Recall that the general form of a line is:
where:
m = gradient = rate of change of y = (change of y) / (change of x)
c = y - intercept
When interpreting a gradient, try and express the rate of change using sensible numbers.
Eg. For the above gradient, instead of saying the rate of change is 0.074105g per calorie, we could use 7.41g per 100 calories.
i.e For every increase of 100 calories in energy content, the fat content increases by 7.41g.
These are numbers that are easier for us to appreciate.
The life expectancy in 2004 increases by an average of 5.67 years when the number of physicians per thousand increases by 1.
The weight of trouts increases by 7.1g (on average) for every 1mm increase in its length.
OR
The weight of trouts increases by 71g (on average) for every 10mm increase in its length. (Better)