Question
A vehicle travels at a steady rate of 35 miles per hour.
A student will graph the total distance, D, as a function of the time in hours, h, showing the distance for 1 to 3 hours.
If the student counts by 10's, what should be the largest value on the D-axis of his or her graph so that the scale is the most appropriate for the given information?
A student will graph the total distance, D, as a function of the time in hours, h, showing the distance for 1 to 3 hours.
If the student counts by 10's, what should be the largest value on the D-axis of his or her graph so that the scale is the most appropriate for the given information?
Answers
GPT-4o mini
To find the largest value on the D-axis for the student's graph, we first need to calculate the total distance traveled by the vehicle over the time interval of 1 to 3 hours at a constant speed of 35 miles per hour.
The formula to calculate distance is:
\[
D = \text{speed} \times \text{time}
\]
1. For \(h = 1\) hour:
\[
D = 35 \ \text{miles/hour} \times 1 \ \text{hour} = 35 \ \text{miles}
\]
2. For \(h = 2\) hours:
\[
D = 35 \ \text{miles/hour} \times 2 \ \text{hours} = 70 \ \text{miles}
\]
3. For \(h = 3\) hours:
\[
D = 35 \ \text{miles/hour} \times 3 \ \text{hours} = 105 \ \text{miles}
\]
Now, the maximum distance to be represented on the graph is 105 miles.
If the student counts by 10's on the D-axis, they should choose a scale that comfortably accommodates the maximum distance. Therefore, the largest value on the D-axis should be at least 105 miles but should also allow for some extra margin for clarity on the graph.
A reasonable scale would be to round up to the next multiple of 10. The next multiple of 10 above 105 is 110. Thus, the largest value on the D-axis appropriate for the given information is:
\[
\text{Largest value on D-axis} = 110 \ \text{miles}
\]
The formula to calculate distance is:
\[
D = \text{speed} \times \text{time}
\]
1. For \(h = 1\) hour:
\[
D = 35 \ \text{miles/hour} \times 1 \ \text{hour} = 35 \ \text{miles}
\]
2. For \(h = 2\) hours:
\[
D = 35 \ \text{miles/hour} \times 2 \ \text{hours} = 70 \ \text{miles}
\]
3. For \(h = 3\) hours:
\[
D = 35 \ \text{miles/hour} \times 3 \ \text{hours} = 105 \ \text{miles}
\]
Now, the maximum distance to be represented on the graph is 105 miles.
If the student counts by 10's on the D-axis, they should choose a scale that comfortably accommodates the maximum distance. Therefore, the largest value on the D-axis should be at least 105 miles but should also allow for some extra margin for clarity on the graph.
A reasonable scale would be to round up to the next multiple of 10. The next multiple of 10 above 105 is 110. Thus, the largest value on the D-axis appropriate for the given information is:
\[
\text{Largest value on D-axis} = 110 \ \text{miles}
\]