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Angle to Slope Percent

Percent grade is how much you rise for every 100 you travel horizontally: the tangent of the angle times 100. Angle and percent are not proportional.

Your numbers

Grade (%)

57.74%

Ratio

0.5774

Radians

0.5236rad

Formula

Grade (%) = tan(Angle (°)) × 100

45 degrees is 100%. The 10% you see on a road sign is only 5.7 degrees, and grades above 100% are still just over 45 degrees.

What to enter

InputDefaultAccepted range
Angle (°) (°)An angle in degrees; a full turn is 360°.300 ~ 89

Step by step

FormulaGrade (%) = tan(Angle (°)) × 100
With the default numbersGrade (%) = tan(30) × 100
AnswerGrade (%) = 57.74 %

Quick reference table

Results when only Angle (°) (°) changes and everything else stays put.

Angle (°) (°)Grade (%) (%)RatioRadians (rad)
1526.790.26790.2618
22.541.420.41420.3927
3057.740.57740.5236
4510010.7854
60173.211.73211.0472

What each result means

ResultAt default values
Grade (%) (%)How far you rise over 100 of horizontal run.57.74
RatioThe trigonometric ratio to invert, between −1 and 1.0.5774
Radians (rad)An angle in radians; a full turn is 2π.0.5236

Common mistakes

45 degrees is 100%. The 10% you see on a road sign is only 5.7 degrees, and grades above 100% are still just over 45 degrees.

Glossary

Angle (°)
An angle in degrees; a full turn is 360°.
Grade (%)
How far you rise over 100 of horizontal run.
Ratio
The trigonometric ratio to invert, between −1 and 1.
Radians
An angle in radians; a full turn is 2π.

Frequently asked questions

Q. How is Angle to Slope Percent calculated?

Grade (%) = tan(Angle (°)) × 100 — Percent grade is how much you rise for every 100 you travel horizontally: the tangent of the angle times 100. Angle and percent are not proportional.

Q. Can you walk through an example?

With Angle (°) 30°, the answer is Grade (%) 57.74%.

Q. What do I need to enter?

Enter Angle (°). The result recalculates as you type, and an empty box counts as zero.

Q. How much does the answer move if I change a number?

Changing only Angle (°) (°) moves the answer to Angle (°) (°) 15 → Grade (%) (%) 26.79 and Angle (°) (°) 60 → Grade (%) (%) 173.21. The table below lays out five steps.

Q. How are the numbers rounded?

Money is shown to the nearest whole unit, percentages to one decimal place and everything else to two. What you see is rounded; the calculation itself carries the unrounded value forward.

Q. Anything to watch out for?

45 degrees is 100%. The 10% you see on a road sign is only 5.7 degrees, and grades above 100% are still just over 45 degrees.

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