A squirrel has stored its across in a hole that is 45 feet from the ground in a tall tree. The squirrel starts on a perch 100 feet above the ground. The squirrel moves from the perch down to its stored acorns in 5.25 seconds. Interpret the quotient to describe the rate of change in the squirrel's height above the ground give your answer to the nearest hundredth.

Answer 1

The rate of change in the squirrel's height above the ground can be interpreted as the speed at which the squirrel is descending from the perch to the stored acorns. To find this rate of change, we divide the change in height by the time taken.

The change in height is given by 100 - 45 = 55 feet (since the squirrel starts at a height of 100 feet and the acorns are stored at a height of 45 feet).

The time taken is given as 5.25 seconds.

Therefore, the rate of change in the squirrel's height above the ground is 55 feet / 5.25 seconds ≈ 10.48 feet/second (rounded to the nearest hundredth).