Question

5. The equation of the line of best fit of a scatter plot is f(x)=10.2217βˆ’0.0098x
𝑓
(
π‘₯
)
=
10.2217
βˆ’
0.0098
π‘₯
, where 𝑓 is the finishing time of the Olympic gold medalist in the men’s 100 m dash, and π‘₯ is the number of years since 1960.(1 point)
Part A: Interpret the 𝑦-intercept of the linear equation modeling the data.

The model suggests that the finishing time of the Olympic gold medalist in the men’s 100 m dash in 1960 was
seconds

Part B: Interpret the slope of the linear equation that models the data.

The finishing time since 1960 has decreased each year by
seconds

Part C: The Summer Olympic Games, where the 100 m dash is run, occur every 4 years. By how many seconds does the model predict the first-place-finishing time will decrease every 4 years?

seconds.

Answers

GPT-4o mini
Let's break down the interpretations based on the given linear equation \( f(x) = 10.2217 - 0.0098x \):

### Part A: Interpret the \( y \)-intercept of the linear equation.

The \( y \)-intercept occurs when \( x = 0 \). In this context, \( x = 0 \) corresponds to the year 1960. To find the \( y \)-intercept, we substitute \( x = 0 \) into the equation:

\[
f(0) = 10.2217 - 0.0098(0) = 10.2217
\]

This means that the finishing time of the Olympic gold medalist in the men's 100 m dash in 1960 was **10.2217 seconds**.

### Part B: Interpret the slope of the linear equation that models the data.

The slope of the line, \( -0.0098 \), indicates the rate of change of the finishing time per year. Specifically, it suggests that for each additional year since 1960, the finishing time decreases by **0.0098 seconds**.

### Part C: The Summer Olympic Games, where the 100 m dash is run, occur every 4 years. By how many seconds does the model predict the first-place finishing time will decrease every 4 years?

Since the slope indicates the time decreases by \( 0.0098 \) seconds each year, over a span of 4 years, the total decrease can be calculated as:

\[
\text{Decrease in 4 years} = 0.0098 \text{ seconds/year} \times 4 \text{ years} = 0.0392 \text{ seconds}
\]

Thus, the model predicts that the first-place finishing time will decrease by **0.0392 seconds** every 4 years.

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