Equations don't have steepness. "Steepness" is the slope of the line you get when you graph the equation. If you always massage the equation into the form
[ y = (something times x) + something },
then the number that multiplies 'x' is the slope of the graph..
y = 15x + 5
The slope is 15.
y = 0.15x - 1
The slope is 0.15 .
y = x
The slope is 1. ( y = 1x )
y = x + 100
The slope is 1. ( y = 1x + 100 )