Question

a baby goraffe is about 6 1/2 feet tall at birth and grows about 1/2 foot per month for its first year. The function h=1/2m+61/2 represents the total height h of a baby giraffe for any number of months m within ita firat year. How much taller is the giraffe at the end of the month 11 than at the end of month 2​

Answer 1

Answer: 4 and 1/2 ft (or 4.5 ft) taller.

Explanation:

The function h(m) = (1/2)*m + (6 + 1/2) represents the height (on feet) of the giraffe as a function of the number of months, m.

We want to find the difference in the height between month 11 and month 2, then we need to find:

difference = h(11) - h(2)

We can directly calculate this:

difference = [ (1/2)*11 + (6 + 1/2)] - [(1/2)*2 + (6 + 1/2)]

difference = (1/2)*11 - (1/2)*2 = (1/2)*(11 - 2) = (1/2)*(9) = 9/2

And we can write 9 = 9 + 1, then:

difference = 9/2 = (8 + 1)/2 = 8/2 + 1/2 = 4 + 1/2

And this is in feet, then the girrafe is (4 and 1/2) ft taller on month 11 than on month 2.