Question

The data in the table represents the volume of helium, in cubic feet, inside a balloon relative to the elapsed time in minutes. What does the slope of the linear equation that models the data indicate?

Answer 1

The volume of helium inside the balloon decreased at a rate of 0.1 cubic feet per minute. The linear equation that represents the given data is y = -0.1x + 6 and its slope m = -0.1.

What is the equation of a line passing through two points?

The equation of the line passing through the points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) is

(y - y1) = m(x - x1).

Where m is the slope of the line and is calculated by

m = (y2 - y1)/(x2 - x1)

Calculation:

The given data in the table represents the volume of helium (cu ft), inside a balloon relative to the elapsed time in minutes.

x: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40

y: 5.5, 5, 4.5, 4, 3.5, 3, 2.5, 2

From this table, consider two points (5, 5.5) and (10, 5)

So, the equation of the line is

y- y1 = m(x - x1)

Where slope m = (y2 - y1)/(x2 - x1)

⇒ m = (5 - 5.5)/(10 - 5)

⇒ m = -0.5/5

∴ m = -0.1

Thus, the equation is

y - 5.5 = -0.1(x - 5)

⇒ y - 5.5 = -0.1x + 0.5

⇒ y = -0.1x + 0.5 + 5.5

⇒ y = -0.1x + 6.0

∴ y = -0.1x + 6

Since the slope of the line is negative, the volume of the helium inside the balloon decreased at a rate of 0.1 cubic ft per minute.

So, option 2 is correct.

Learn more about the slope of a line here:

brainly.com/question/3493733

#SPJ1