Question

Jerry measured in time the descent of a living bill sweater no large fish tank spider reached a position 4 1/2 inches below the surface of the water after descending at a constant rate for 1 1/2 seconds. Jerry recorded it as -4 1/2 inches. What is the position of the spider relative to the surface after one second?

Answer 1

To calculate the position of the spider after one second, we divide its descent after 1 1/2 seconds by the time to find the rate, then use that rate to find the position after one second. The spider would be 3 inches below the water's surface.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question involves calculating the position of a spider relative to the surface after a certain amount of time, given its constant rate of descent. To find the position of the spider after one second, we use the information that the spider descends to a position of -4 1/2 inches after 1 1/2 seconds. We assume a linear relationship between time and position to determine the spider's position after one second.

First, we find the descent rate per second: -4.5 inches ÷ 1.5 seconds = -3 inches per second.

Then we multiply this rate by the time interval of interest, one second: -3 inches/second × 1 second = -3 inches. Therefore, the spider would be at a position of -3 inches relative to the surface after one second, meaning 3 inches below the surface.