Question

Ruth bought a piece of farm machinery valued at $50,000. Over a period of 10 years, the machinery lost value at a constant rate. The graph below models this loss of value.

A coordinate graph is shown.

The graph is titled 'Loss of Value' and has an x axis labeled 'Number of Years' with coordinates labeled from 0 to 10. The y axis is labeled 'Value in Dollars' and is marked from 0 to 50000 in multiples of 10000. A red ray on the graph begins at 0 comma 50000 and extends down and to the right through the point 9 comma 10000.
Which statement most closely matches this relationship?

A. The machinery ages 3 years for every $10,000 loss in value.
B. The machinery ages 5 years for every $10,000 loss in value.
C. Each year, the machinery loses a value of $2,500.
D. Each year, the machinery loses a value of $4,500.

Answer 1

D. Each year, the machinery loses a value of $4,500. (The machinery loses $40,000 in value over a period of 9 years, so the average annual loss in value is $40,000/9 ≈ $4,444.44, which is closest to $4,500.)