Question

A plant starts out at 12 inches tall and grows 1 inch per week . Write an equation for this situation. What is the slope ? Is the slope continuous or discrete ? Explain.

Answer 1

h(t) = 12 inches + (1 inch/week)t; continuous

Explanation:

This situation can be described with a linear function. The initial value of the plant height is 12 inches, and the weekly growth is 1 inch/week.

Thus, if h(t) represents the plant height at the end of the t-th week,

h(t) = 12 inches + (1 inch/week)t

The slope is 1 inch/week, and is continuous, since plan growth is continuous.