Question

The following table lists the miles per gallon (mpg) for a pickup truck per fill-up.

Fill-Up 1 2 3 4 5
Miles per Gallon 19 19.2 20.2 20.8 21
Is the rate of change in miles per gallon constant or variable? If the rate is constant, what is the rate?

(1 point)
Responses

constant; 1 mile per gallon
constant; 1 mile per gallon - incorrect

constant; 0.2 miles per gallon
constant; 0.2 miles per gallon - no response given

variable
variable - no response given

variable; 0.6 miles per gallon

Answer 1

To determine if the rate of change in miles per gallon (mpg) is constant or variable, we need to calculate the change in mpg between each fill-up.

Here are the mpg values:
- Fill-Up 1: 19.0
- Fill-Up 2: 19.2
- Fill-Up 3: 20.2
- Fill-Up 4: 20.8
- Fill-Up 5: 21.0

Now, let's calculate the changes:

- From Fill-Up 1 to Fill-Up 2: 19.2 - 19.0 = 0.2
- From Fill-Up 2 to Fill-Up 3: 20.2 - 19.2 = 1.0
- From Fill-Up 3 to Fill-Up 4: 20.8 - 20.2 = 0.6
- From Fill-Up 4 to Fill-Up 5: 21.0 - 20.8 = 0.2

Now we can summarize the changes:
- Change 1 (1 to 2): 0.2 mpg
- Change 2 (2 to 3): 1.0 mpg
- Change 3 (3 to 4): 0.6 mpg
- Change 4 (4 to 5): 0.2 mpg

The changes are not consistent; they vary from 0.2 to 1.0 to 0.6 and back to 0.2.

Therefore, the rate of change in miles per gallon is **variable**.