While dealing with a graph of a curve in Excel, an individual might need to determine the instantaneous slope of any specific point on the curve. This instantaneous slope of a data point can be calculated easily in Excel. In this article, we will show you two effective ways how to find instantaneous slope on Excel.
How to Find Instantaneous Slope on Excel: 2 Effective Ways
In this article, we will demonstrate 2 effective ways to find instantaneous slopes on Excel. We will use the following dataset for this purpose. The dataset contains the X-coordinates and Y-coordinates of function Y=ex. Here’s an overview of the dataset for today’s task.
1. Apply SLOPE Function to Find Instantaneous Slope
In this method, we will use the SLOPE function to find the instantaneous slope in Excel. Read the following steps to learn how to do it.
Steps:
- First of all, select cell D6 and write down the following formula in the cell.
=SLOPE(C5:C6,B5:B6)
- Here, the SLOPE function returns the slope through the selected X-coordinates and Y-coordinates data points.
- Next, press Enter to get the instantaneous slope of the coordinates in cell D6.
- To get slopes for all the data points, hold your cursor on the bottom right corner of cell D6 and drag it down to cell D11.
- Finally, you have your desired instantaneous slopes for all coordinates.
#DIV/0! error will occur if:
- The variance of the given X-coordinate assesses to zero or
- Any cell of X-coordinates or Y-coordinates is empty.
Read More: How to Calculate Slope and Intercept in Excel
2. Use Mathematical Formula to Find Instantaneous Slope
Now you will learn how to use a mathematical formula to find instantaneous slope on Excel. From our dataset, we can easily do that. The procedure is discussed below.
Steps:
- First, click on cell D6 and type the following formula there.
=(C6-C5)/(B6-B5)
- In this formula, B5, B6, C5 and C6 refer to cells B5, B6, C5 and C6Â respectively.
- Now, hit the Enter button. As a result, you will get the instantaneous slope.
- Finally, double-click on the bottom right corner of cell D6 to copy the formula to all the cells.
- This is how you will get the instantaneous slopes of all the data points.
- Don’t forget to give proper cell references or you won’t get the desired result.
- If the coordinate points are closer, the value of slopes will be more accurate.
Read More: How to Find the Slope of a Line in Excel
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Concluding Remarks
Thanks for making it this far. I hope you find this article useful. Now you know two effective ways to find instantaneous slope on Excel. Please let us know if you have any further queries and feel free to give us any recommendations in the comment section below.