Question

The table below represents the amount of money in Sylvester’s bank account as a function of the number of years since he opened the account. Does this situation represent a linear or non-linear function, and why? Amount of Money in Sylvester’s Bank Account Years Amount of Money (dollars) 1 500 2 1,000 4 1,500 8 2,000 16 2,500

Answer 1

We have been given amount of money in bank account vs. # of years in the question:

• 1 year: 500
• 2 years: 1,000
• 4 years: 1,500
• 8 years: 2,000
• 16 years: 2,500

Plotting these numbers on a chart, with x-axis representing the number of years and y-axis representing the amount of money in the bank account, we can see that the lines joining these points do not form a straight line, but form a curve. Hence, these numbers do not represent a linear function.

Please refer to the graph in the attachment

Answer 2

Answer:

It represents a non-linear function because there is not a constant rate of change.