Rates of Change & Gradients

How steeply a graph climbs or falls — and what that slope actually tells you about the real world.

Gradient as a Rate of Change

See how the gradient of a graph tells a real-world story — speed on a distance-time graph, acceleration on a speed-time graph, and more.

Gradient of a Curve (Tangents)

Find the rate of change at a point on a curve by drawing a tangent — the method GCSE expects and how to do it accurately.

Gradient of a Line

Learn what gradient means, how to calculate it from a graph or two points, and how to interpret positive, negative and zero gradients.