Wyatt receives a plant that is 7 cm tall. It grows another 2 cm each month. Harper receives a seed that is 0 cm tall and grows 3 cm each month.

Question

Now, write an equation that can be used to find the height of Harper’s plant after any number of months. Use x to represent the time in months, and let y represent the height of the plant in cm.

Answer 1

To find the height of Harper's plant after any number of months, we start by noting that the plant begins at a height of 0 cm (since it is a seed) and grows at a rate of 3 cm per month.

We can express the height \( y \) of Harper's plant as a function of the number of months \( x \) with the following equation:

\[ y = 3x \]

Here:

• \( y \) represents the height of Harper's plant in centimeters.
• \( x \) represents the time in months.
• The coefficient 3 indicates that the plant grows 3 cm for each month that passes.

So after \( x \) months, the height of Harper's plant will be \( 3x \) cm.