Typically it is denoted by the letter m. Y m x b. The coordinates of the first point represent x1 and y1.
Generally a lines steepness is measured by the absolute value of its slope m.
These can be any points the line runs through. We have that x 1 1 y 1 5 x 2 3 y 2 7. The slope of a line characterizes the direction of a line. The slope formula is m y2-y1 x2-x1 or the change in the y values over the change in the x values.