Question

Mel slides down waterslide A, and Victor slides down waterslide B. After 2 seconds, Mel was 50 feet in the air, and after 5 seconds, she was 35 feet in the air. After 1 second, Victor was 60 feet in the air, and after 4 seconds, he was 50 feet in the air. Who was descending at a faster average rate? what is mels rate of change

Answer 1

Mel moves 50-35=15 feet in 5-2=3 seconds. Descent rate=15/3=5 ft/sec.
Victor moves 60-50=10 feet in 4-1=3 seconds. Descent rate=10/3=3⅓ ft/sec. Mel is faster at 5 ft/sec.

Answer 2

Answer:

Mel was descending at a faster average rate and the rate of change of Mel is -5 feet/ second.

Step-by-step explanation:

It is function passes through two points, then the average rate of change is

$m=\dfrac{y_2-y_1}{x_2-x_1}$

Let x be the time in seconds and y be the height in feet.

After 2 seconds, Mel was 50 feet in the air, and after 5 seconds, she was 35 feet in the air. It means the function have two ordered pairs (2,50) and (5,35).

The average rate of change of Mel is

$m=\dfrac{35-50}{5-2}\Rightarrow \dfrac{-15}{3}=-5$

It means Mel was descending at a rate of 5 feet per second.

After 1 second, Victor was 60 feet in the air, and after 4 seconds, he was 50 feet in the air. It means the function have two ordered pairs (1,60) and (4,50).

The average rate of change of Victor is

$m=\dfrac{50-60}{4-1}\Rightarrow \dfrac{-10}{3}=-3.33...$

It means Victor was descending at a rate of 10/3 feet per second.

5>3.33..

Therefore, Mel was descending at a faster average rate and the rate of change of Mel is -5 feet/ second.