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On Monday, the temperature dropped -30˚F from 1:00 p.M. To 7:00 p.M. If the temperature change was the same every hour, what was the hourly rate of change?

1 Answer

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Answer: -6 °F/hr = -6°F per hour.

Explanation:

A rate of change can be defined as:

R = (total change in some quantity)/(time in which the change happened)

In this case, we know that the temperature dropped -30°F in a given time, then we already know that:

total change in some quantity = -30°F

Now, we know that this change took place between the 1:00 p.M.. and the 7:00 p.M.

The total amount of time between these two hours is:

T = (7.00hr - 1.00hr) = 6.00hr

This means that:

time in which the change happened = 6 hours.

Then we can replace these values in the above equation to get:

R = (-30°F)/(6hr) = -6 °F/hr

This means that for each hour that passes, the temperature decreases 6°F

We also can write this rate as:

R = -6 °F/hr = -6°F per hour.

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