A pilot is flying an airplane. Due to strong winds, the pilot decides to fly 4,000 feet lower to avoid excessive turbulence. It takes the pilot 3.5 minutes to make this adjustment. Interpret the quotient to describe the rate of change in the plane's altitude. Give your answer to the nearest hundredth, and remember the plane is descending.

Answer 1

To interpret the quotient as the rate of change in the plane's altitude, we would divide the change in altitude by the time taken to make this adjustment.

The change in altitude is 4,000 feet (since the plane is flying 4,000 feet lower).

The time taken is 3.5 minutes.

Therefore, the rate of change in the plane's altitude is 4,000 feet divided by 3.5 minutes.

Rounded to the nearest hundredth, the rate of change in the plane's altitude is approximately 1142.86 feet per minute.