A dog breeder recorded the weight of a puppy during the first eight months after it was born. The breeder created the equation w = 0.28m + 9.6, where w is the weight of the puppy in pounds and m is the number of months since the puppy was born. What is the meaning of the slope from the breeder′s equation?

Question

For every month after the puppy is born, the weight increases by 0.28 pounds.
When the puppy is born, the total weight is 0.28 pounds.
When the puppy is born, the total weight is 9.6 pounds.
For every month after the puppy is born, the weight increases by 9.6 pounds.

Answer 1

The slope of the equation \( w = 0.28m + 9.6 \) represents the rate of change of the weight of the puppy with respect to the number of months since it was born. In this equation, the slope is 0.28.

Therefore, the correct interpretation of the slope is:

For every month after the puppy is born, the weight increases by 0.28 pounds.