Why is m used for slope

It is very useful to read the history of of the usage. I have since used that language with my learners each year, and found it truly helped them use the slope - intercept form. Glenn, Thanks for the comments, actually the "begin-move" was in one of the comments in the original posting to this. Another shares a nice story I should have put in the article, so will add it today.

Pat B. Post a Comment. Thursday, 14 November Why "m" for Slope. Another from the "most popular" hits on my way-back machine from Hope you enjoy Over the many years I taught I developed a keen interest in the origin and use of the symbols and terminology of math.

When the internet came around I jumped in pretty early with a web page on Mathwords, contributing on the Dr Math and Teacher to Teacher support Math Forum, and for several years, this blog. Almost no one seems to ask about the b, which is even more curious to me. Interestingly, m for slope has led to more mis-history speculation in classrooms than any other topic, with the possible exception of the life of that Great American-Indian Mathematician, Chief Soh Cah Toa.

Here is what I have found about the m for slope history. Many variations of where the idea of M for slope originated seem to be mostly myth. John Conway has suggested m could stand for "modulus of slope. However, there is no evidence to make any such connection. Descartes, who was French, did not use m.

They end with this witticism by Howard W. Eves who taught at my alma mater of U. Maine, although before my time : When lecturing before an analytic geometry class during the early part of the course Compare to k for "koefficient" in Swedish textbooks, per Wolfram.

Posted by Delta at AM. December 14, at PM. Delta December 21, at AM. Newer Post Older Post Home. Subscribe to: Post Comments Atom. View my complete profile. When I was posting up a rant about variables on my blog.

My issue is mostly with the 'h' and 'k' in vertex form of the parabola, because while 'm' is pretty consistently slope in North America, 'k' is all over the map. Though 'a' has it's own issues. Anyway, thanks for the history! Belfry Bat, I think the Latin was something more like lubricious, from which we get slippery think "lubricated". The Latin seems to come from the Proto indo Euro root slupan or sleubh- Here is from webpage "myetymology.

Thanks for the note. Paul Foerster said I can confirm Hector Hirigoyen's statement about the origin of "m" for slope.