the gradient.
