Activities

1. Identify the slope of the equation y = 2.8x.

2. Identify the rate of change represented in the following table:

3. During a track meet, Javier ran the race at a rate represented by the equation y = 10x where y is the distance in meters and x is the time in seconds.  Joe ran the same race and his progress is outlined in the table below.  Who won the race?  Explain.

4. Adia is looking for a new job.  Her current pay is represented by the equation y = 8.25x where x is the number of hours worked.  She found a job in the paper with the pay scale represented by the graph below.  Which job pays better, her current one or the one in the paper?  Explain.

5. A southern red oak tree grows at a rate of 1.25 feet each year.  The yearly growth for a water oak is shown in the table below.  Write and graph equations that represent the growth for each tree.  Compare the steepness of the graphs.  What does it mean in the context of this problem?

Answer Key/Rubric

1. 2.8

2. 80 miles per hour

3. Acceptable answers may include, but are not limited to:

Javier won the race because he was traveling at a rate of 10 m/sec and Joe was running at a rate of 8 m/sec, which is slower.

4. Acceptable answers may include, but are not limited to:

The job in the paper pays better.  It pays about $9 per hour while her current pay is $8.25 per hour.

5. Equations

Southern Red Oak: y = 1.25x

Water Oak: y = 2.5x

Graph

The graph that represents the Water Oak is steeper than the Southern Red, which means is grows faster than the Southern Red.