Let's analyze the situation step by step.
-
Starting Distance and Rate of Change:
- The starting distance from home is 41 blocks.
- You walk at a rate of 3 blocks per minute.
- As you walk toward home, the distance to home decreases. Thus, your rate of change of distance can be represented as -3 blocks/minute (the negative sign indicates that the distance is decreasing).
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Equation in Slope-Intercept Form:
To write an equation in slope-intercept form \(y = mx + b\):
- Let \(y\) represent the distance to home.
- Let \(x\) represent the time in minutes.
- The slope (rate of change) \(m\) is -3 (since the distance decreases as time progresses).
- The y-intercept \(b\) is 41 (the initial distance from home at time \(x = 0\)).
So the equation is:
\[ y = -3x + 41 \]
- Time to Get Home:
To find out when you will reach home, set \(y = 0\) (meaning the distance to home is 0):
\[ 0 = -3x + 41 \]
Now, solving for \(x\):
\[ 3x = 41 \]
\[ x = \frac{41}{3} \]
\[ x \approx 13.67 \text{ minutes} \]
Therefore, to summarize:
- The rate of change is -3 blocks per minute.
- The equation that represents the situation is \(y = -3x + 41\).
- It will take approximately 13.67 minutes to get home.