Question

Please Help:The population of mosquitoes in a certain area as a function of inches of rainfall is modeled in the table. The function is quadratic.Rainfall (in.)Population (millions)0019216321424525624Enter your answers in the boxes.The x-intercept represents that after in. of rain there are mosquitoes.

Answer 1

To answer this question, we need to remember that, for any function, the x-intercept happens when the value of the function is zero.

In this case we have the function:

`P(x)`

where P(x) represents the population (in millions) of mosquitoes and x is the amount of rainfall in inches.

From the table we notice that the function is zero when x=0. This means that the x-intercept of the function is x=0. Now, if we remember what our function and independent variable mean we conclude that:

The x-intercept represents that after 0 in. of rain there are 0 mosquitoes.