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.

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)
Responses

linear decay function; the number of mice decreases by 25 per week, which is a constant 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
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
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 75% per week, which is a constant percent rate of change

Answer 1

The correct response is:

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

This is because the number of mice decreases by a constant amount (25 mice) each week, indicating a linear model rather than an exponential one, where the rate of change would be proportional to the current amount (i.e., a consistent percentage decline).