A group of friends is going to an amusement park over the weekend. The table below shows the total cost in relation to the number of friends who are going to the park.

Question

No. of Friends 2 3 4 5 6
Total Cost $30.00 $45.00 $60.00 $75.00 $90.00

What is the rate of change for the information in the table?
A.
$7.50 per person
B.
$30.00 per person
C.
$15.00 per person
D.
$22.50 per person

Answer 1

To determine the rate of change from the information in the table, we can look at the total cost associated with different numbers of friends. The total cost increases consistently as the number of friends increases.

To calculate the rate of change, we can examine two points in the table: for example, comparing the total cost for 2 friends and 3 friends.

• For 2 friends, the total cost is $30.00.
• For 3 friends, the total cost is $45.00.

The change in cost is: \[ \text{Change in Cost} = \text{Cost at 3 friends} - \text{Cost at 2 friends} = 45 - 30 = 15 \]

The change in the number of friends is: \[ \text{Change in Friends} = 3 - 2 = 1 \]

Now, the rate of change (cost per additional friend) is: \[ \text{Rate of Change} = \frac{\text{Change in Cost}}{\text{Change in Friends}} = \frac{15}{1} = 15 \]

Thus, the rate of change is $15.00 per person.

So the correct answer is C. $15.00 per person.