If a wastewater pipe has a slope of 4 feet in 200 feet, how is this slope expressed?

To express the slope of a wastewater pipe, you can calculate the slope by dividing the vertical drop by the horizontal distance, then converting that result into a percentage if needed. In this case, the slope is calculated as follows:

1. The vertical drop is 4 feet, and the horizontal distance is 200 feet.

2. The slope is calculated as: 4 feet (vertical drop) divided by 200 feet (horizontal distance), which equals 0.02.

3. To convert this to a percentage, you multiply by 100, resulting in 0.02 x 100 = 2 percent.

Thus, the slope of the pipe is correctly expressed as 2 percent. This is a common way of indicating the grade of a depth or slope in wastewater management, making it clear how much the pipe descends over a given distance. It is important to recognize that while the slope can also be expressed in feet per foot, the percentage is often more intuitive and widely used in practical applications.