Given:
Over the past 4 years, Grandpa Ernie's height decreased by a total of 2.4 cm.
It decreased by the same amount each year.
To find:
The change in Grandpa Ernie's height each year.
Solution:
Total change in Grandpa Ernie's height in past 4 years = -2.4 cm
Here, negative sign represents the decrease in height.
It decreased by the same amount each year.
So, change in each year is
![\text{Change each year}=\dfrac{\text{Total change}}{\text{Number of years}}](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=%5Ctext%7BChange%20each%20year%7D%3D%5Cdfrac%7B%5Ctext%7BTotal%20change%7D%7D%7B%5Ctext%7BNumber%20of%20years%7D%7D)
![\text{Change each year}=\dfrac{-2.4}{4}](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=%5Ctext%7BChange%20each%20year%7D%3D%5Cdfrac%7B-2.4%7D%7B4%7D)
![\text{Change each year}=-0.6](https://tex.z-dn.net/?f=%5Ctext%7BChange%20each%20year%7D%3D-0.6)
Therefore, the change in Grandpa Ernie's height each year is -0.6 cm. It means, the Grandpa Ernie's height decreased by 0.6 cm each year.