To determine the rate of change in the bird's altitude, we start by calculating the initial altitude and the final altitude at the given times.
- The initial altitude of the bird is 10 meters.
- After 3 seconds, the bird settles at an altitude of 3 meters.
Next, we find the change in altitude: \[ \text{Change in altitude} = \text{Final altitude} - \text{Initial altitude} = 3, \text{meters} - 10, \text{meters} = -7, \text{meters} \]
The negative sign indicates that the bird is descending.
Now, we need to calculate the rate of change. The rate of change is given by the change in altitude divided by the time it took for that change: \[ \text{Rate of change} = \frac{\text{Change in altitude}}{\text{Time}} = \frac{-7, \text{meters}}{3, \text{seconds}} \approx -2.3333, \text{meters per second} \]
Rounding this to the nearest hundredth gives us: \[ \text{Rate of change} \approx -2.33, \text{meters per second} \]
Thus, the interpretation is that the bird's altitude is decreasing at a rate of approximately 2.33 meters per second.