Question

Jason jumps from a plane at an altitude of 1000 m. His parachute opens after 10 seconds. The graph shows the relationship between the distance traveled and time. How far does he fall in 1 minute and 20 seconds? Continuous graph with the y axis labeled Distance (m) and the x axis labeled Time, min. The function consists of 3 lines, the first is almost vertical with a positive slope connecting the points 0,0, to approximately 1 of 6, 250. From that point the second line connects to the first and passes through the points 1,500, 2,800 and 2 1 over 3, 1000. From that point the function is horizontal.

Answer 1

600 m

Explanation:

The slope between 1 minute and 2 minutes is ...

... (800 -500)/(2 -1) = 300 . . . . . . m/min

Thus in 20 seconds, 1/3 minute, Jason will fall ...

... (1/3 min)·(300 m/min) = 100 m

This distance is in addition to the 500 m he has already fallen in the first minute.

In 1 min 20 sec, Jason falls 500 m + 100 m = 600 m.

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Comment on the graph

We don't expect Jason's rate of fall to change dramatically at the 2-minute mark. We suspect the last point should be (2 2/3, 1000).