Final answer:
To write the equation for the boiling point in terms of altitude, calculate the slope using the two provided points and then find the y-intercept. Finally, plug in the value of 2100ft for the altitude to find the boiling point at that altitude.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the equation giving the boiling point b of the liquid in degrees Fahrenheit in terms of altitude a, in feet, we need to use the given data points. At 8500ft the boiling point is 201.25°F, and at 4300ft the boiling point is 207.55°F. The relationship is linear, so we can use these two points to calculate the slope (m) of the equation, which is change in boiling point divided by change in altitude (m = (201.25 - 207.55) / (8500 - 4300)).
After calculating the slope, we use one of the points to find the y-intercept (b) of the linear equation b = ma + c, where c is the y-intercept. We can substitute the values of the slope and one of the data points into this equation to solve for c.
To find out the boiling point at 2100 ft, we just need to substitute a = 2100 into our linear equation and calculate the value of b.