Question

Use the table to answer the question.

A research assistant observes that something is causing mice to die in the lab. The following table lists the number of mice at the end of each week.

Number of Mice at End of Each Week
Week 1 2 3 4 5
Number of mice 380 355 330 305 280
Determine whether the decreasing number of mice can be modeled by a linear decay function or an exponential decay function, and why.(1 point)

exponential decay function; the number of mice decreases by 75% per week, which is a constant percent rate of change

linear decay function; the number of mice decreases by 25 per week, which is a constant rate of change

exponential decay function; the number of mice decreases by 25 per week, which is a constant percent rate of change

linear decay function; the number of mice decreases by 25% per week, which is a constant rate of change

Answer 1

linear decay function; the number of mice decreases by 25 per week, which is a constant rate of change.

Reason: the difference between successive weeks is always 380→355→330→305→280 (−25 each week), so the change is additive and constant, not multiplicative.