To calculate the rate of change in the plane's altitude, you can use the formula:
\[ \text{Rate of change} = \frac{\text{Change in altitude}}{\text{Time taken}} \]
In this case, the change in altitude is 4,000 feet, and the time taken is 3.5 minutes.
Substituting the values into the formula gives:
\[ \text{Rate of change} = \frac{4000 \text{ feet}}{3.5 \text{ minutes}} \]
Calculating this:
\[ \text{Rate of change} = \frac{4000}{3.5} \approx 1142.8571 \text{ feet/minute} \]
Rounding this to the nearest hundredth gives:
\[ \text{Rate of change} \approx 1142.86 \text{ feet/minute} \]
Since the plane is descending, you can express the rate as:
\[ \text{The quotient that best represents the rate of change in the plane's altitude is } -1142.86 \text{ feet/minute.} \]
The negative sign indicates a descent.