Grade 7 · Unit 1 · Lesson 4 · part 5 of 7
The unit rate tips the line
Now connect the picture to the number.
The unit rate tips the line
Now connect the picture to the number. Slide the unit rate and watch the line. It always goes through the origin, and it always goes through (1, r). A bigger unit rate makes the line steeper: it rises faster, because every 1 across gives more up.
Here are Mia and Jordan from Lesson 3 on one grid. Mia earns $9 an hour and Jordan earns $8. Mia's line is steeper, because her unit rate is bigger: every hour across, her line goes up 9 while Jordan's goes up 8.
Steeper means a bigger unit rate That is the whole story for 7th grade. In 8th grade, this steepness gets its own name.