Question

2. A skydiver jumps from a plane from an altitude of 6000 ft. An observer on the ground measures the skydiver’s altitude at time t = 0 to be 4500 ft. The linear graph shows the skydiver’s altitude at various times during her descent.

(a) Identify the y-intercept. How does the y-intercept relate to the skydiver’s position relative to the ground? Explain. (

b) Determine the slope of the line. According to the slope, is the skydiver ascending or descending and what is the rate of ascent or descent? Explain.

(c) Identify the x-intercept. What does the x-intercept mean in this context? Explain.

(d) Write an equation for the line.

Answer 1

A. The y intercept is 4500 and it represents his altitude when the observer started to time him.

B. The slope is -1500. he is descending at a rate of 1500ft a minute

C. The x-intercept is 3. It means that he will hit the ground in 3 minutes.

D. The equation in slope-intercept form is y=-1500x+4500

Answer 2

a) y-intercept = 4500. It is related to skydiver’s position relative to the ground as the sum of both distance must be equal to 4500.

b) Slope (m) = -4500 /3 = -1500.
Here, as slope is in negative, skydiver is descending

c) x-intercept = 3, (which is the measure of time in seconds)

d) Equation in slope-intercept form: y = -1500x + 4500

Hope this helps!