SLOPE

MS Excel Spreadsheet

See Also

Returns the slope of the linear regression line through data points in known_y's and known_x's. The slope is the vertical distance divided by the horizontal distance between any two points on the line, which is the rate of change along the regression line.

Syntax

SLOPE(known_y's,known_x's)

Known_y's    is an array or cell range of numeric dependent data points.

Known_x's    is the set of independent data points.

Remarks

  • The arguments must be either numbers or names, arrays, or references that contain numbers.
  • If an array or reference argument contains text, logical values, or empty cells, those values are ignored; however, cells with the value zero are included.
  • If known_y's and known_x's are empty or have a different number of data points, SLOPE returns the #N/A error value.
  • The equation for the slope of the regression line is:

    Equation

Example

The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank spreadsheet.

ShowHow?

Known y Known x
2 6
3 5
9 11
1 7
8 5
7 4
5 4
Formula Description (Result)
=SLOPE(A2:A8,B2:B8) Slope of the linear regression line through the data points above (0.305556)