To find the average rate of change in the diver's depth, we need to determine the change in depth and the time taken for that change.
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Initial depth: The diver starts at 15 meters below the surface, which is -15 meters in terms of depth.
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Final depth: The diver descends to a depth of 10 meters lower than her initial depth. Therefore, her final depth is: \[ -15 \text{ meters} - 10 \text{ meters} = -25 \text{ meters} \]
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Change in depth: The change in depth \( \Delta d \) is: \[ \Delta d = \text{final depth} - \text{initial depth} = -25 \text{ meters} - (-15 \text{ meters}) = -25 + 15 = -10 \text{ meters} \]
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Time taken: The time for the descent was 10.1 seconds.
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Average rate of change (quotient): Now we can calculate the average rate of change using the formula: \[ \text{Average Rate of Change} = \frac{\Delta d}{\Delta t} = \frac{-10 \text{ meters}}{10.1 \text{ seconds}} \approx -0.9901 \text{ meters/second} \]
Rounding this to the nearest hundredth gives us: \[ \text{Average Rate of Change} \approx -0.99 \text{ meters/second} \]
Thus, the correct interpretation is: The quotient that describes the average rate of change for the diver’s depth is −0.99 meters/second.