Final answer:
The function f(x) = -4x + 7 is compressed horizontally by a factor of 1/4. This means we consider the compression as if each x-coordinate is multiplied by 1/4 to achieve the desired effect on the graph.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student asked which factor the function f(x) = -4x + 7 is compressed by horizontally. To compress a graph horizontally, the x-coordinates are multiplied by a factor that is greater than 1.
However, if we are given the compression factor as a ratio like 1:4, and we need to find how the function itself should change, we would actually divide the x-values by 4 to achieve the same compression. Thus, the correct option that would result in the horizontal compression of the graph of f(x) is C) 1/4, since you would plug in (4x) in place of x in the function to compress it horizontally, which is equivalent to multiplying the x-coordinates by 1/4.