Question

D Study the Example showing how to write the equation of a line in slope-intercept form from a graph. Then solve problems 1-5. Example An oceanographer is studying the growth of giant kelp. She selects one giant kelp plant and records its height each day. Then she draws this graph. What is the equation of the line in slope-intercept form? Define your variables. (0, 10) and (2, 60) are two points on the line. 60 - 10 2-0 = 50, or 25 m= Height (cm) 120 100 80 y 60 40 20 0 The slope is 25. The line intersects the y-axis at (0, 10). The y-intercept is 10. The equation y = 25x + 10 shows the height, y, of the giant kelp plant after x days. 0 1 3 4 2 Time (days) What do the slope and y-intercept in the Example represent in this situation? ​

Answer 1

The slope of the line in the example is 25 and the y-intercept is 10. These values can be used to write the equation of the line in slope-intercept form, y = 25x + 10.

The slope, m, represents the rate of change of the height of the giant kelp plant. In this case, the slope is 25, meaning that for every day that passes, the height of the giant kelp plant increases by 25 centimeters.

The y-intercept, b, represents the height of the giant kelp plant at time = 0. In this case, the y-intercept is 10, meaning that the giant kelp plant is 10 centimeters tall at time = 0.

So in this situation the slope represents how much the height of the kelp plant changes with respect to time and the y-intercept represents the initial height of the kelp plant at time = 0.