eteorologists often measure the intensity of a tropical storm or hurricane by the maximum sustained wind speed and the minimum pressure. The relationship between these two quantities is approximately linear. Hurricane A had a maximum sustained wind speed of

Question

150
knots and a minimum pressure of
873

mb
(millibars). Hurricane B had maximum sustained winds of
76
knots and a pressure of
564

mb
.
(a) Find the slope of the line between these two points. Round to one decimal place.

Answer 1

To find the slope of the line between these two points, we can use the formula:

slope = (change in y) / (change in x).

In this case, the y-values are the minimum pressure and the x-values are the maximum sustained wind speed.

The change in y is the difference between the minimum pressures of Hurricane A and Hurricane B:

change in y = 873 - 564 = 309 mb.

The change in x is the difference between the maximum sustained wind speeds of Hurricane A and Hurricane B:

change in x = 150 - 76 = 74 knots.

Therefore, the slope of the line between these two points is:

slope = (change in y) / (change in x) = 309 / 74 ≈ 4.2.

So, the slope of the line between these two points is approximately 4.2 (rounded to one decimal place).