3.3.3

Properties of Graphs

Test yourself

Estimating Gradient

For a line that isn't straight, we can estimate roughly what the gradient is.

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Gradient at a point

  • To estimate the gradient at a point draw a tangent to the curve at that point.
  • Work out the gradient of the tangent.
  • Remember that gradient = change in y ÷ change in x.
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Gradient = change in y ÷ change in x

  • To estimate the gradient use gradient = change in y ÷ change in x.
  • But remember it is only an estimate because the curve isn’t straight.

Estimating Area Under a Graph

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Straight lines only - exact calculation

  • To calculate the area under a graph, split the area into trapeziums and rectangles and work out the area of each section.
  • Use the formula:
    • Area (Trapezium) = 12 × base × (a + b)
    • Where a and b are the sides of the trapezium.
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Curved line - estimate

  • If the graph is not made up of straight lines you can estimate the area by splitting the graph approximately into trapeziums and doing the same calculation.
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Overestimate or underestimate

  • An area estimate is an overestimate when the trapeziums are above the curve and an underestimate when the trapeziums are below the curve.
  • In the example the first and second sections are underestimates and the third is an overestimate.

Gradient and Area of a Graph With Units

A real number is a number/value that shows a quantity (or amount) on a line/scale. For a graph showing two real quantities, the gradient and area also show real quantities.

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Gradient

  • For any graph the gradient represents: (y-axis units) per (x-axis units).
  • For example:
    • litres per second
    • £ per kg.
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Area

  • The area under the graph represents: (y-axis units) × (x-axis units).
  • For a velocity-time graph the area under the graph represents distance travelled because kmh × h = km.

Jump to other topics

1Numbers

2Equations, Formulae & Identities

3Sequences, Functions & Graphs

4Geometry

5Vectors & Transformation Geometry

6Statistics & Probability

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