Question

A wrestling match has eliminations each round. The table below shows the number of wrestlers in each of the first 4 rounds of the tournament:

Round (x) 1 2 3 4
Wrestlers f(x) 64 32 18 9


Compute the average rate of change of f(x) from x = 1 to x = 4 and identify the meaning of that rate.
55; there were 55 fewer wrestlers between rounds 1 and 4
3; there were 3 rounds between rounds 1 and 4
negative fifty five over three; on average, there were 55 fewer players for every 3 rounds
negative three over fifty five; on average, there were 3 fewer players for every 55 rounds

Answer 1

c

Explanation:

Answer 2

`\bf \begin{array}{lllll} round(x)&\boxed{1}&2&3&\boxed{4}\\\\ wrestlers[f(x)]&\boxed{64}&32&18&\boxed{9} \end{array} \\\\\\ slope = {{ m}}= \cfrac{rise}{run} \implies \cfrac{{{ f(x_2)}}-{{ f(x_1)}}}{{{ x_2}}-{{ x_1}}}\impliedby \begin{array}{llll} average\ rate\\ of\ change \end{array}\\\\ -------------------------------\\\\ f(x)= \qquad \begin{cases} x_1=1\\ x_2=4 \end{cases}\implies \cfrac{f(4)-f(1)}{4-1}\implies \cfrac{9-64}{4-1}\implies \cfrac{-55}{3}`

55 over 3, or 55 wrestlers for every 3 rounds, but the wrestlers value is negative, thus 55 "less" wrestlers for every 3 rounds on average.