Question

Write an equation (y=mx+b) for the following word problem.

A cat weighs 30 pounds and is on a special diet to lose 2 pounds per month.
Please help this is due today

Answer 1

Steps to find the equation of a line from two points:

Find the slope using the slope formula. ...

Use the slope and one of the points to solve for the y-intercept (b). ...

Once you know the value for m and the value for b, you can plug these into the slope-intercept form of a line (y = mx + b) to get the equation for the line.

Explanation:

Answer 2

`y=-2x+30`

where y is the weight of the cat (in pounds) and x is the number of months.

Explanation:

`\boxed{\begin{minipage}{6.3 cm}\underline{Slope-intercept form of a linear equation}\\\\$y=mx+b$\\\\where:\\ \phantom{ww}$\bullet$ $m$ is the slope. \\ \phantom{ww}$\bullet$ $b$ is the $y$-intercept.\\\end{minipage}}`

The y-intercept is the y-value when x is zero, so the initial value.

If the cat initially weighs 30 pounds, the y-intercept is 30.

The slope is the rate of change.

If the cat lost 2 pounds per month, then the rate of change is -2.

Therefore, the equation the models the given word problem is:

`\boxed{\begin{minipage}{7 cm}\phantom{ww}\\$y=-2x+30$\\\\where:\\ \phantom{ww}$\bullet$ $y$ is the weight of the cat (in pounds). \\ \phantom{ww}$\bullet$ $x$ is the number of months.\\\end{minipage}}`