Rising line
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | x | y |
| 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 5 | 4 | 9 |
Formula: D2: =SLOPE(B2:B5,A2:A5)
Result: 2
y rises by two whenever x rises by one.
Google Sheets function
SLOPE in Google Sheets
SLOPE with worked examples you can test in the live grid. The argument details are in the Excel guide.
In Google Sheets
The arguments and common errors are covered in the SLOPE Excel guide; check the function help in Google Sheets for its own argument list.
Worked examples in Google Sheets
Falling line
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | x | y |
| 2 | 1 | 8 |
| 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | 3 | 4 |
Formula: D2: =SLOPE(B2:B4,A2:A4)
Result: -2
The fitted line falls two units per x unit.
Flat line
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | x | y |
| 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 4 | 3 | 5 |
Formula: D2: =SLOPE(B2:B4,A2:A4)
Result: 0
Constant y values produce a zero slope.
Try it
A tiny spreadsheet with example data. Edit the formula or any number and see the result.
Formula in D2: =SLOPE(B2:B7,A2:A7)
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Month | Revenue | Result | |
| 2 | 1 | 120 | 12.2285714286 | |
| 3 | 2 | 135 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 150 | ||
| 5 | 4 | 148 | ||
| 6 | 5 | 170 | ||
| 7 | 6 | 185 |
Result in D2: 12.2285714286
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