Question

According to the Woodlawn Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington, the average height in inches (y) of a baby giraffe during its first week can be described by the equation y=1.2x+72, where x is the number of days since it was born.

What does the 1.2 represent in the equation?

Answer 1

The 1.2 in the equation represents the average daily growth rate in inches of a baby giraffe during its first week of life.

Step-by-step explanation:

The equation provided, y = 1.2x + 72, is a linear equation representing the average height (y) in inches of a baby giraffe during its first week as a function of the number of days (x) since its birth.

In this equation, the coefficient 1.2 in front of the variable x signifies the average daily growth rate in inches of the baby giraffe.

This means that on average, a baby giraffe grows by 1.2 inches each day during its first week of life.

The constant number 72 represents the giraffe's average height in inches at birth (when x=0).