Jordana drew the function below. Which statement correctly explains whether or not her function is linear?

Question

On a coordinate plane, a parabola opens up.
It is linear because it has a constant rate of change.
It is linear because it does not have a constant rate of change.
It is not linear because it has a constant rate of change.
It is not linear because it does not have a constant rate of change.

Answer 1

The correct statement is: It is not linear because it does not have a constant rate of change.

A parabola, which opens up, represents a quadratic function. Quadratic functions are characterized by a variable rate of change, meaning that their slopes vary at different points along the curve. In contrast, linear functions have a constant rate of change (constant slope) throughout. Therefore, since the function is a parabola, it cannot be linear based on the lack of a constant rate of change.