The equation of the line given is \( y = 17.5x + 480 \), where \( y \) represents the mass of the Boxer puppies and \( x \) represents their age in days.
In this equation, the slope is \( 17.5 \). This slope indicates how much the mass (in grams) of the puppies is expected to increase for each additional day of age.
Thus, the best interpretation of the slope is:
Each additional day is associated with an additional 17.5 grams of mass.