A botanist collected data on the growth of sunflowers to maturity. She modeled the equation y= x+3/2 for the line of best fit. The independent variable, x, is time in weeks and the dependent variable, y, is height in feet. What does the slope mean in this context?

In the linear equation \( y = \frac{3}{2}x \), where \( x \) is time in weeks and \( y \) is height in feet, the slope (which is \(\frac{3}{2}\) or 1.5) represents the rate of change of height with respect to time.

In this context, the slope means that for every additional week that passes, the height of the sunflowers increases by 1.5 feet. This indicates that the sunflowers are growing at a rate of 1.5 feet per week. Thus, the slope provides insight into the growth speed of the sunflowers over time.