Question

Patty buys a new car and gets it appraised every few years. After owning the car for 3 years, its value is $15,000. After owning the car for 5 years, its value is $9,000. What is the constant of proportionality in this inverse variation?

Answer 1

Answer: 45,000.

Step-by-step explanation:

The equation of inverse variation is given by:-

$k=xy$

, where k is the constant of proportionality.

Given: After owning the car for 3 years, its value is $15,000. After owning the car for 5 years, its value is $9,000.

Here,

$x_1=3,\ y_1=15000\\\\x_2=5,\ y_2=9000$

Then, $k=x_1y_1=3\times15000=45,000$

or $k=x_2y_2=5\times9000=45,000$  [answer is same in both cases.]

Hence, the constant of proportionality in this inverse variation is 45,000.