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As an architect you will come across the need to calculate gradients of ramps and slopes. The most
common occurrence of this is working with ramped access to buildings, groundworks and so on. Slopes
can be measured in angles, percentages and ratios. For this post I will focus on the measurement of
slopes in ratios, mainly because gradient ratios are stated in the building regulations.

Approved Document Part M of the building regulations specifies limits for ramp gradients for access to a
building. If access to a building is too steep it is not deemed to be a safe access and creates difficulty for
people in wheelchairs who may not have the strength to propel themselves up a slope, or may
have difficulty slowing down when descending a slope that is too steep. Some people find they need to
stop frequently when ascending/descending ramp and therefore suitable landings are required at
specified intervals to allow for this.

The table below shows the guidelines from the building regulations:
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To work out the gradient of an existing slope you will need the distance of the slope (run) and the height
of the slope (rise). The method that follows may not be the most mathematical way to work out the
ratio gradient of a slope – but it is really simple and has always worked for me!
Remember to convert units so they are the same. For example, we have a 10m ramp run and a rise of
500mm. Convert the run to 10,000mm.

HOW TO WORK OUT THE GRADIENT

Example:

We want to work out the gradient of a ramp that has a run of 10m and a rise of 500mm.

Gradient = Run / Rise

Gradient = 10m / 500mm

Convert the units:

Gradient = 10,000mm / 500mm

Gradient = 20

Gradient = 1:20

HOW TO WORK OUT THE RISE

We want to work out the rise of a ramp that has a run of 5m and a gradient of 1:15.

Rise = Run / Gradient

Rise = 5m / 15

Convert the units:

Rise = 5,000mm / 15

Rise = 333mm
HOW TO WORK OUT THE RUN

We want to work out the run of a ramp that has a rise of 166mm and a gradient of 1:12.

Run = Gradient x Rise

Run = 12 x 166mm

Run = 1,992mm

Run = 1.99m (round up to 2m)

Basics of Slope Calculations (SD - HD - Elevation)

Slope Measures - Units

Slope is a measure of steepness. Units can be in degrees, percent or as a ratio.

Degrees: Most of us are familiar with slopes measured in degrees.

There are 360 degrees in a full circle. From the perspective of traversing we are essentially interested in
measures between 0° (flat ground) and 90° (straight up/down, i.e. a cliff). A slope of 45˚ is exactly half
way between the previous two measures. The diagram below depicts a right angle triangle with each of
the other angles measuring 45˚. Notice the horizontal and vertical lines are of equal length; a
movement of 10 meters horizontal means you also moved 10 meters vertical.

Slopes can also be expressed as a ratio or percent. The calculation is the familiar "rise / run" (a.k.a. DE /
HD ... or, if you are familiar with trigonometry, opp./adj. ... which is TAN)

As a ratio:

In the case above we have a rise and a run of 10 m each.

Slope = rise / run = 10m / 10m = 1.0

If we had a rise of 3 m and a run of 10 m, then

Slope = rise / run = 3m / 10m = 0.3

As a percent:

To convert a ratio to a percent we simply multiply by 100. Expressed as a percent the first measure
would be 100% (1.0 * 100) and the second measure would be 30% (0.3 * 100).

Thus the angle in the diagram above can be expressed as 45˚ or 1.0 (ratio) or 100%.

Slope Measures - Instrument (FRST 111)

To measure slope inclination in the field we use a clinometer (Suunto is the most common make). This
device provides measures in both degrees and percent. The numbers on the left side are in degrees and
the numbers on the right are in percent. (You can always double check this by 'looking up' in clinometer
until the reading is 45 on one side and 100 on the other (the 100 indicating the % side).

Converting Slope Measures Between Ratio and Degrees

Sometimes we need to be able to convert slope percent to degrees ...

Arctan (or inverse tangent) is the opposite of tangent. Remember tangent converts an angle to a ratio -
well ... arctan converts a ratio to an angle. Forget all the mathematical proofs … to convert from slope
ratio to slope degrees you will use Arctan. To practice on your calculator ... if your slope was 63% you
would punch “0.63” into your calculator, then punch the button(s) for “arctan” – you will get ~32
(degrees). So, the equation to convert slope ratio to degrees is:

Slope degrees = arctan (slope ratio)

Convert SD to HD (FRST 111)

When we traverse in the 'real world' we take measures of slope distance (SD) and steepness (slope %).
However, in order to map features in their proper place we need to convert SD to HD (horizontal
distance).

Measures of slope in degrees are useful in converting slope distance to horizontal distance. Remember
cosine is “adjacent over hypotenuse”. If you consider “adjacent” = horizontal distance and
“hypotenuse” = slope distance, then cosine = HD / SD. Think of cosine as the ratio of horizontal distance
to slope distance. If this ratio (i.e. cosine) = 0.85, then for every 1 m of slope distance you are actually
traveling only 0.85 m horizontal. A slope of 32° has a cosine of 0.85. (Try 'plugging' 32 into your
calculator and then press the COS button - you should get 0.848).

