What is the rate of change for the table representing an airplane's descent?

Answer 1

To determine the rate of change for the table representing an airplane's descent, we need to look at the change in the dependent variable (usually denoted as y) for each unit change in the independent variable (usually denoted as x). In this case, let's assume the table shows the altitude of the airplane (in ft) at different time intervals (in minutes).

Let's consider a sample table:

| Time (minutes) | Altitude (ft) |
|----------------|---------------|
| 0 | 10,000 |
| 1 | 8,500 |
| 2 | 7,000 |
| 3 | 5,500 |
| 4 | 4,000 |

To find the rate of change of the airplane's descent, we can look at the change in altitude for each unit change in time. Taking the first two rows as an example, the change in altitude (Δy) from 0 to 1 minute is:

Δy = 8,500 - 10,000 = -1,500 ft

Thus, for the first minute, the airplane descended by 1,500 ft. We can calculate the rates of descent for the subsequent time intervals in a similar manner:

For the second minute:
Δy = 7,000 - 8,500 = -1,500 ft

For the third minute:
Δy = 5,500 - 7,000 = -1,500 ft

For the fourth minute:
Δy = 4,000 - 5,500 = -1,500 ft

Hence, the rate of change for the table representing the airplane's descent is constant at -1,500 ft per minute.