Question

If a plane loses 800 feet in altitude over a horizontal distance of 11,000 feet, what is the slope of the plane's descent?

Answer 1

When you graph an equation, the slope is the ratio of the rise over the run. So, in other words, the slope of the plane's descent would be the ratio of the vertical altitude to the horizontal distance. The solution is as follows:

Slope = Rise/Run = 800 ft/11,000 ft
Slope = 4/55 or 0.073