Converting SD to HD: Consider that you have traveled 25 m slope distance with a slope angle of 32º.
What is the horizontal distance?

HD = SD * cosine (slope degrees)

= 25 m * cosine(32)
= 25 m * 0.85

= 21.2 m horizontal

Now remember that we record slopes in percent, not degrees. So we will need to first convert slope
percent to slope degrees. As per the previous section, we Arctan to accomplish this.

Example: our raw field measures are: SD = 25 m and slope = 63% ... calculate HD. Stepwise we

1. convert slope % to degrees - to do this we take the arctan of the ratio (i.e. for 63% we take the
arctan of 0.63)

2. take the cosine of the degrees to get a ratio (of HD to SD) ... this number will 'reduce' (convert)
SD to HD

3. multiply this ratio by SD to get HD

In equation form ...

HD = SD * cosine * [arctan * (slope ratio)]

Our raw data is SD =25 m, and slope = 63% ... (last time our slope was in degrees, this time it is in the
conventional percent)

HD = 25m * cos [arctan (0.63)]

= 25m * cos [ 32º ]

= 25m * 0.85

= 21.2 m

Convert HD to SD (FRST 121, this course)

To solve for slope distance, the above equation is simply rearranged:

SD = HD / cosine [arctan (slope ratio)]

using the same data, assume you need to go 21.2 m horizontal distance to get to plot centre and the
slope angle was 63% …

SD = 21.2 m / cosine [arctan (0.63)]

= 21.2 m / cos [ 32º ]

= 21.2 m / 0.846

= 25 m

Determine change in elevation (FRST 111)

Measures of slope in degrees are useful for converting slope distance to horizontal distance, but percent
is easier to use to calculate change in elevation. Remember that tan is slope is expressed as a ratio ...
"rise / run". In other words, rise (elevation change) expressed as a ratio (%) of horizontal distance. The
equation is simply ...

Elev. Change = HD * slope ratio

In our example the raw data was SD =25 m, and slope = 63%. We calculated HD to be 21.2 m. Thus to
calculate elevation change ...

= HD * slope ratio

= 21.2 m * 0.63

= 13.2 m

Thus, for a SD of 25 m @ 63% slope you traveled 21.2 m horizontal and had an elevation change of 13.2
m.

SUMMARY

 Slopes (rise / run or DE / HD) can be in degrees, %, or ratio (TAN)

 We record slopes in % (e.g. 63%)

 We use slope ratios in our calculations (e.g. 0.63)

 We convert slopes to degrees in order to convert between SD and HD

o ARCTAN converts slope ratio to degrees

o slope degrees = arctan * (slope ratio)

 We use cosine to convert SD to HD

o HD = SD * cosine * [arctan * (slope ratio)]

o HD = SD * cosine * slope degrees

 We rearrange this formula to convert HD to SD

o SD = HD / cosine [arctan (slope ratio)]

 We use slope ratio directly to determine elevation change

o DE = HD * slope ratio
Ratios and percentages are different ways of expressing a part of a whole number. A percentage is a
means of expressing a fraction of one hundred. For example, 25 percent means 25 out of 100. A ratio is
a means to express a percentage in the simplest possible way. For example, 25 percent can be reduced
to a ratio of 1:4. Simple rules can be used to turn a percentage into a ratio.

Write down the percentage that needs to be converted. For example, suppose you want to convert 35
percent.

Express the percentage as a simple fraction of 100. In the example, you would have determine that 35
percent equals 35 / 100.

Determine the highest possible whole number that can be used to divide the upper (numerator) and
lower (denominator) part of the fraction that results in another whole number. This is known as the
greatest common factor. In the example, both 35 and 100 are divisible by 5, and this operation leads to
two whole numbers:

35 divided by 5 = 7

100 divided by 5 = 20

Therefore, the simplified fraction is 7 / 20.

Write the simplified fraction as a ratio by using the colon symbol. In the example, you would write 7 / 20
as "7:20."

References

 Math Is Fun: Ratios

 Math-Only-Math: Percentage into Ratio

 Math Is Fun: Greatest Common Factor

About the Author

Samuel Markings has been writing for scientific publications for more than 10 years, and has published
articles in journals such as "Nature." He is an expert in solid-state physics, and during the day is a
researcher at a Russell Group U.K. university.

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Example

Example: Convert the ratio 2 : 4 into percentage:

1. 2 : 4 can be written as 2 / 4 = 0.5;

2. Multiplied 0.5 by 100, 0.5 × 100 = 50, so the percentage of ratio 2 : 4 is 50%.