Question

In 2012, James Cameron descended to the bottom of Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench; the deepest point in the ocean. The vessel he rode in was called DeepSea Challenger. Challenger Deep is 35,814 feet deep at its lowest point A. DeepSea Challenger's descent was a change in depth of (-4) feet per second. We can use the equation y = -4x to model this relationship, where y is the depth and x is the time in seconds that have passed. B. How many seconds does this model suggest it would take for DeepSea Challenger to reach the bottom?

Answer 1

Linear Modeling

The equation y = -4x can be used to model the change in depth of the descent of the DeepSea Challenger, where y is the depth in feet and x is the time in seconds.

For example, for x=10 seconds, the vessel had traveled y= -4*10 = -40 feet.

The bottom of Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench is 35,814 feet deep at its lowest point.

If we use the model, we can find the value of x when y= -35,814 feet

-35,814 =-4x

Dividing by 4:

x = -35,814/ (-4)

x = 8,953.5 seconds

The model suggests the DeepSea Challenger took almost 9,000 seconds to reach the bottom